HON. PM BAINIMARAMA'S OPENING REMARKS AT THE BIAUSEVU WOMEN'S RESOURCE CENTRE

06/02/2020


Na Vanua O Vusu, Turaga Na Tui Vusu;
Turaga na iTalatala;
Government Officials;
Ladies and Gentlemen.
 
Bula vinaka, and a very good afternoon to you all.
 
I’m happy to be here with you in Korolevu after returning from Koro Island.
As a former Navy Man, I always feel most at home at sea. But still, it is wonderful to be with all of you here on dry land.
 
Earlier this morning, I was up the coast in Nabau, where I opened new teacher’s quarters at the Ratu Ilaisa Memorial School. This came at the heels of a very busy two weeks of new openings and commissionings, stretching across four different islands. From Kia to Koro to multiple communities in both Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, we have ushered in the new year with new buildings and infrastructure projects to the tune of around 20 Million Dollars, uplifting the lives of thousands of Fijians from all throughout the country.
 
And that brings me here to Biausevu Village, where today, we mark the grand opening of the brand-new Biausevu Women’s Resource Centre.
 
 
The building we’re commissioning today is a direct investment of nearly 150 Thousand Dollars in your community –– and I’m confident that its wider economic benefits will prove every dollar was well-spent.
 
When members of your community told me about the need for this project –– and when I pledged to personally see to its construction through my Office’s Small Grants Scheme –– I knew that this would be much more than just another building. For the women of Biausevu, it would be an anchor of your community –– a centre of opportunity, entrepreneurship, and independence.
 
And standing here today, seeing the joy in your faces, I can see that the Biausevu Women’s Resource Centre is already proving to be more than a building indeed. By channelling today’s excitement into those walls, that building will transform into a hive of economic activity and constructive dialogue.

It will be a safe place for women in the community to congregate, sell their wares, and unlock their economic potential. And it will be a well-deserved home for the hardworking women and girls in Biausevu for years to come.
 
Gone are the days when women in this community are relegated to the community hall to meet or sell their handicrafts and souvenirs to the many tourists who frequent the community to see the pristine beauty of the Biausevu Waterfall. Now, with this permanent home, women will be able to have the confidence and peace-of-mind of a long-term facility that is wholly dedicated to them –– a place to finally call their own.
 
Because my friends, women and girls do not belong on the sidelines; they deserve to be front and centre when it comes to how resources are allocated, how communities are run, and how decisions are made.
 
But to truly achieve social progress, and to pave a path of equality, we need more than just new buildings –– we must all be advocates for empowerment. It starts with a simple recognition: Women are pillars of more than just our families; they are pillars of our communities, of society, of our economy, and of all of Fiji.
 
My daughters and grand-daughters, along with every other girl and woman in this country, deserve to know that their dreams are taken seriously and that they stand on equal footing with each of their fellow Fijians. That’s the Fiji I’m working to build every day. And I call on the men and boys of this community to join me in creating a Fiji where women and girls are safe, respected, and empowered to access greater opportunities.
 
I look forward to returning to Biausevu in the near future to see what you’ve made of this Women’s Resource Centre, and to seeing your community progress alongside the rest of Fiji.

Vinaka vakalevu. Thank you, and God bless.