ASK anyone in the Udu Point area who Jim Bandy is and they will tell you.
Not only does he provide paid work for a number of villagers who live near himin Macuata, he indulges in a lot of charitable work where he thinks he can make a positive difference to the community.
It is not surprising that he has come to be regarded as a good Samaritan.
Among them is his continuous assistance with the educational needs of students of Cawaro Village.
He has even built a science laboratory for Duavata's secondary and primary schools.
He arrived in Fiji in 2002. Since setting up a backpacker's escape in Labasa, he has helped many villagers by repairing their boat, punt and engine.
For many of the villagers, he rarely charges them because he says he "understands" their situation.
Mr Bandy owns ALSO Island Limited company, a backpacker's hideaway in the heart of Udu Point.
He repaired the Marama Ni Wasaliwa, which belongs to the people of Cikobia Island.
The Marama Ni Wasaliwa ran aground on a reef outside Cikobia Island in 2000 and Mr Bandy went out on his punt, pulled the ship to shore and fixed it. It is now back with the people of Cikobia.
His help has made a difference in the lives of the local community, improving the services of sea transportation in which villagers now transport fish and rootcrops to Labasa to sell.
Another boat he fixed belonged to Cawaro Village.
It was idle for years because it was damaged. It changed when Mr Bandy arrived in Labasa.
"Initially, most of our work was for the village of Cawaro and Duavata schools," he recalled. "By the time we opened ALSO Island, news had spread to all of Udu and beyond and now we do work on boats from as far as Labasa and all of Udu and Cikobia," Mr Bandy said.
"We purchased a used engine for the boat and I installed it. A year later the hull of the boat was in need of repair so we rebuilt it.
"Those were rather major jobs that we did at our expense.
"In the meanwhile, we did a lot of other smaller things like Kyoko (his wife) conducting first-aid rounds in the village on a daily basis, I repaired outboard motors and several repairs to the Duavata school generator."
Mr Bandy said during his work in Cawaro, he realised many things that the village needed help with to improve their lives and knowing he could make an important contribution, he decided to stay.
He employs about 10 people on the island who assist him with boat building and a brief interview with them revealed how their families now live a better life because of Mr Bandy.
The workers say that source of income has been limited to fish and copra as most relied on it and receiving extra money through wages paid by ALSO Island has been of great help.
They can now, at least send their children to tertiary institutions and secondary schools in Labasa.
