Villagers in Denimanu on Yadua Island yesterday commended government for the construction of 19 new homes that were destroyed during Hurricane Evan in 2012.
Launched by the Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama, the Yadua Rehabilitation and Relocation Project is part of the 676 communities identified by government that is threatened by the loss of coastal land and infrastructure due to erosion or flooding and the threat of storm surges.
Turaga ni Koro – Meli Rokobili said that the village of Denimanu was grateful to government for the assistance.
“For the more than 100 villagers here in Denimanu, today is quite an emotional day for us as our pleas of assistance in the past few years have now become reality and we are happy that we did not have to pay anything for this project,” Mr Rokobili said.
“Today’s launch indicates that this government cares for us and is committed to improving the ordinary lives of Fijians living in the rural areas also.”
The Turaga ni Koro added that previously, villagers in Denimanu were subject to leaking roofs every time it rained as some of them lived in simple and traditional bures which did not survive natural disasters.
Similar sentiments were shared by Miliakere Bete.
“It is a happy day for us to be able to share and be part of government’s development plan in rural areas,” Ms Bete said.
“We are pleased that we now have good homes and will not have to worry about our lives and the lives of our families during a cyclone.”
Various requests by the villagers of Denimanu such as the installation of solar systems, water tanks and the construction of teachers’ quarters were also approved by the head of government.
Denimanu village will also be the first village in Fiji to be installed with 40 solar systems that will include inverters in the installation package.
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