The Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation, Rosy Akbar visited the construction site of the Fiji Barefoot Vocational Training College (FBVTC) at Wainikoro Village in the District of Nadogo in Macuata today.
This was a great investment made by the Fijian Government to the Ministry of Women to improve and support the economic empowerment of our women in our rural communities.
Minister Akbar said the Fiji Barefoot College which is a solar electrification training centre has been jointly supported by the Government of India and the Government of Fiji and it will be the first of its kind in the Pacific. “The Barefoot College will train rural women in solar engineering to solar electrify rural communities".
Minister Akbar highlighted that the goal of Fiji Barefoot Vocational Technical College initiative is to empower rural women in Fiji to be solar engineers, build local capacity and electrify poor, “off-the-grid” communities with clean, low-cost solar energy.
"The College will aspire to empower rural women from Fiji and the Pacific in solar engineering. The College focuses on solar engineering training for mothers and grandmothers because women, especially older women normally stay in their community. This means that the target communities will receive all of the benefits that solar electrification can bring, including improved education for children, improved respiratory health for the entire family and saving on lighting and energy expenses. Families spend roughly a quarter of their household budget on energy including lighting expenses such as kerosene and candles. Without this financial burden, by replacing kerosene with a more affordable solar system, the family can begin to save and invest. These are the first steps away from poverty and towards sustainable development".
Minister Akbar mentioned that this College would also champion the fight against climate change which Fiji is facing as a small island country and will bring communities much closer to energy independence and sustainability. “Let us be resilient, lift up our voices and be an example to the global community by advocating for the use of Clean and Sustainable Technology to mitigate the effects of climate change and improve quality of life within our rural communities in Fiji".
Minister Akbar also thanked the Construction Contractor for the work that has been carried out so far. "Due to the impact of the COVID pandemic, construction was delayed from 2020. However, work has progressively resumed".
The Construction is expected to be completed by October 2022.