The community support for government’s program on eliminating violence against women and children continues to grow.
With sixty communities already established partnership with Ministry of Social Welfare and Fiji Police, sixteen new communities have queued up to join the Zero Tolerance Violence Free Community Campaign.
The Kalekana settlement in Lami, Suva has become the latest beneficiary of the campaign and yesterday the village leaders were presented with a certificate of commitment by the Minister for Social Welfare, Women and Poverty Alleviation Dr Jiko Luveni.
While addressing the community in Kalekana, Minister Luveni commended the efforts of the male leaders for their own personal commitment to stop violence against women and children. The community will undergo 8 to 10 months of training ranging from positive parenting, Domestic Violence Decree, Gender Based Violence, anger and stress management and family empowerment.
“It is encouraging to see that the campaign is led by the village headman and supported by the women and youth leaders. The aim is to empower communities through awareness programs for them to take action to stop violence.
“Women are key agents of change in their communities and initiatives of this nature will ensure that they become confident to stand and speak out for their wellbeing. It gives the opportunity for communities to work together with the government in driving national development through creating communities that are free from violence and crime,” Dr Luveni said.
Speaking on behalf of the women in Kalekana, their group leader Mrs Venina Rarebe said that issues of violence exists; however, it was not discussed openly in Kalekana.
“Kalekana has a population of 500 with more than 200 women who are mostly domestic workers. There has been few cases of child neglect, domestic violence and teenage pregnancies here. We don’t want these cases to be repeated and we are grateful to Ministry of Women and Fiji Police had stepped in to assist us to address these issues.
“We are motivated to see that for the first time in history of this settlement, a minister for women has set foot on our land to listen to the plight of women. Her message on positive parenting and gender equality, has challenged the men to become better husbands and fathers. It has inspired the women to never look down on themselves because as women they also have rights to decision making in their homes and communities. We look forward for the training and awareness programs to transform the lives of those who may be suffering in silence,” Mrs Rarebe added.
Mr Sikeli Tuicaucau, village headman for Kalekana said that discussions with Dr Luveni has been fruitful as the Kalekana women have secured government funding to start their bakery and tailoring project.
“We thank the Bainimarama government for reaching out to us; this is first time for us to meet any minister and have an open dialogue. The campaign we have started today is the foundation to build a brighter future for the youths and children in Kalekana.
“The opening of a bakery and sewing centre will provide new sources of income for the Kalekana women. This single visit by Dr Luveni has opened up new opportunities for economic prosperity in Kalekana,” Mr Tuicaucau said.
-END-