Echuca's Private Edie Haley lends helping hand in Fiji after Cyclone Yasa destruction

But in December 2020, her battalion was called up to a new challenge.

“I was stood up on December 18 and boarded the HMAS Adelaide on December 24 to set sail to Fiji,” she said.

A few days before, the island nation had been struck by a category five storm — Cyclone Yasa.

Entire villages were destroyed and thousands were left homeless.

So Pte Haley and the Australian Army's 2nd General Health Battalion set off to Fiji to do what they could to help.

But much was unknown about the nature of their trip.

“We were told one of our supporting nations had been hit by a cyclone,” she said.

“They had sent people over to assist us during the bushfires so it was our turn to support them.

“We weren't sure what we would be doing, we were going to work that out on the ship.”

Their main focus would be to help repair a primary school on Galoa Island.

Once the team arrived, Pte Haley said what she saw was like nothing she could ever imagine.

“It was really heartbreaking to see all the damage,” she said.

“This was a boarding school for a lot of students, so all the rooms where they would have been staying had been flooded, roofs had been ripped off and there were trees everywhere.

“It was so messy and it was sad to see.”

But Pte Haley knew she had a job to do.

As an environmental health assistant (preventative medicine) soldier, it was her job to ensure everything around her and the team was safe.

“I would get up each morning and complete all the vector control (limiting or eradicating any creatures that could transmit diseases), and do this again at night,” she said.

“I was also responsible for water control, so making sure the water was safe enough for all the soldiers to drink.”

At the same time, PTE Haley joined other soldiers in rebuilding the school.

“We had to completely clear the area and then had the helicopters dropping stores off to the site, ready for us to start putting together,” she said.

“We literally started from the ground up, so we started with the frame and all the way up to putting a roof on it.”

And while the ADF had deployed construction engineers from the 6th Engineer Support Regiment to do the main building work, Pte Haley said she was lucky to be a part of the project in whatever way she could.

“My main focus was my own job, but I was still able to lend a hand where I could,” she said.

After about three to four weeks, the school had been completed and the team was happy to see the finished structure in action.

“We had an open day and thankfully we were allowed to welcome all the villagers to the school once it was finished,” she said.

“I got the chance to meet all the kids the day before they were about to go back to school.”

Pte Haley said it was a "huge experience".

“They were all so grateful and lovely, it definitely brought a tear to my eye,” she said.

“It was amazing to see how excited the kids were.”

While she would never wish this situation in Fiji upon anyone, Pte Haley said she enjoyed the deployment and would happily do it again.

“My job is one that always goes out and does the disaster relief straight away, so I want to keep going out and helping people in any way I can,” she said.

Although the ADF wasn't her initial choice of career, she said she had found her calling.

“I was working for Netball Victoria through year 12 and originally I was going to study prosthetics at university, but I wasn't sure if going to uni was for me,” she said.

“One of my friends had started looking into the ADF and I did the same.

“I was really into science and the environment, so when this job came up, I jumped at the chance and have never looked back.

“It's such a rewarding job and I encourage anyone thinking about joining the ADF to really just go for it. You won't regret it.”

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