A COUPLE were awarded British Empire Medals after building a long-lasting legacy in memory of their son Jack who passed away in 2017.

The ceremony was held in Usk County Hall where John and Tina Berry were accompanied by their family, the Lord Lieutenant of Gwent and local dignitaries.

The couple - John attended Monmouth Boys School in 1976 to1983 - were awarded the prestigious medals in the Kings Birthday Honours 2025 list as co-founders of the Jack Berry Fijian Foundation.

The Jack Berry Fijian Foundation was founded in 2018 following the death of their eldest son Jack on October 28, 2017, when he was on a training ride for his next triathlon and was hit from behind by a taxi and passed away.

Since the accident both John and Tina channeled their energy into creating a legacy for him – inspired by the love he had for Fiji.

Jack’s wife was half Fijian and when they visited her family home in the village of Naqia, Jack instantly fell in love with the Fijian families and their way of life, so they decided to start the charity with the aim of building a kindergarten for the village and the surrounding villages of the Wainibuka district.

In August 2018 John and Tina went to the official opening of the Jack Berry Memorial Kindergarten. Since then, they have worked tirelessly to raise funds where they built a school library and computer room in the nearby Naqia Primary School so they could help support students in their education.

“As my relationship has developed with the village, I have become more aware of the socio-economic issues that rural villages such as Naqia face. In particular, the lack of opportunities for students' post-education as well as the lack of basic nutritious food for the families in the village,” said John.

The Fijian Ministry of Agriculture five-year Strategic Development Plan is trying to encourage lots of initiatives including providing improved food and nutrition security for all Fijians, so they started the THRIVE Project, this opportunity led them to creating a school garden which has harvested crops with a hope to re-plant.

Phase two of the project looked at two more initiatives, which included the creation of individual household gardens and poultry so members of the village including women and the elderly would be able to hold a role and be a part of the project.

The men of the nearby village were cleaning the land in nearby forests so they could plant coconut, banana and coffee plants in line with the Ministry of Agriculture. Having done so, some of the funds which were recently transferred are going into the preparation of planting banana suckers and repair works and maintenance of the Jack Berry Memorial Kindergarten, as well as providing further materials for the children including toys, puzzles and paper.

Continuing with the THRIVE project, the women’s group will be starting their own Tailoring and Screen-Printing business. Using these projects is enabling more employment for the village whilst also reinvesting a share of the profit back into kindergarten.