AMS is committed to supporting Marist education in Fiji and we will continue to support schools like MBPS as well as others in the region.
The Marist Brothers Primary School (MBPS) is located in the densely populated city of Suva in Fiji. The Marist Brothers founded Marist brothers Primary School Suva Street in 1888. Today it has 665 students enrolled at the school across 16 different classes and is one of the only primary schools in the city centre. Because of this, the government has instructed MBPS that they are required to accept new students, even though the numbers of students in each class exceeds the stipulated maximum of 35.
In recent years the school facilities have come under considerable strain for a variety of reasons, which has made it susceptible to extreme weather patterns. Now thanks to the generous support of Catholic Mission, Kindermissionswerk, MOBFANZA and MSA Schools, renovations have commenced at the school. The first building to be renovated is the Saint Columba’s building, which required work on the roof and ceilings initially. The St Columba building sustained roof damage during Tropical Cyclone Winston in February 2016. Two main sections of roofing had been ripped off which compromised the integrity of the roof. As such, when it rained, water entered into two classrooms on the top floor. These classes had to relocate to the overcrowded hall which was partitioned to act as emergency classrooms. Additionally, the balcony area had been deemed a restricted zone due to the damage to the roof lining and exposed broken wooden beams.
The renovated roof will allow the St Columba building hold classes throughout the day regardless of the weather. As a result, the students receive a better education, whilst ensuring their and their teaches safety.