The College St Rapahel De Rikitea is a middle school in Mangareva, Gambier. They host several fundraisers each year to help pay for school supplies, books, dances, and school trips. We were lucky enough to be present for their largest fundraiser in February.
There were many events held over Valentine’s Day weekend. Here is an idea of the line up (just from what I heard; we did not have the actual schedule):
Fundraiser Events:
- Friday evening included movie night and games
- Saturday day held more games, sporting events, an artisan market, and bake off
- Saturday evening was a school dance show with dinner
- Sunday was a “3k fun run and valentine lunch”
We gathered a few of our cruiser friends and met for take away dinner (typical Polynesian steak frites, chicken frites, poison cru, waffles) and grabbed some seats to watch the dance show. Our good friend Poerani (the English teacher) is one of the MCs for the night.
Poerani (Popo)’s class went first. They did a traditional dance with about 40 kids (bottom photos in red and yellow). Then the older classes came out and continued with the “traditional Polynesian” dances. I loved the costumes, albeit not as flashy as the Heiva dance costumes, still colorful, bright, vibrant, and beautiful. The kids costumes (upper right corner) were colored leaves and were just beautiful!
The older kids also put on a few “modern / rap” dances interspersed with Polynesian moves – super creative!
The musicians were also students showcasing their musical talents. Poerani upper right corner and Danny (dance instructor lower right corner)
Then the teachers came out and did a beautiful Polynesian dance. Poerani captured the show as she radiates beauty, grace, and style! I was so proud of her!
Fun Run Fundraiser
We managed to convince 4 boats to join us on the “3k Fun Run.” There was a total of 39 teams and our participation included a T-shirt, flowers, and a raffle ticket. Everyone had their arms marked with their team number. We were number 1 simply because we were the first to sign up. This is our cruiser group.
Because it was 13 February it was a Valentine themed event. All the balloons were red and white, some shaped as hearts, the shirts were red with a big heart on the back. Matt and I and our friends Jan and Daniela
A lot of our local friends joined in on the race as well. Teva (center photo with me), Danny (upper right), Poerani and Danny (bottom left), Titoan and Juliet (right center), Poerani and I (bottom right).
As many of you know, I am not a runner! I don’t even like to run when someone is chasing me! I do love to walk and I can walk at a pretty fast clip (or so I thought). Matt wore flip flops as he was convinced, we would go slow. I was outfitted in a work out top, shorts, and tennis shoes! Yes, I wore shoes. As it turned out, our friends Jan and Daniela came in 4th (lost to the 3rd place couple by 9 seconds). We came in 13th and that was only because Matt pushed me. It was fun, but let me tell you, not my cup of tea :0
Raffle
After the race there was a Valentine lunch where they did the raffle. Some how each of our cruiser friends won something, which was super cool! We won a heart shaped candle set and a photo shoot.
The weekend was a huge success. I believe the fundraiser generated to $10,000. Keep in mind that Mangareva is one of the richest islands in French Polynesia!!!
We showcase Gambier highlights and our favorite spots with our friend Wayne. Did you see Part I and Part II? Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind our adventures.