The Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation, Rosy Akbar visited Viwa Island in Yasawa, the last and furthest island in the Western Division this week.
Over 250 members of Viwa community and the 56 students of Viwa District School, in the Yasawa Island benefited from the commissioning of a new generator, solar lamp, water filters, sanitary pads, straw mats, wheel chairs, library books that was handed over by the Ministry for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation. The Viwa District School was established in 1961 and the children from Naibalebale,Najia and Yakani attended this school.
During the handing over event, Minister Akbar said the Fijian Government will be 'Leaving No One Behind and Reaching the Furthest Behind First' in delivering it's services.
The Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation, Rosy Akbar travelled to the island with her team for the handover of the generator and other items that were given to the Ministry by the All China Women’s Federation late last year. The community does not have electricity and is amongst the most remote islands in the country.
"This shows the continued commitment of the Fijian Government towards the education, village’s development and the empowerment of women. The Minister also urged village members to take ownership of the generator set, which would now be maintained by the School Manager and the community members," Minister Akbar added.
The Minister highlighted that access to basic utilities like electricity remains the main focus for the Fijian Government in efforts to ensure that our rural communities are not left behind in terms of development opportunities.
"We are grateful to the All China Women’s Federation, who through the Embassy of China in Fiji donated this generator that we are here to handover. We also have some solar lamps, water filters, hand sanitizers, sanitary pads, straw mats, wheel chairs, library books that are part of the donation which we are happy to be able to present to the Viwa community. While we’re handing over the generator to the school and community, we especially hope to see that the women and children can benefit from this asset," Minister Akbar stated.
The Head Teacher of Viwa District School, Mr Jimione Vuetaki said, “On behalf of the Viwa Island Community, particularly our students and staff at the Viwa District School, I take this opportunity to thank the Ministry of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation for donating this very necessary equipment. This generator will allow for full continuity of operations (photocopying, studying) during power outages, especially in times of disasters. This generator will also be used as back-up during a natural disaster and will most definitely assist the school, community members and women's group in their income generation projects. The main revenue source for the villagers are from sales of root crops, handicraft products, fish and other sea food products at the Lautoka Market for which they pay $350 (return) for the boat fare".
The Manager of the Viwa District School, Mr Iliesa Sukaloa thanked Minister Akbar and her team for visiting and the kind donation received by the school.
“Every child in the Viwa community deserves to have an equal opportunity to access education. Increasing access to education will increase inequity in societies and economies for future generations. I also want to thank the Government of the Day for the reconstruction of the classroom, dormitories, and teacher’s quarters that was destroyed during Tropical Cyclone Winston," he said.