This teen keeps coming back!

Jenaya adopts the Cooks and

raises money for Te Vaerua

Jenaya Davis is one of many international paddlers travelling to Rarotonga to take part in the annual Vaka Eiva competition – the difference is Davis is on a mission.

The determined 17-year-old has been busy fundraising at Urangan State High School in Queensland to raise funds for this year’s chosen Boiler Swim charity Te Vaerua Rehabilitation Services Inc.

Despite all odds (like sitting her senior exams), the teenager with the help of friends and her teacher has been holding ‘guess how many in the jar’ games outside the school cafeteria for 50 cents a guess.

“It didn’t take me long to realise that no teenager in high school would pass the opportunity to win a jar full of sugar for 50 cents”, she said.

After two days of fundraising Davis has raised $60 – that’s 120 guesses! And with two more days of fundraising left she was confident her efforts had been worth it. She is yet to add donations to the figure as well as change it into NZ currency so things are looking pretty good in the fundraising front.

She adds, “Whether I end up with $5 or $50, I will have the personal satisfaction of knowing that I tried to make a difference.”

The fundraising has also provided some entertainment for Davis and her helping friends.

“Our first winner claimed to be failing his mathematics class, but thought that just to muck around and sound smart, he would do mathematical equations to figure it out and his first guess was 412.

“However, jokingly, he did a second guess of 5403 Skittles keeping in mind the jar is around the size of a water bottle. There were 395 Skittles.

“When he found out he won he screamed at the top of his lungs and ran a victory lap around the school”.

This year will be the third time Jenaya has competed in Vaka Eiva normally paddling with the Sunshine Coast junior development team, but this year she will be paddling with local teams.

Davis has been paddling for four and half years and belongs to Fraser Coast Outrigger Canoe Club in Queensland. This year’s Vaka Eiva will be Davis’s version of her high school graduation as the youngster has chosen to skip her graduation ceremony.

“Jenaya would far rather be out there in paddling gear with water underneath her and the wind in her hair. Paddling is her passion,” proud mum Linda Davis told Cook Islands News.

When asked why Davis was so passionate and determined to raise money, she replied, “I consider the Cook Islands my home, and the people there are family, Harvey Bay is only a temporary home. And when I realised that there is only one rehabilitation centre in 15 separate islands, I assume that many people would have to fly there, and I figure I better help to make it worth the flight.”