18/12/07 - Piped water at last
VISITING a village is usually a very exhilirating something experience that most of us look forward to.
The genuine warmth typical of villagers and the easy friendships one makes usually leaves a lasting impact with visitors.
You go to any village in the country, whether it is in the interior or somewhere closer to town, and the story is the same.
The people are always friendly no matter what.
It is this friendliness that draws tourists and local urbanites like myself.
The same courtsey I expected was unfailing in the people of Solevu, in Malolo _ an island in the Mamanuca Group.
With its beautiful and crystal clear waters, long white sandy beaches and friendly people, the Mamanuca is what most people dream off.
Some tourists call it the real Fiji, the Fiji Islands of the movies and the lost paradise featured in their vacation dreams.
While some are homes to villages, there are few that are uninhabited.
The trip to Solevu last Tuesday, which was organised by the Water for Life Fiji Foundation, was an educational one as well as an early Christmas treat given such serene surroundings.
It was organised to inspect a water project funded by the Foundation, of which Vodafone, the ATH Foundation, Fiji Water, Golden Manufacturers and Westpac Bank are contributors.
The directors are Vodafone's managing director Aslam Khan, Fiji Water's David Roth, John Cashmore of Westpac and Ashif Razak of Golden Manufacturers .
They were warmly welcomed by the island's 342 grateful villagers.
Grateful because their lives had been easier by the Foundation's piped water project.
After 20 years of relying on wells and rain water, the villagers now have a reliable water source: four bore holes.
It was thus no surprise that the visitors from the mainland were treated like royalty
Turaga ni Koro Jone Kadibuka said the boreholes were the best Christmas gifts ever.
It now meant they had more time for themselves instead of carting water to and from wells and water containers.
Malolo is in the Nadroga Province.
It is the province's second island. Vatulele is the other one.
There are seven mataqali in the village who own land on which several nearby resorts are located.
Solevu is different from other villages in the Mamanuca Group.
While it hosts tourists who come to buy from the market everyday, its tradition and culture are still intact.
It has a big bure right on the village rara.
Mr Kadivuka said that it is their vale ni vanua.
"No other village here in the Mamanuca have that kind of bure," he said proudly. The villagers revere their chief -Taukei Nalotu Ratu Sevanai Vatunitu.
Though villagers remain very traditional in their ways (for instance, everyone had to wear sulu upon arrival), their homes are modern as most are made of concrete.
Solevu has one health centre and a primary school, Solevu District School.
There are no medical staff at the health centre.
Solevu District School with Class 1 to 8 is just outside the boundary of the village with a fence separating them. Most villagers are employed at nearby resorts while the women sell artifacts and other handicraft on the beach everyday, except Sunday.
FIJI TIMES, December 18, 2007
The genuine warmth typical of villagers and the easy friendships one makes usually leaves a lasting impact with visitors.
You go to any village in the country, whether it is in the interior or somewhere closer to town, and the story is the same.
The people are always friendly no matter what.
It is this friendliness that draws tourists and local urbanites like myself.
The same courtsey I expected was unfailing in the people of Solevu, in Malolo _ an island in the Mamanuca Group.
With its beautiful and crystal clear waters, long white sandy beaches and friendly people, the Mamanuca is what most people dream off.
Some tourists call it the real Fiji, the Fiji Islands of the movies and the lost paradise featured in their vacation dreams.
While some are homes to villages, there are few that are uninhabited.
The trip to Solevu last Tuesday, which was organised by the Water for Life Fiji Foundation, was an educational one as well as an early Christmas treat given such serene surroundings.
It was organised to inspect a water project funded by the Foundation, of which Vodafone, the ATH Foundation, Fiji Water, Golden Manufacturers and Westpac Bank are contributors.
The directors are Vodafone's managing director Aslam Khan, Fiji Water's David Roth, John Cashmore of Westpac and Ashif Razak of Golden Manufacturers .
They were warmly welcomed by the island's 342 grateful villagers.
Grateful because their lives had been easier by the Foundation's piped water project.
After 20 years of relying on wells and rain water, the villagers now have a reliable water source: four bore holes.
It was thus no surprise that the visitors from the mainland were treated like royalty
Turaga ni Koro Jone Kadibuka said the boreholes were the best Christmas gifts ever.
It now meant they had more time for themselves instead of carting water to and from wells and water containers.
Malolo is in the Nadroga Province.
It is the province's second island. Vatulele is the other one.
There are seven mataqali in the village who own land on which several nearby resorts are located.
Solevu is different from other villages in the Mamanuca Group.
While it hosts tourists who come to buy from the market everyday, its tradition and culture are still intact.
It has a big bure right on the village rara.
Mr Kadivuka said that it is their vale ni vanua.
"No other village here in the Mamanuca have that kind of bure," he said proudly. The villagers revere their chief -Taukei Nalotu Ratu Sevanai Vatunitu.
Though villagers remain very traditional in their ways (for instance, everyone had to wear sulu upon arrival), their homes are modern as most are made of concrete.
Solevu has one health centre and a primary school, Solevu District School.
There are no medical staff at the health centre.
Solevu District School with Class 1 to 8 is just outside the boundary of the village with a fence separating them. Most villagers are employed at nearby resorts while the women sell artifacts and other handicraft on the beach everyday, except Sunday.
FIJI TIMES, December 18, 2007
