JOSAIA RALAGO
Young kava farmers in Lomaloma, Macuata will now be able to save thousands of dollars following a financial literacy training earlier this month.
The week-long training facilitated by the Ministry of Youth and Sports encouraged better financial management to the 40 attendees.
“Most of these youths have been farming ever since they were in high school, some of them are pursuing higher education while most have chosen to return to the village,” the Lomaloma Youth Club
President Raguele Rawanisese said.
“This is one of the reasons why we had decided to strengthen our club again, so we can bring this type of initiatives for the many youths who are now in the village.”
Mr Rawanisese said there were abundant resources that they could use as a source of income, and they have been doing so for an year.
“The only issue has been the utilization of money when they get it. There is no plan for the future, there is no goal set, and time management was also an issue, all of which were addressed in this workshop.”
Gabiriele Raiole, 19, is one of youths, who was in Year 13 last year and was pursuing further education when he decided to quit.
“I have come to realise that my passion lies in toiling the land and I have had my own yaqona plantation ever since I was 15. When I uproot five yaqona plants, I can get close to $4000, all of which I can say was not used properly over the years,” he said.
“This training has taught most of us to plan ahead, to have goals and to save money. We are grateful to the Ministry for availing this training for us.”