Thursday, December 29, 2016

Sea walls in Pacific Islands

Many South Pacific Islands have the problem of sea surges inundating villages built right on the sea-shore. Sometimes whole villages are relocated further up the hill which is the way to go. There's a need for sea-walls and do-it-yourself or get help from Fiji government. Kiuva got a $3 million dollar sea-wall - well, you can guess why! And built by a Chinese company. Others get help from Japan and USA, others just do-it-yourself. Photos are of Fiji, Solomons, Kiribas and Tuvalu. And an article here:http://www.umcmission.org/…/20…/may/june/0614risingsealevels

An example is written about in today's Fiji print media. Of course the sea-wall will end somewhere and the sea can still creep up the land!









New seawall at Kumi village to help protect against surging tides
By Iva Danford
Friday 30/12/2016
New seawall at Kumi village [Photo: Fijian Government]
Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama is not only demanding an end to irresponsible behaviour but is also demanding increased international attention and assistance towards climate adaptation.
Bainimarama made these comments during the commissioning of the new Kumi village seawall and concrete walkway in Tailevu to help protect the villagers from the surging tides that threaten their community.   
He says we can protect ourselves from the climate-related events already upon us that requires greater access to climate finance.
Bainimarama says Kumi is one of many villages across Fiji that is threatened by rising seas which is an extremely dangerous consequence of climate change.
He says the story of Kumi is one that he tells often on the international stage when alerting nations to the situation that we face in the Pacific.
Bainimarama says it is the stories of the villagers and experiences that are driving international efforts to end global warming and limit the devastation from climate change and he will continue to be relentless in his own efforts to halt the destructive and selfish behaviour of polluting the planet.
Bainimarama adds he has already told the international community about the over 50 villages and settlement communities that must be relocated to high ground due to rising seas.


Saturday, December 24, 2016

The Three Sisters Labasa

from the Fiji Times and thanks Tui for telling the story:

The legend behind the Three Sisters Mountain

Ruci Vakamino
Saturday, December 24, 2016
OVERLOOKING the town of Labasa, the mountain range known as the Three Sisters Mountain, carries a historic legend.
In a land hundreds of kilometres away from Vanua Levu, history says that the chief of Nakauvadra in the province of Ra, Kadavu Nakalevu (now known as Ratu Kadavulevu) and his people boarded large canoes and sailed towards the north in search of a new place to settle.
Manoa Tuiwainikai, a landowner of Vunimoli Village who is part of the Sauturaga (Steward Chief) clan of Uluibau, the place which Ratu Kadavulevu and his people first settled when they arrived in Macuata province, said the people of Ra sighted the Three Sisters Mountain from afar while sailing towards Labasa.
This newspaper was told that he was the best person to talk to regarding the history of Macuata because his family kept the history alive by passing it down from one generation to another.
According to Mr Tuiwainikai, its history was passed down from his forefathers to his grandfather and then on to his father.
This is his account of the first settlers of the province of Macuata.
"Ratu Kadavulevu along with his people left Nakauvadra in search for new land to settle on," Mr Tuiwainikai said.
"They came in several big canoes. When they reached Vorovoro Island (40 minutes from Labasa town by boat), they were met with stormy weather and their canoes were smashed into pieces.
"That's how the island got its name 'Vorovoro' because that's where their canoes were smashed into pieces," he said.
According to Mr Tuiwainikai, while they were on Vorovoro Island, from a distant they saw the three mountains and decided to explore the place.
"They followed the Labasa River upstream and left the 'gonedau' (fishermen) there.
The others continued upstream to the landing at Korowiri. From there they went up to the Three Sisters Mountain where they finally decided to settle and call it their home.
According to him, the actual name of the mountain is Uluibau and in the Macuata dialect it is Qoibau.
"It is the Europeans who gave the mountain the name the 'Three Sisters Mountain'," Mr Tuiwainikai said.
"Uluibau is the highest peak in Macuata province. That's why our ancestors made a decision to settle there.
"Each of the mountains has a cave and each of these caves have different exit points," he said.
Like a lot of villages in Fiji, the Uluibau or the Three Sisters Mountain has its own share of superstitions.
Mr Tuiwainikai said that according to stories passed down to him from his forefathers, people who entered the caves situated on these three mountains, did not return alive.
But that is a story on its own and people have the right to choose whether or not they want to believe it.
He said that his late father was the only person who entered one of the caves and came out alive.
"My father actually did enter one of the caves when he was young and made it out alive. He said he found a skull inside believed to have been that of a giant," Mr Tuiwainikai said.
"He told me that he found a skull inside the cave and concluded that people who first settled there were bigger than normal human beings.
"So Macuata was settled for the first time on Uluibau.
"They planted a variety of root crops and the gonedau (fishermen) would bring in their supply of seafood.
"The foundation of their homes are still there," he said.
After a couple of decades, the population increased and some of the people decided it was time to explore other parts of Macuata and settle there.
"They came to realise that their numbers increased so they were told to look for new places to settle.
Their descendants now occupy the villages in the Macuata province and other parts of Vanua Levu.
"Their chief, Ratu Kadavulevu, told them where to go," Mr Tuiwainikai said.
The gonedau clan occupied Mali Island.
The province of Macuata is divided into 12 districts.
Combined, there are about 112 villages in the province.
The 12 districts are: Macuata, Mali, Dreketi, Cikobia, Namuka, Dogotuki, Udu, Sasa, Seaqaqa, Labasa, Nadogo and Wailevu.

Sunday, December 18, 2016

Flooding as usual

On our little farm at Vatuadova it is flooding as usual but the children are happy because they just swim in the river, don't think about the damage to food gardens and trees!  In another part of Labasa one woman watches her trees just floating by and is devastated by the damage and loss.
As usual the floods in Fiji affect people in large and small ways. Shopkeepers in Rakiraki want to sell their Christmas goodies but roads are closed to the town because of flooding. Ordinary farmers lose their fruit trees for a start such as a woman in Labasa. A story in the Fiji Times;
Hard work destroyed
Luke Rawalai
Monday, December 19, 2016
Bulileka resident Dhan Wati shows the location of her farm and part of her pawpaw plants that survived floodwaters. Picture: LUKE RAWALAI+ Enlarge this image

DHAN Wati could not hold back her tears as all her hard work was destroyed by the ravaging floodwaters as the Bulileka River delta broke its banks yesterday.
The 58-year-old vegetable farmer and Bulileka resident could only watch as floodwaters rose higher on Friday night claiming the fruit of her sweat and tireless effort during the past few months.
"I could not stand watching my Hawaiian pawpaw and vegetable farm drift past our house in the flood waters," she said.
"Three months of sweat just vanished in a night is really cruel especially after watching my pawpaw farm grow over the past few weeks.
"I had gone down to the farm early this morning (yesterday) to try and save some fruit and vegetables but I was driven away by the rising flood waters."
Ms Dhan valued damage to her farms at about $10,000, adding the area is prone to flooding during any wet weather.
Meanwhile, heavy rain continued in Nabouwalu, Rabi, Taveuni, Qamea and islands in the maritime areas within the Northern Division.

Jaduram gives a nice history of Labasa

The town area of Labasa is flood-prone and just grew without real planning. On the other side of the river are decent hills and that land was mainly taken up by the sugar mill.  In the earlier days Vuo was the main development at Malau where Fiji Forest later established a mill. (Picture wouldn't come through.)
Today story from the Fiji Times

Jaduram recounts the establishment

Ruci Vakamino
Monday, December 19, 2016
THE first government station in Macuata was built at Vuo Village in the early 1900s.
The hospital and the agriculture office was established in the area and its old foundation with pieces of concrete blocks and steps leading to the hospital remains in the heart of the village today.
Labasa is now home to 27,949 people according to the census held in 2007 and with its town being the biggest on Vanua Levu, people ought to know how it was established or to be exact, why it was established.
For 60-year-old Vuo villager, Losevati Lutulevu, the history of the first two government establishments in Labasa are vividly remembered but she shared stories passed down to the villagers by their parents and grandparents.
"The first hospital was built here because of the port in Malau. Also because it was home to the chiefly Qomate family who used to reside here by the beach," she said.
"I believe the hospital was moved to where it is today because the town was established there.
"The original landowners of the place where part of the Labasa town now sits, from the marina and the land where Subrail Park is, asked our elders for a piece of land in Vuo for them to move to since the town was being built on their land.
"The landowner was Talica Sukuna. The piece of land where the old Labasa Hospital and the Agriculture Station once stood were given to them as well," Ms Lutulevu said.
Talica Sukuna's great-grandson, Isireli Boleibau now lives with his wife in a house that is built on top of the foundation of the old hospital.
"All our elders have been laid to rest. There are only five of us left now," Mr Boleibau said.
"At first our elders back then had no place to live when the town was being built. So they came to an agreement with the landowners of Vuo and a piece of land was given to my family," he said.
Labasa businessman, Paul Jaduram who is the grandson of the pioneers of Labasa Town recounts the establishment of the Town to this newspaper.
According to Mr Jaduram, the first European settlers landed in Malau and moved up to where Vuo Village is now. The settlers then pitched their tents there while they were developing the area and established their trade in cotton wool.
Vuo Village used to be a cotton field and the workers were from Mali Island because it was close to Vuo and during that time, America used to import cotton from the cotton fields in Vuo.
"During the Civil War in America which was from 1861 to 1865, there was no demand for cotton. So the settlers thought of exploring further inland hoping to see something where they could do their trading," Mr Jaduram said.
The settlers then found flat land in Vunivau, opposite All Saints Secondary School and also in Vunika.
"The tramline that runs through Vunivau, where the flat land is, that's where the coolie line was. This I know for a fact. That was the coolie line. That's when the girmitya came. That's where my grandmother was," Mr Jaduram said.
"The settlers chose Vaturekuka as their fort because it's perched on a hill and it allowed them the opportunity to be on the lookout in case of invasion by the natives.
"From there they could also see if the girmitya were working or not in the fields.
"Later on of course they built the post office, police station, magistrates' court, all licensing authorities. They were all up in Vaturekuka. That was in the late 1930s.
"We used to go up there with our bicycles and pay for our bicycle licence, dog licence, and radio licence," he said.
According to Mr Jaduram, when more whites started coming in, they built Morris Hedstrom in Vulovi, which is opposite All Saints Secondary School.
"They built it there because it was closer to where their trade was, in Vaturekuka, the fort," he said.
"Around the 1940s, the market used to be where the Fiji Sugar Corporation (FSC) boiler is. They built it there because the expatriates were working at the mill and either lived at the FSC compound or in Vaturekuka. They had everything on the other side of the Labasa Bridge (Vaturekuka side).
Going back to Mr Jaduram's maternal grandparents, his grandmother, Bachoni Jagannath who was originally from Calcutta in India was brought to Fiji on the Leonidas with her parents when she was only 11 years old as girmitya.
Mr Jaduram's grandfather, Jagannath and his brother Nanhu were also brought to Fiji when they were in their teens as girmitya.
Mr Jagannath and Mrs Jagannath got married soon after when Mrs Jagannath was 13 years old.
"My grandparent moved to where the town is now, which is on the other side of Vaturekuka," Mr Jaduram said.
Mr Jaduram's grandfather bought property on the other side of the Labasa bridge around 1930s where the town is located now.
Now this is the interesting part. According to Mr Jaduram, back in the day the locals were not allowed to enter the MH Supermarket in Vulovi because it was only for the whites.
Seeing this, Mr Jaduram's grandfather, Jagannath and his brother Nanhu, felt the need to service the other race (locals) apart from the whites.
Mr Jagannath and his brother Nanhu started their company in the 1930s and named it "Jagannath, Nanhu and Company".
The first building they built was the general merchant store which is where the Bargain Box outlet (opposite RB Patel) is now. A wide variety of things were sold at the store and then they built the Majestic Theatre before expanding their company and opening up other stores and businesses some of which were in the form of shacks at the time.
"Nanhu's house was where the Amrit Arcade now sits whereas my grandfather's house was situated where RB Patel is now," Mr Jaduram said.
"My grandfather had a jetty at the back. He used to get all his goods from Suva on his boat and anchor it at the jetty and then the goods were transferred to a cart pulled by bullocks.
"That was how they serviced the other part of the community," he said.
Mr Jaduram's father, Seth Jaduram was brought to Fiji towards the end of the girmit system. He was taken to Taveuni before he moved to Labasa whereas his mother was born in Fiji.
Mr Jaduram's mother, Jagwanti Wati was the only child of Mr and Mrs Jagannath.
According to Mr Jaduram, the late Seth Jaduram and Jagwanti Wati got married somewhere between 1923-1924 and had 13 children.
Since Mr Jaduram's mother was the only child, her parents sold off most of their properties which had blossomed over the years to Indians who were coming in from India.
When Mr Jaduram's parents got married, Mr Jaduram's father who was already managing his own business, took over "Jagannath, Nanhu and Company" and renamed it "Jagannath, Nanhu & Jaduram Ltd" in 1968. He then rebuilt the old shacks into what they are now.
"We used to supply electricity to the Post Office which was in Vaturekuka. After that the buildings on the other side of town (Vaturekuka side) were moved to where the town is today."
The establishment of the Labasa Town is all thanks to the pioneers, Mr and Mrs Jagannath who saved every penny they earned while working as girmitya to service the local community.
The Jaduram family now own a lot of properties here in Labasa and elsewhere.

Monday, December 12, 2016

Anglicans have a nice cultural mix

I wanted to use the Fiji Sun photo but couldn't copy it. When I work out how to do so I'll post it http://fijisun.com.fj/2016/12/12/church-ordains-deacons-confirms-children/

Church Ordains Deacons, Confirms Children

Church Ordains Deacons, Confirms Children
The ordinands  -  Sepiuta Hala’api’api, Lila Wati Sundram, Diocese of Polynesia Archbishop, The Most Reverend Winston Halapua, Shirlees Swadesh Nagaiya, Miliakere Oli, Anthony Tuala and at the Holy Trinity Cathedrial in Suva yesterday.
December 12
11:002016
When Shirleen Swadesh Nagaiya married some 40 years ago into a Christian family, she never knew she would become a deacon one day.
But yesterday at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Suva, Mrs Nagaiya was among five others who were ordained by the Diocese of Polynesia Archbishop, The Most Reverend Winston Halapua.
The 58-year-old, originally of Nadi, said: “I’ve been working silently. I have a few positions in the church.”
She shared how excited she was on how God had planned things for her for so many years.
“I am looking forward to the work ahead of me as this is all part of serving God,” she said.
Yesterday’s programme also included the confirmation of 62 children, the blessing of the Founding Sisters of the Moana Community of St Clare and the induction of the Archdeacon of Suva/Ovalau.
The Diocese of Polynesia serves Anglicans in Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, and the Cook Islands, within the Anglican Church of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia.
The ordinands were: Anthony Tuala, Lila Wati Sundram, Miliakere Ravouvou Oli, Sepiuta Hala’api’api, Shirleen Swadesh Nagaiya, Vilive Rokovasa
Edited by Caroline Ratucadra

Sunday, December 04, 2016

Moana the movie

Ahead of the movie screening in our theatres, yesterday we watched Moana on our TV screen (downloaded) an animated Walt Disney full-length cartoon based on Polynesian life. It started wonderfully with a feisty teenager Moana (name meaning the sea) and her adventures. Lots of Samoan tattooing, cultural references and some songs in the Tokelau language which my grand-daughter sang along with as she had learnt one of the songs at a Tongan school. However I can't watch cartoons for more than an hour, especially if the action is full on, moving very fast so I didn't watch the latter part. I like some quiet spells in movies! I like the character of the grandma. The characters seem more Samoan than any other Islander. I wonder if Pacific Islanders like it - it is respectful mainly of culture and the heroic Moana is an environmentalist after all. The movie is very very good. Go to https://www.theguardian.com/…/20…/dec/04/moana-review-disney

What they thought about the movie in Fiji; from Fiji Times: Riding the waves of MOANA
Matilda Simmons
Sunday, November 27, 2016

New Zealand actor Temuera Morrison, right, voiced Chief Tui in Disney's Moana. Picture: ATU RASEA+ Enlarge this image
New Zealand actor Temuera Morrison, right, voiced Chief Tui in Disney's Moana. Picture: ATU RASEA
AN interesting fact about the Disney animated film Moana (meaning ocean) — the shape and looks of the demigod Maui, voiced by actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson (from Central Intelligence, Fast & Furious sequels and San Andreas) was based on his Samoan grandfather, a high chief.

Of course every Polynesian who watched the animated movie would have proudly identified with some of the intrinsic cultural items on show and the attention to detail of the nature visuals was a knock out.

Disney truly delivered with this Pacific postcard of a movie which had an elemental appeal and left me satisfied with its upbeat soundtracks, not to mention the inclusion of our very own Pasifika Voices Choir to the soundtracks.

Moana follows the adventure of a young Polynesian princess who discovers her ancestor's sea faring past, which had been hidden for thousands of years.

Voiced by Auli'i Cravalho, who was 14 years old when she first voiced the character (and the youngest Disney talent to do so), the character Moana found herself being drawn to the magical ocean and what lay beyond the reef of their idyllic island Motonui but is instead tied down by her traditional responsibilities of being a chief's daughter and warnings from her father, Chief Tui that "no one goes beyond the reef!".

Chief Tui is voiced by Temuera Morrison, who many would recognise from Once Were Warriors, Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones and of course, Shortland Street.

But when fishing nets started turning up empty and coconut crops started dying, Moana is convinced their ancient tale of the lost magical Heart of Te Fiti, must be true and that Maui, a Hawaiian demigod (voiced by Johnson), who had stolen it must return it to appease the gods.

Thus, begins an adventure that is spell binding and riveting for its visuals and commitment to detail.

Disney notched up the show with the inclusion of a crazy rooster called Heihei who tends to go off the rails when it sees rocks and would chip at it for god knows how long, and who can forget the wise Gramma Tala for her strange moonlight dances and fascination for shiny objects.

She was the voice of reason that seemed to bring calm to the spirited Moana.

On all accounts, the movie deviated from the Polynesian culture of mythical male heroes in that Moana was a central heroine and one chosen to lead her people. She is headstrong and keeps the wily and boastful demigod Maui in line.

But along the adventure, she learns the ancient craft of sailing from the demigod and fighting creatures in the "realm" to discover an identity that had been lost to her people.

Moana directors Ron Clements and John Musker known for their previous work on The Little Mermaid and Aladdin certainly created one of the best animated shows for 2016.

Its action packed and sure to leave one smiling to the funny one liners and the enchanting backdrop of the shimmering ocean including the natural surroundings were simply breathtaking, done of course by computer animation (except Maui's tattoos which is sure to delight kids for its antics).

Overall, I'd give the movie an 8 out of 10 rating for its heartfelt and richly crafted coming of age journey of a heroine that hearkens to an ancient Polynesian culture which makes one proud of their island heritage. The only letdown was the stereotypical body drawn for Maui.

I thought I was the only one who thought the character was grotesquely out of shape but that's my opinion. The other one was the evil "kokonuts" which Moana and the demigod had to fight.

One would have thought a more relevant villain would have made a better match. But hey, it's a family cartoon and one film-goers would definitely love.


Thursday, December 01, 2016

Apisai Tora proud of being a friend of Castro

Fiji's 'Castro'

Margaret Wise
Friday, December 02, 2016  from the Fiji 'times
DEFINED as a radical for his militant and outspoken brand of politics, it comes as no surprise that Apisai Tora affectionately refers to bearded cigar-toting Fidel Castro as a revolutionary icon of the 20th century. Mr Castro, 90, was cremated after he died last Friday.
The fiery former trade unionist and Cabinet minister has framed photographs of his meeting with the Cuban revolutionary leader hanging on the walls of his Natalau, Nadi, home.
Mr Tora, who turns 83 in five weeks, also liked to light up, and was rocking an afro when he first met the dictator on October 17, 1974.
He was in Cuba for a meeting, as the president of the "rebel" Fiji Council of Trade Unions (FCTU) which was affiliated to the Soviet Union-sponsored World Trade Union.
In his 2006 book, Islands of Turmoil: Elections and Politics in Fiji, renowned Fijian political writer Dr Brij Lal referred to Mr Tora's confrontational trade unionist style of the 1960s as "a cigar chomping, self-styled Fidel Castro of the Pacific".
Mr Tora said his achievements paled in comparison to Mr Castro.
The octogenarian, however, recalled that he was instantly impressed with Mr Castro during their first meeting because of his knowledge of Fiji.
"Oh, he knew about Fiji," Mr Tora shared.
"He said to me, 'Oh you have Mr AD Patel and Mr SM Koya, and your prime minister, he is doing a very good job with the sugar industry, with the Lome Convention'."
"At that time I was a member of Parliament for the National Federation Party. And he was very sharp when it came to the question of the sugar industry, because it was also a significant industry for Cuba.
"I was really impressed. There were about 200 officials attending the meeting in Havana and yet he knew about Fiji. AD Patel had died in 1968 and he knew about him. I was pleasantly surprised.
"I said to him, 'Your excellency, you have a very good grip of the history of my country', and he said 'it's part of my job' through an interpreter, and he winked at me."
A law graduate, Mr Castro was the leader of the Cuban Revolution which overthrew the unpopular and brutal dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in 1959.
He held on to power for almost five decades and drew admirers and detractors both in Cuba and around the world.
He was a pariah to the west for 47 years, brought the Cold War to the Western Hemisphere and survived half a century of US trade embargos and hundreds of assassination attempts before his natural death.

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Voivoi, mat-making on Koro Island

http://fijisun.com.fj/2016/11/30/weaving-helps-with-revival-efforts-on-koro/  (I cannot copy article and photo.)
One initiative after the devastation of Cyclone Winston has been taken up by the women of Koro Island with help with coils of voivoi for making pandanus mats to sell.  The hurricane depleted the island of voivoi but now they are able to start this small home industry again.
from Fiji Times

Koro's 'silent' backbones

Shalveen Chand
Monday, September 19, 2016
THE people of Koro Island are living examples of resilience as they continue to build their lives after Severe Tropical Cyclone Winston.
Seven months after the super storm ravaged through the island on February 20, the focus is on getting the small island's economy back to where it was before TC Winston.
And in doing so, a program targeting women is slowly reaping rewards.
Koro is renowned for its mats and the supply of voivoi (Pandanus caricosus) leaves. After TC Winston, the price of 100 voivoi leaves have almost doubled as Koro was the biggest supplier to the markets.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has started a project which looks at raising the Koro women economic activity.
The project is headed by a son of Koro, Alifereti Bulivou, who is the co-ordinator of the project.
While voivoi project looks specifically at allowing women back into the economy, the home garden project targets supplementing food for the islanders.
In this project, UNDP supplied tools, seeds, organic fertiliser and also trained villagers on the proper ways of planting cabbage, pumpkins, watermelons, cucumbers, beans and other vegetables.
Right now each household has an abundant supply of vegetables mainly cabbage and pumpkins. Root crops such as the wild cassava, termed koula by the Koro people, dalo, yams and dalonitana are thriving again.
This was something new for the people of Koro as they had never known to have a garden beside their homes. The usual practice was to reap what nature had given and focus mainly on traditional foods such as root crops.
Mr Bulivou explained that with the voivoi project, the mission was to get voivoi suckers and women to plant them so they could start supplying voivoi again.
He said the women of Koro would sell the voivoi to UNDP who would then give it back to the women to weave mats which would be distributed to the markets again.
"We were able to buy suckers from within Koro and distribute it to the 14 villages, when we finished the first activity we managed to plant more than 6000 suckers and then we also carried out the home gardening activity, we supplied tools, some seeds, some traditional vegetable cuttings," Mr Bulivou said.
"As you can see the watermelon are growing quite well and the villagers have confirmed that they have started harvesting some of the vegetables as well, so it was for them to have daily and if there is something extra, then they can sell that.
"Not only for them to eat on a daily basis, if you look at the ration that was provided, it was mostly tinned food items, rice and flour, so we thought that this would be good for their daily diets and we were hoping as well that since their income generating activity has been affected they could also try and start selling some of these vegetables."
After the assessment, it was realised that the voivoi on the island had survived.
"The voivoi, fortunately enough, not all were affected. Some of them are beginning to harvest and the second part of the activity is to bring in dried voivoi leaves for the women to weave mats and we will look for the markets.
"Since they are beginning to harvest the voivoi, we have come in to check how many can we get locally here so we can buy it from Koro and supplement it from neighbouring Lomaiviti islands," Mr Bulivou said.
"So they earn money from selling the dried voivoi to us and then they can weave the mats which we will take to the market and the money is given back to them. This is for the 14 villages on the island.
"We need to look at what not only men are doing. It was common knowledge that yaqona and dalo were affected and when you look at the women, it is the voivoi. We can now clearly see that when the voivoi in Koro was affected, we could see the immediate increase in prices at the Suva market.
"We are also going to distribute two chainsaws for the villages and we have run chainsaw training as well. There are a few other things that is coming in, in co-operation with ION and Habitat for Humanity. We are assisting in carpentry training as well.
"I think the two organisations are going to help build a house in each village and this is what they are going to teach them the skills."
Looking further, UNDP is looking at bringing trainers who would be able to help the women diversify their voivoi products from just mats to things such as basket, placemats, souvenirs among other things.
Furthermore, the garden project has also helped minimise debris dumping. Corrugated iron which cannot be used for the house again, is used to fence the garden.
After the cyclone, a lot of animals especially pigs have also been out looking for food and unprotected gardens make an easy meal.
The house project by UNDP looks at carpentry. While the material for building homes slowly trickles, the people of Koro would face a problem with getting their carpenters.
Mr Bulivou said their projects were designed to fill the gaps in the areas of work already being done by other organisations and the Government.
Salote Biu, head of the Soqosoqo Vakamarama for Mudu Village said women of Koro have been the silent backbones of the family unit.
"We are always able to fill the shortfalls and ensure that we can support our families. This project is good and I am looking forward to be able to make money for the family."
"Things are hard but we are surviving and I think if we persevere, we would one day get back to where we were one day."
In Nacamaki, the head of Soqosoqo Vakamarama, Aqela Dibuna said through the sale of mats and voivoi, women from her village were able to earn $300 to $400 a month.
Tevita Vunileba from Mudu said home gardens made it possible for people in his village to have meals.
He said the main worry were children and with the home gardens, the children were always fed.
"Right now, for our daily meals we have cabbage and tavioka most times but it is food and we are grateful for this project," he said.

Word pictures about place and food

Here is some nostalgia about place and food, many about Fiji. When you just pick up a golden cowrie shell, place it over an ear, you hear the tropical sea and can visualize memories of different scenes in your life.

Poems about place and food
At Nukutatava beside the shining sea
pearly oysters cling to the legs of mangroves.
We cut them off clean with old knives,
my sister-in-law, Evia and me.
They are moist, succulent for the midday meal
with lemons plucked from a nearby tree.
Near Nubunikavula village, - named moonlight,
Young men slash at the hillsides with cane-knives.
Women prepare black river mussels
with coconut cream, served in curved shells.
An old song-leader sings a hauling chant
with a rude metaphor, the men smile.
Nukualofa, the main town in Tonga
has tabu days when work is banned
but neighbours call with baked yams,
even a whole glazed piglet.
We feast then lie on pandanus mats.
Even the coat of many colours rooster rests.
In Davuilevu compound on a Sunday
the resident nurse invites me to a lunch
of creamy yams with squares of jellied seaweed.
This visitor baulks at the strong taste,
decides never again to eat that green stuff
yet years later I can eat it with delight.
Lautoka, is a city of sugar and spice.
The bride’s hands are decorated with turmeric.
and gold gleams from her throat and nose.
The couple circle the fire, the man leading
as the pandit drones in a monotone from the classics.
We wait, impatient for the spicy meal to follow.
Nukulau the transformed island
has become a prison for coup-makers,
heroes to some, devils to others.
The visiting pastor listens intently
to stories of grief and excuses.
They eat hunks of bread with warm tea
In a Geelong backyard the ground is hollowed,
smoke drifts towards the neighbours
but the Council has given approval
for the hangi, a lovo, a pit of many names.
After grey volcanic stones heat up,
wrapped dalo and pork is steamed
under gum leaves and a mound of earth:
A Fijian feast for a serious ceremony
In the flat Mallee lands of Hopetoun
abstinence was his Methodist rule
from the strict norm of his culture
but his new colleague opens up a wine bottle,
offers a new astringent taste.
Frowning he looks back over his shoulder.
Next to the former Pentridge Prison in Coburg
after worship in the heritage stone building
men cobo clap as they drink the kava
Women unwrap bland cakes and coconut pies
to accompany mugs of sweet milky tea
then lie on cream pandanus mats
like petals of flowers, to gossip.
At Queenscliff we park near old ragged pines,
waves glitter near the Rip,
the ferry a toy on the lip of the sea.
He chooses a fish to fry in the Trident shop,
then we straddle rough-cut table legs,
grateful for sun, salt and seafood.

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Padre James Bhagwan at the Micah Conference

'Love your neighbour'

Padre James Bhagwan
Wednesday, November 23, 2016
ON Monday morning, I stood on the lawn of the Federal Parliament of Australia and urged the gathering in front of me to, "Love your neighbour".
It was my last of three days in Canberra and the conclusion of the Voices for Justice national gathering, convened by Micah Australia.
Micah Australia works with churches, Christian aid organisation and individuals to gather, inspire and empower Australian Christians as advocates, sharing God's heart for justice and raising a powerful voice with and for people in poor communities around the world.
Voices for Justice is Micah Australia's annual three-day gathering in Canberra, where Christians from across Australia are inspired and equipped to be agents of change in their communities and their world.
I was invited by Micah Australia, through a member of their coalition and our church partner, Uniting World, to be the keynote speaker.
Focusing on climate change, sustainable development and Pacific partnerships, I shared my first of three messages for the weekend reflecting on the gathering's theme "How Can Australia Be A Better Neighbour," asking the message "Who is our neighbour?"
Let's start with the much broader question of neighbour. The indigenous language of Fiji, neighbour is translated as kai noqu — "Kai noqu" may be used when one Fijian is generally addressing another Fijian that they share the same blood somewhere in their lineage.
In many ways, we are as clan-oriented as those in Jesus' original audience.
Most often, we look out first for our immediate and then extended family, and then close friends, and then those who are most like us or share our values or associations.
Like the priest and Levite, we tend to overlook and avoid those who are different from us.
But Jesus calls us to love those who are different from us as if they were our own kin … our own blood.
Jesus' answer, which is also based in the Torah:
Leviticus 19:18, 33-34 "… you shall love your neighbour as yourself. I am the Lord… When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God."
The reason we should love our neighbour, the alien, and the stranger is always the same: "I am the Lord your God."
Love others because God. Not "because God said so," but because God loves them.
So how do we expand our concept of neighbour to include others into our household?
I know that to speak of refugees in Australia was to touch a raw nerve. But in the face of climate change, as we already witnessing the first climate refugees — where will our neighbours go when the land has disappeared?
Where do our neighbours go when extractive industries reduce the places we envision as paradise into wastelands?
Our neighbours in Kiribati, Tuvalu are on the verge of become climate refugees.
Our neighbours in West Papua are suffering human rights abuses and loss of their way of life as their natural environment is being exploited. People who seek refuge are being turned away.
From a point of justice — be it climate justice or development justice — let us ask the question to ourselves, if we are the good Samaritan how long are we willing to care for those we find stripped of dignity, robbed of everything they have, lying bleeding and dying?
What is the good Samaritan found another man along that road the next day? And the next?
Would he begin to look at why that area was beset with violence?
Would he try to stir the powers that be to do something about the crime and poverty in the area?
Or would he just keep fixing the wounds, keep giving money to the inn keepers and allowing the thieves to prosper?
"While the parable of the good Samaritan provides a wonderful lesson in response to a specific question ("Who is my neighbour?"), we are left wondering how to advance life-giving communities alongside our neighbours.
Often as people of faith, we are often spectacular at following the Good Samaritan model of providing relief in times of crisis.
Yet we too often fail at the long-term work that is necessary for lasting social justice.
On Monday, 180 Christian advocates from Australia and the Pacific gathered at Federal Parliament to call on our leaders to make stronger commitments to ending global poverty and take greater action on climate change.
Micah Australia has negotiated more than 105 meetings with Members of Parliament throughout the day, where they heard from a diverse group of advocates including students, professionals, families, faith leaders; and Pacific ambassadors from Fiji, Kiribati and Tonga.
Before heading inside, advocates gathered on the front lawn to hear from Pacific leaders and pray for the day's meetings.
It has been an honour to join with fellow like-hearted, like-spirited and like-minded human beings for prayer, reflection, envisioning, speaking and acting for the compassion-filled humble justice that is loving your neighbour in the context of sustainable development and climate change... thanks Micah Australia, Uniting World and our gathering host, Hughes Baptist Church, for letting me share my Voice for Justice.
Our small nation, Fiji, was the first to ratify the Paris Agreement and almost immediately, as if to underline the importance of the convention on climate change, we were faced with Severe Tropical Cyclone Winston — a symbol of the earth's groaning and crying to the rising temperatures and sea-levels.
Battered and bruised, our leaders went to sign the Paris Treaty which is now enforced — but already in peril as those who have ears but cannot hear the groaning of creation either refuse to sign or plot to withdraw from the agreement.
Now, we prepare to lead discussions in 2017 at COP23.
At the same time how the Paris Agreement translates to our communities, how the mechanisms such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals translate into our responses to the continuous exploitation of our common home is still to be discovered.
"Simplicity, Serenity, Spontaneity"
* Reverend James Bhagwan is an ordained Methodist minister and a citizen journalist. The opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Methodist Church in Fiji or this newspaper.

The Micah Conference participants together with Australian MPs on the front lawn of Parliament House. Congratulations to Pip Bergland and the Micah staff for such an outstanding event! Congratulations too to Vasiti Tebamare and Tinaai Teaua the star visitors from Kiribati who put their stories so courageously to the Australian parliamentarians! Maria Tiimon Chi-fang Namakaina and Vincent Sicari from Pacific Calling Partnership and the Edmund Rice Centre were thrilled to be involved!

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Class Six results in Fiji not so good

The Fiji Times told it simply, other media reckons it's just not good enough, but results to me show that something is wrong in the teaching and management of preparing for Class Six exams.  At that level surely you would expect 90% pass rate in most subjects.  Some schools however do extra-curricula activities and give the children great opportunities to learn about Fiji and the environment etc. such as on the Coral Coast where this picture was taken.  Perhaps there needs to be a breakdown - school by school - of results.

Year 6 results out

Aqela Susu
Wednesday, November 23, 2016
PARENTS and guardians can collect their children's Year 6 results from their various schools and district education offices today.
The results were released by the Ministry of Education yesterday.
A total of 17,024 students sat for the exams with the ministry revealing a drop in the pass rate in mathematics and Na Vosa Vakaviti. This year's Year 6 students did better in English, general subjects, hindi, Urdu and Rotuman compared with last year's students.
About 71 per cent of students failed mathematics this year and about 44 per cent failed Na Vosa Vakaviti. The pass rate for the other subjects were 54 per cent for English, 47 per cent for general subjects, 46 per cent for Hindi, 38 per cent for Urdu and 65 per cent for Rotuman.
Education Minister Dr Mahendra Reddy said the results would give all students an opportunity to know where they stood.

Sunday, November 20, 2016

Tui Labasa passes away

Marama na Tui Labasa passes away

LUISA QIOLEVU
Sunday, November 20, 2016
Update: 4:53PM THE late Tui Labasa, Adi Salanieta Tuilomaloma Qomate Ritova, will be laid to rest at the chiefly burial ground in Nasekula Village on Friday next week.
She had been bed ridden for a few months and later  passed away in her home last Tuesday.
Adi Salanieta is survived by one son, three grandchildren and  eight great grandchildren.
The preparations for the funeral will begin on Wednesday in Nasekula village - the home of the late Tui Labasa.
She was 86-years-old at the time of her passing.
http://fijisun.com.fj/2016/11/21/tui-labasa-to-be-buried-at-sautabu-on-friday/