Volunteer Program

The SV Programme started in 1990 and is described as the senior version of the JOCV programme. It is aimed specifically at middle-aged people who have a strong interest in cooperation activities in developing countries. Under this programme, volunteers with extensive skills and plentiful professional experience between the ages of 40 and 69 are recruited. The recruits are then dispatched to developing countries in accordance with requests received from the governments of those countries.

Cooperation is provided in nine categories: 1) Energy; 2) Social Welfare; 3) Commerce and Tourism; 4) Agriculture, forestry and fishery, 5) Public works and public service; 6) Mining and manufacturing; 7) Health and medical care; 8) Planning and administration, and 9) Human resources.
The number of dispatched volunteers has increased and a total of 4,138 volunteers have been dispatched to various countries as of the end of January 2010 since the programme’s inception. Currently, 680 SVs are on assignment in 55 countries.

The SV programme started in 1998 following the signing of the Record of Discussion by the Governments of Japan and Fiji. The first two SVs, a Japanese language instructor and computer network analyst, were also dispatched in 1998.

The SV Programme aims to actively support work for nation-building and human development in Fiji. Their activities are not only for transferring technology. Through people-to-people communication, they build friendships and intimacy at the grass-roots level.
The year 2008 marked the 10th Anniversary of SV Programme in Fiji, and the total number of SVs reached 100 in 2009. Among those SVs, one had previous experience serving as a JOCV in Fiji many years ago.