Residents of Luvuluvu Settlement in Bua no longer have to worry about transporting the sick elderly members of their community on a bullock cart to seek medical assistance after the commissioning of their new community access road.
The Luvuluvu Community Access Road was funded under the Ministry of Rural and Maritime Development and Disaster Management’s Community Access Road, Footpaths, and Footbridges (CARFF) Programme at a cost close to $50,000.
The project is intended to provide easy access to and from the community and make accessibility easier to Government services, markets, and schools.
District Advisory Councillor for the Luvuluvu community, Ms Sashi Kiran, said the community was, in the past, exposed to a lot of challenges as a result of poor road conditions.
“Our students used to face a lot of difficulties in going to school during the rainy weather. Their uniforms would get muddy on the way, but now, everything is much better. Before, we used to use the ‘qasita’ (bullock carts) to take our sick elderly members to the main road to access a vehicle to transport them to the hospital, but today, we are so happy we have an improved road. We thank Government a lot for helping us,” Ms Kiran said.
Minister for Rural and Maritime Development and Disaster Management, Inia Seruiratu, said the improvement to the Luvuluvu community access road would boost rice production for rice farmers who reside in the Luvuluvu area.
Minister Seruiratu commissioned the project on Saturday, along with the Natewa Settlement Community Access Road project at Vuya in Bua.
Natewa Settlement Women’s Group leader, Ms Mere Sagale, said the provision of the new community access road has made accessibility to school easier for their children.
“The track before used to be really muddy, but now, we can see the excitement on the faces of our children. They are happy to go to school because they know the condition of the road is much better now,” Ms Sagale said.
The Natewa Community Access Road links three communities.
Speaking during the commissioning of the two community access roads, Minister Seruiratu said accessibility is critical for every Fijian.
“These projects are important for access to markets and Government services, and to enable Government ministries to reach out to the communities as well. Not only that, but the economic empowerment and the livelihoods – these are everything that contribute towards the progress and development of the community when we have good access. Government is again committed to ensuring that no rural Fijian is left behind and we are continuing with this work in the hope that rural Fijians in Bua will contribute more again towards development,” Minister Seruiratu said.