Learning to Lead

Three 12-year-old girls from Nadi, Fiji are learning how to lead in their homes, school and church.

Emmaline, Helena and Lisa, all students at Nadi Airport School, have been selected to be members of the school’s student leadership team for 2013. They were selected from a student body of 720 students.

Emmaline Ferguson, Helena Tafunai and Lisa Yabakivou are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are three of ten Latter-day Saint students at the school, and all attend the same Mormon ward [congregation] on Sundays.

Helena loves reading, swimming, and is active in various sports.  You will often see her with a calculator as she helps with the family shopping. Her goal for this year is to uphold school rules and always make good choices.

It was a happy surprise for Emmaline when her name was announced as the school’s head girl.  She has always had a strong desire to be a student leader, she says, because of her love of others and her desire to practice her leadership skills.

She loves to read, bake and play various sports.  Emmaline’s goal is to help students be kind and respectful.  She wants to be a strong role model for her school mates.

Lisa has four brothers and helps her mother and father with many family responsibilities.   One of her goals is to qualify to attend a local girl’s boarding school.  She feels that she needs to work very hard in school to achieve this goal.  She loves playing netball and various other sports.

All three girls love to play competitive netball. Helena and Emmaline represented the Nadi District at the national competition in 2012.

The three girls have strong desires to keep their bodies and minds active and strong so they can always participate in sports and school activities. They all say that the Mormon health code, known as ‘the word of wisdom,’ is helping them to do this.

Each girl has at least one parent who has served as a Mormon missionary.