A Caregiver Who Saved a Life — and a Community That Needs Our Help
On December 27, 2024, Jeane's husband suffered an acute stroke. He came home from the hospital unable to walk, unable to use the bathroom, barely able to speak. The future looked devastating.
Then Timoci arrived.
Sent by a care agency, this big-hearted, strong man from Fiji showed up seven days a week and refused to give up. He provided hands-on training, pushed through the hard days, and slowly helped bring Jeane's husband back to life. He didn't just do a job. He saved a man's life.
Timoci has lived in America for 12 years. Like so many caregivers, he sends nearly everything he earns back home to support his family of seven in Fiji. He keeps his family afloat from thousands of miles away with money.
Jeane recently traveled to Timoci's village of Vatuyalewa, Fiji, to meet and live with the family he sacrifices so much for.
What she found broke her heart — and inspired this campaign.
The Problem
Vatuyalewa and the neighboring village of Loa are home to 300 people. The nearest city, Savusavu, is 75 kilometers away — a 90-minute ride each way on a winding dirt road. There is no local store. Getting something as basic as toilet paper or powdered milk requires a long bus journey that many families simply cannot afford.
Every day, people go without the basics.
The Solution
The community has a prime location owned by Timoci, right next to the ferry landing. A Community Store can be built there.
The ferry arrives twice daily, bringing tourists to Taveuni and the Garden Island Resort.
Here is what's already in place:
- The Coca-Cola Company has committed to providing a free cooler once the business license is secured
- Timoci's father will hold the license and run the operation
- Goods will be purchased wholesale and brought in from Savusavu by bus
- A health inspector visit is included in the licensing process to ensure everything meets requirements
The store will sell cold drinks, food, and everyday essentials to locals who desperately need access, and to ferry passengers daily who arrive with nowhere to buy refreshments.
Revenue from sales will pay village workers seven days a week, creating real, sustained employment in a community where jobs are scarce.
This isn't just funding charity; it's infrastructure that supports community and will pay for itself.
What We Need
We're raising funds to cover the business license application and the initial costs of building, stocking, and running the store. Every dollar moves this from a dream to a ribbon-cutting.
Timoci has been an excellent caregiver for someone else's husband. Now we have a chance to give something back to the 300 people in his village who are counting on this store to improve their daily lives.
Please donate. Please share. Every contribution brings this community one step closer to something they've needed for a long time. Even donating a small amount helps!
All donors will receive photographs of the community store's progress and of the native people who will run it as donations come in.
