Monthly Newsletter of
ISSUE
Foundation for Rural Integrated Enterprises & Development
07
Alleviating Poverty through Social & Economic Empowerment
July 2011
Takitaki
I consider
Mentor Visit By Nileshni Sekar I consider myself very fortunate to have been mentored by a powerful activist, Nani Zulminani. Nani is the National Coordinator of an Indonesian NGO known as PEKKA. PEKKA works with around 550 women headed households in 15 provinces of Indonesia and the programs of PEKKA are quite similar to that of FRIEND. Nani understood the struggles and challenges I face in our context and was very helpful in developing my skills towards becoming a regional a trainer. Nani was appointed my mentor at the NeXT- Regional Facilitators Course (RFC) organised by Asia South Pacific Basic & Adult Education (ASPBAE) in Bogor, Indonesia last year. The RFC provided a learning opportunity to understand perspective of the region’s socio-economic-political & cultural context for Adult Education. The second phase of training organised in Solo, Indonesia enabled mentors from the region to work on minor details of adult education. Nani came to Fiji to see me organise a Training of Trainers workshop at FRIEND this July. This was her first trip to Fiji with the promise to visit FRIEND soon. I look forward to my experience in regional training under her guidance.
Mentee & Mentor—Mala & Nani
Changing Landscape of community health A village lying at the foot hills of Lautoka expressed relief that the children of the community are getting rid of their skin diseases. Radini Turaga Ni Koro Veniana Qati says PRISM Health Initiative and FRIEND’s Governance program have helped changed the landscape of health in the community. Qati says the villagers have started back yard gardens and regular exercise after undergoing governance training program. Health & Hygiene module has helped mothers relook at their homes and care of their children. While the focus of PRISM Health Initiative is management of chronic diseases it also provides free treatment to the children during their community visits. Dr Animesh Sinha assessed around 60 children from the village during their visit a month ago. Other than providing treatment, children and their parents were advised on care and management of these diseases. Qati says after this intervention there has been marked difference in the way children look! She is hopeful that continued monitoring by PRISM Health will ensure
a healthier community. Over a quarter of school-aged children and 12 percent of those aged under one year (infants) in Fiji have skin sores at any given time according to an informing Australian and Fijian research paper recently published in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. The study also found an alarmingly high rate of scabies in 18 percent of school children and 14 percent of infants highlighting the lack of accurate assessments of these diseases, particularly in tropical developing countries. “Skin sores and scabies are often thought of as nuisance diseases, but have the potential to cause severe disease and even death if infection becomes complicated,” says Dr Andrew Steer of the University of Melbourne, who conducted the study.“They are the diseases of those living in poverty. Poor hygiene and living conditions foster these diseases,” he said. FRIEND Social & Economic Empowerment Training program has a specific module to address the issue in the communities. Vive Liutaki
Vani’s Poultry Project Expands
Empty plot a few month ago
Vive & Anokh check out Vani’s Chicks
Little piggy looks over the vege plot
57 year old Vani Leca has expanded her income generation efforts since she started a small poultry project in May. Vani uses the poultry manure for her organic gardens around her coupe. She says after cleaning the coupe she lets the manure ‘cool’ for seven days before using this in her flourishing gardens of a range of vegetables. She says she feels very enthusiastic seeing her chicks grow and her thriving gardens and has decided to add yet another new project to her growing enterprises. She has bought two small piglets and has built a small pig pen for them in the same area. She says she cant believe that for years this plot of land around her was lying idle. She says FRIEND governance team inspired her to take the first step. Vani She cleared her backyard and built a bure for her chicken in May (story in May Takitaki). New Product—Rag Dolls of Fiji 100 little chicks were given to her by Pacific Feed after they saw her enthusiasm. To every ones surprise all 100 chicks have survived. The healthy chickens are ready to lays The little dolls brought much excitement with eggs now. Vani says her enterprises have encouraged her neighbours and they are seeking them as they arrived on the premises of FRIEND her guidance in doing similar projects. this month. “The dolls have really taken their Vani completed the Governance Training program with 15 others in a village in Lautoka and time reaching the office”, exclaimed Sashi as she says the life skills she has learnt during the course has helped her turn around her life. hugged each one in turn. “I have always wanted Vive Liutaki someone to work on local dolls.”
Friday Sagamoli Campaign It is indeed amazing how much a community who works together can do. Following an action plan by the governance participants the group is well on its way to construct a proper incinerator for the community of around fourteen households living on the banks of a river. This 61 year old community is comprised of members of one household of nine siblings and their decendents. The participants say they have never had any form of organized rubbish disposal and with growing number of family numbers , over the years more and more rubbish was getting dumped in the river. FRIEND training inspired the family
members to think of proper rubbish disposal. So far the community has dug two rubbish pits, organized recycle bags and through a Sagamioli Friday campaign, collected a total of $156 dollars over 3 Fridays for an incinerator project. I was pleasantly surprised as I reached the settlement in late July to see the excitement on the faces of the participants as they proudly showed me the bags of cement and bricks they had purchased for the incinerator project.`
Vive Liutaki
The dolls are trialed by a former garment factory machinist who lives in Lautoka . “I am hopeful that the local dolls will be loved by all, especially tourist kids who visit Fiji and want to take a memory of Fiji home with them.” The Rag Dolls of Fiji range can be found at Friend’s Fiji Style® Shop at Pratt Street i Suva.
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Dual Celebration It was with real delight that I read an email from FRIEND inviting me to participate in a ‘Training of Trainers’ (TOT) governance workshop, to be held at Tuvu at the end of July. I determined to be there, even though I could only attend two of the three days identified for the workshop. Thanks to the facilitation of Sashi, Vive, Mala, Sandhya, Jone and Arti, and the participation of Indonesian guest Ibu Nani, the training rollicked along with not a boring moment. We learned about how to introduce ourselves to each other, revealed our hopes, fears, community roles and values, and how we could bring about change. We learned how to analyse our five identified issues (decision-making, infrastructure “At my age needs, women’s esteem and literacy, 16 Community representatives (early 60s) and youth esteem and literacy, and povwent through a 3 day Training having been for- erty) and attempted to work out soluof Trainers workshop at tunate enough to tions. Preparing an action plan to FRIEND so they could facilitate benefit from address either perceived or real hurthe SEET manual in their comsound education dles was an excellent exercise; the munities. Interested NGO and and means of ‘Chinese Whispers’ game was even Government representatives travel, one would more instructive – many thanks to think that I ‘knew Sai and Pita, the end receivers: long also got invited to the workwill that game be remembered by us everything’ there is to know. shop. It is hoped that those all! Communicating effectively, and trained will continue the procBut I realise I didn’t: working as a without creating hostility, was aness of empowerment in their volunteer in Fiji, I didn’t know other good lesson. The last of my communities. A TOT Partici‘how’ to outreach to communities; two-day presence was the revelation pant Patricia Kailoa shares her ‘how’ to break-the-ice, and to about protocols and customs: how thoughts on the workshop. keep a community’s interest in not being aware of them can create barriers even before ‘we’ start. achieving an outcome. This newly qualified ‘Change Agent’ much regretted having to miss the last day. Even so, I returned to my Suva commitments with Recipe Corner— Stea med Bana na/Co con ut Cake mind refreshed and abuzz, and much more aware of the task I Method: Ingredients: Place all the ingredients in a am setting myself in ‘my’ com1 ripe banana, mashed small mixing bowl. munity – perhaps not so impos1 egg (can be substituted with 50ml of milk 1/2 cup Friend’s Fiji Style® Dessicated Coconut Mix the ingredients with a fork sible, after all. until well blended. I extend my sincere gratitude to 1 teaspoon oil Bring a pot of water to a boil. 2 teaspoons water the director and instructors, the Steam the cake on a rack for 15 2 teaspoons baking powder cooks and the helpers at Tuvu. to 18 minutes until a tester in1/4 cup icing sugar What a wonderful group of 100g (2/3 cup to close to 1 cup) all-purpose flour serted into the center of the cake people! I wish you every succomes out clean. Remove from the steamer and let cess in your programs, aimed the cake cool for a few minutes. at helping Fiji’s people to betUse a knife to loosen the sides of ter stand on their skills. the cake and pop the cake out of FRIEND is a real friend!
A Training of Trainers
the bowl.
Vinaka Vakalevu, Dhanyavad, A warm and fragrant cake ready and Thank you in less than 25 minutes.
Patricia
FRIEND celebrated a double anniversary this month as 29th July marks two important milestones in the FRIEND Calendar. The first event was the official opening of FRIEND Labasa office in 2009, followed by the shifting of FRIEND Headquarters to its own premises in Tuvu a year later. The past two years has seen FRIEND’s Labasa branch growing in its community outreach. Farmers have been benefitting by selling their produce in bulk to FRIEND for marketing. Governance has organized a number of programs including Clean-up campaigns, blood drive, youth development programs and tree planting as well as have helped set up a number of composts around the communities. To mark the second anniversary, of the official opening in the North the staff of FRIEND hosted a morning tea at the office for friends of FRIEND in the North. The staff have also been busy trialing with fruit drying and have set up a greenhouse for fruit tree planting. While the communities get fruit trees from greenhouse in exchange of other plants the staff have been selling some to organizations like the Ministry of Health. The aim is to encourage as much planting of fruit trees for food security and healthy communities. Cont’d
Cont’d ...Dual Anniversary
Staff Birthdays Sheetal
Meanwhile in Lautoka, the date marked the shifting of our office from rented premises in Valetia street to our own new home in Tuvu. The staff remembered all the meticulous packing for the shifting of two premises into one! And it seemed nothing short of a miracle when the boxes were unpacked and the new office set up in Tuvu about a year ago. To mark the occasion FRIEND Staff in Tuvu packed up their picnic baskets and got together at the Nacilau Beach for a day of rest and relaxation. The team brought their family members and all took part in various events organized including volleyball and fishing. Children competed in building sand castles and collecting star fish. Lunch was sponsored by the director in recognition of the hard work of those who had pitched in wholeheartedly during the move.
Upcoming Events
Opening of Solar Project
Vive
Anokh
Training... FRIEND Governance team is organizing Healthy Garden Competition in all the communities it has been working over the last year. The competition will run from August 19th- 3rd October. The event is planned to mark World Food Day that falls on October 16th.
FRIEND will be celebrating its 9th Birthday with the opening of Solar project on 29th August, 2011 at Tuvu, Lautoka from 2.00pm.
Sandhya, Jone & Mereani Three senior staff of FRIEND had an opDESI Conference/ AGM FRIEND is organizing its annual portunity to participate in a workshop on DESI conference on 30th Sep- Research Methodologies at the beginning tember at Tuvu, Lautoka. Regis- of July. tration is open. The day will be The training was headed by the Head of Research Division at Pacific Theological preceded with field visits to FRIEND communities on 29th College, Dr Manfred Ernst. The one week workshop hosted at PTC September. looked into employing Qualitative ReStakeholders interested in search as a means of understanding what joining the team for the field Health Walk people are thinking on various issues visit are requested to make walk will Six communities in Lautoka advance booking with Sandhya . around them and the reasons behind their from the foothills of their villages to thoughts. Send an email to Kings Road at 5am on 3rd September. FRIEND sees this as a valuable component publications@friendfiji.com The event has been organized by the in its effort for better service delivery to the Governance Team to promote the imporunderserved. tance of exercise in the communities. FRIEND is core funded by AUSAID and NZ AID Questions or comments? E-mail us at friend@connect.com.fj