the jet volume 7 number 5

APRIL/MAY 2015. ISSUE 64 www.thejetnewspaper.com 50 CENTS

Celebration of SuccessBy ANUSHIL KUMAR

The University of Fiji held its 10th graduation ceremony on Fri-day, April 10, and a total of 250 graduates celebrated their hard earned success.

Chief guest and University chan-cellor His Excellency Ratu Epeli Nailatikau said he and the First Lady, Adi Koila Mara Nailatikau were honoured to be at the 2015 Graduation Ceremony that also marks the 10th Anniversary of the operations of the University of Fiji.

He said Fijis national vision is to be a knowledge-based society and the Fijian government continues to place increased emphasis on the education sector.

Here at the University of Fiji, I note with appreciation the Univer-sitys positive contribution towards this important national goal, said Honourable Nailatikau.

I am constantly advised of the unwavering focus of the Council and the founder to improve the quality of education and to also increase the Universitys capacity to cater for more relevant fields of studies.

This includes the construc-tion of facilities for the Centre for Itaukei Studies (CIS). The Council continues the fundraising drive for this project and to add to the signif-

icant contribution of $131,950 from the Foundation Trust of Genting Highland in Malaysia. I wish to again express our sincere gratitude to the Foundation.

He urged the graduands to be good ambassadors of the Univer-sity of Fiji and advised the parents to continue to invest in the edu-cation of their children as he said there will be great returns from the investment.

I wish all the graduands every success as you commence or re-commence your journey into the world of employment and self-employment. May you continue to achieve your dreams.

Acting Vice-Chancellor Pro-

fessor Narendra Reddy said the universitys vision is simple qual-ity education at affordable prices, however, the commitment is not simple.

The mission of the university management and its partners is a deep commitment to deliver the vision, said Professor Reddy.

We are sure that with contin-ued government support, support from the founders of the Arya Pratinidi Sabha of Fiji and other donor partners the university will continue to grow and rise to new heights.

Professor Reddy congratulated all the graduands for successfully completing their respective pro-

grammes of study. This has been a long and a de-

manding journey. The journey of assignments and grades may be over but you are about to start on another important journey, and a longer journey.

It is the journey of application of what you have acquired during your study into your day to day liv-ing and more importantly at the work environment.

It is sincerely hoped that your contribution to society will also help others to make a similar jour-ney as some of you did from pov-erty to prosperity.

Also present at the graduation ceremony was the Assistant Minis-

The University of Fijis Bachelor of Information Technology graduates with staff members during the graduation ceremony at Saweni, Lautoka. INSET: Double gold-medalist Shivneil Raj. Photos: ANUSHIL KUMAR.

ter for Agriculture, Natural Disaster Management and Rural and Mari-time Development Joeli Cawaki.

Shivneil Raj was the hero-of-the-day scooping two gold medals and graduated with the Bachelor of Commerce degree in Account-ing and Economics.

FIJIS FIRST COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER

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THE JET - FIJIS FIRST COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER2

FROM THE DESK

ON THE BRIGHT SIDE

Fiji - the way the world should be Being the hub of the Pacific, Fiji has everything that a spectacular tropical paradise has to offer - from private island resort accommodations, top class restaurants to white sandy beaches, inbound tours, jet boat rides, hot air balloon rides, mountain trekking, inland tours, eco tourism, sky diving, helicopter rides, cruise trips, scuba diving, massage and beauty parlours, vibrant night life and a

lot more than any other destination in the world offers

q ANUSHIL KUMAR

THE JET is Fijis first community newspaper published bi-monthly by YOURSPACE LIMITED from Nadi - the tourism capital of Fiji.

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New Resources to Boost Education

The biggest Second-ary School athletics competition is currently the hot-topic in most schools around the country.

While Marist Brothers High School will be in force to repeat their top-class performance from last year, rivals like Suva Grammar, QVS, Natabua High and Xavier College will surely put pressure to claim the boys title.

And the Westerners, Jasper Williams High School, are preparing to defend their hard-earned girls title from last year.

Coca-Cola Games Hype-up

Popular names like ACS and St Joseph will also give a tough chal-lenge for the girls de-fending champions.

To ensure a safe and smooth two-day compe-tition, the police officers will be on duty as in-formed by Chief Opera-tions Officer Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Rusiate Tudravu.

The 2015 Coca-Cola Games will be held at the ANZ Stadium from April 24-25.

Open Education Re-sources (OER) can be an asset in refining the qual-ity and effectiveness of the local education con-text.

Minister for Education, Heritage and Arts Hon. Dr Mahendra Reddy high-lighted this during the official opening of the stakeholders meeting on National Policy on Open Educational Resources (OER) held in Suva on Wednesday, March 25.

He said this improve-ment could be done in-creasing access to high quality and relevant learning materials.

While speaking at the event, Dr. Reddy said the

government is commit-ted towards education in Fiji.

Minister Reddy said the government has provided substantial financial as-sistance towards the de-velopment of education in Fiji.

The government is also committed towards ensuring that public in-vestments in all sectors of education contribute to socio-economic develop-ment in a useful and cost effective way and play an important role in setting policies to provide direc-tion in the use of OER, Minister Reddy said.

For our beloved Fiji, the government is provid-ing funds to support the operation of schools and some higher education institutions including the

three universities.Dr. Reddy added these

new OER is bound to aid in the development of an open culture of infor-mation sharing research amongst schools, teach-ers, principals and higher education institutions.

With our existing ICT infrastructure, the use of OER will support govern-ments key strategic poli-cy of developing a knowl-edge based society.

The journey towards OER usage has its own challenges.

We need to remove restrictions in copying of materials by the use of open licences.

Director for the United Nations Educational Sci-entific and Cultural Or-ganisation for the Pacific States, Dr Etienne Clem-

World Water Day Celebra-tion was at another level in Nadi as schools, marching bands and huge crowd of supporters turn up marching through the streets of Nadi on Friday, March 22.

Children also dressed up waving their banners dur-ing the march and later on were given prizes for their art work.

Chief Guest of the day Water Authority of Fijis CEO Opetaia Ravai, while speak-ing to the crowd at Koroivo-lu Park said, over the years the issue of water crisis have ascended its rank and today it is ranked as the number one global risk.

He said water holds the key to sustainable develop-ment and it is needed for health, food security and economic progress.

We are all encouraged to

use water wisely, by turning off taps and repairing do-mestic links, Ravai said.

Ravai added we are all stakeholders of the practice of water conservation as de-mand is outstripping supply.

Research shows that about 2.5 billion people lack access water and thousands of children died everyday form lack of water supply and poor sanitation, he said.

With this years theme as

Nadi Celebrates World Water Day

Students of Namaka Public School during the World Water Day celebration in Nadi. Photo: MARGARET NAQIRI.

ent said technology is playing a key role in to-days society.

We are witnessing an internet revolution that is affecting every society, every country across the world, Dr Clement said.

This revolution is changing how we ex-change and communi-cate.

It is changing how we learn and create.

Education is the way to connect the dots between the social, economic and envi-ronmental dimensions of sustainable develop-ment. Sustainability re-quires change in how we consume.

Water and Sustainable De-velopment, Ravai said water conservation is a key factor as it is a common and vital role.

On March 22 every year, the Pacific Island countries acknowledges and cel-ebrates the importance of their fresh water resources

By ANUSHIL KUMAR

to sustainable development which is marked as World Water Day.

By IVA DANFORD-NAISARA


THE JET - FIJIS FIRST COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER 3

LOCAL NEWS

The youth of Voivoi set-tlement on the outskirts of Nadi town have been urged to always maintain a posi-tive mental attitude to en-sure success.

In an informal discussion with the youth of Voivoi on Monday, April 1, the Minister for Youth and Sports Hon. Laisenia Tuitubou told them maintaining a positive men-tal attitude would greatly benefit them as a youth group.

Your youth club is a small one but do not let that deter you in your efforts as a youth group because if you have that positive mental thinking, the advantages of positive mental attitude will surely be evident in your progress as a club, Minister Tuitubou said.

You can greatly assist your community here in Voivoi by always thinking positively and your efforts will surely be successful if you practice a positive men-tal attitude and I request you to adopt this way of think-ing.

Minister Tuitubou also mentioned youth clubs had started from humble begin-nings and had worked tire-lessly to become successful through innovative ideas and positive thinking.

We have met with nu-merous successful youth clubs around the country particularly the neighbour-ing Legalega youth club who started off very small but have grown to generate income through a number of their projects because they are creative and have never seen themselves as a small youth club but instead remained positive through-out, Hon. Tuitubou said.

Never belittle yourselves and never be constrained by the challenges you face as a youth club.

He also informed them of the ministrys commitment to the development of young people in the country and that there were programs available with the ministry to assist in the growth of youth clubs.

The Ministry has numer-ous programs available to help you and we are here to support you but unless you have that positive atti-tude your youth club will not progress further so I urge you to foster this into your youth club.

Voivoi Youth Club presi-dent Brij Dutt thanked the minister and his delegation for the visit and holding dis-cussions with their youth group.

We are very thankful at this juncture of our youth group to have this opportu-nity to meet and talk with the Honourable Minister Tuitubou as we rarely ever have the opportunity to view our opinions to government ministers and we are very thankful to him for these fruitful discussions, Mr Dutt said.

We look forward to working closely with the ministry and we will surely heed the words of advice given by the minister, he added.

Youths of Voivoi request-ed the ministry to hold empowerment training for young mothers of the com-munity and also brought up issues faced such as educa-tional constraints on mem-bers of the community and infrastructural problems.

Positive Mental Attitude the Way Forward: Minister Tuitubou

q DEPTFO

Hon. Minister for Youth and Sports Laisenia Tuitubou ad-dressing youths of Voivoi community during their informal discussions on Monday, April 2. Photo: DEPTFO.

The Nadi Town Council Pre-School celebrated Eas-ter with style, joy, entertain-ment and food at the Nadi Civic Centre on Wednesday, April 1.

The celebration was a great way to get the students to understand the impor-tance of having celebrations like this in school.

Pastor Taniela Sauturu who spoke to the children about Easter said it is the celebration of overcoming evil through righteousness and darkness to light.

We should all know the meaning of Easter and it is when Christians commem-orate the death of Jesus Christ, said Pastor Sauturu.

He said the true meaning of Easter can save a child spiritually but depends on how they are brought up.

My message this Easter is that children need not be neglected, abused and treat-ed unfairly.

These were the words of the Chief Guest Mohenesh Singh who was a represen-tative of the Ministry of Edu-cations Department of Na-tional Substance Abuse.

In Fiji, Easter is a cele-brated national holiday with Good Friday, Easter Sun-day and Easter Monday all marked as Public Holiday.

Pre-School Celebrate Easter in Style


Pe-schoolers and their teacher performing an item during the Easter celebration at the Nadi Civic Centre. Photo: IVA DANFORD-NAISARA.



LOCAL NEWS

Craft Shows to Endorse Rural Women

Support the Alliance for Healthy Living

Community leaders, faith-based organisations, busi-ness community, schools, families and individuals are urged to join hands to fight the non-communicable dis-eases epidemic which is costing our nation not just money but lives.

The plea comes from the newly formed Alliance for Healthy Living, which was launched on March 24 at Southern Cross Hotel in Suva, as part of the 2015 World Consumer Rights Day celebrations.

Alliance for Healthy Liv-ing is the brainchild of the three stakeholders, Diabetes Fiji, National Food and Nu-trition Centre and the Con-sumer Council of Fiji.

NCDs can be contained if people change their life-style by eating and living healthy, however, this level of transformation can only be achieved through multi-ple interventions from every layer of our society.

Launching the Alliance for Healthy Living, Techni-cal Officer from the World Health Organisation, Dr Wendy Snowdon, stated that tackling NCDs required a multisectoral approach as

the Ministry of Health alone could not address the prob-lem.

Dr Snowdon, from the WHO, Division of Pacific Technical Support, stressed that it was critical to engage the civil society organiza-tions, community groups and community members to bring about a desired change and the Alliance for Healthy Living was an im-portant step forward in Fiji.

The active participation of civil society organizations, particularly, the participation of grass-roots organizations representing people living with NCDs , could assist in formulating public health policies and legislations which would assist indi-viduals to reach the highest standard of health and well-being.

The work of the Alliance for Healthy Living is criti-cal especially in the area of consumer education which will enable consumers, par-ticularly children to make healthily choices.

Dr Wahid Khan, the chair- Diabetes Fiji, said no time should be wasted as NCD was already taking toll over our people; today, the world is under the grips of NCDs so, we need genuine com-mitments and quick action to contain this epidemic.

We believe that the op-

portunity for health begins in our families, neighbour-hoods, schools and work-places, therefore, we en-courage everyone to take charge, to bring about changes to their lifestyles to arrest the problem of NCDs.

Sugar sweetened bever-ages, restricting sale and marketing of sugary, low-nutritional unhealthy food to children and making healthy food affordable, will be high on their agenda among which, the group will work towards changing consumer behaviour.

This empowering-ini-tiative is also supported by some medical and dental practitioners, academics, retired nurses, school teach-ers and civil society organ-isations.

Diabetes, high blood pressure, heart problems and other NCDs are embed-ded in our Fijian lifestyle but time has come to fix things before it is too late a 12-year-old is the youngest Type 2 diabetic in Fiji; we, as a nation record one ampu-tation every 12.6 hours and 1 in 5 persons is at a risk of having a stroke these fig-ures reflect the extent of the NCD crisis in the country.

Unless and until, we have public support and will pow-er, NCDS will remain part of us.

Pharmacy Donates to Vanuatu Relief Assistance

Budget Pharmacy Limited of Nadi donated medicines such as panadol, amoxicil-lin and brufen medication worth $15,000 to assist the Government of Vanuatu in relief efforts after the dev-astation caused by Tropical Cyclone PAM.

The Companys propri-etor, Mr Ajay Raniga, said the donation would fulfill imme-diate needs such as securing hygiene and medical care and supplies which is vital in preventing the spread of po-tential health problems and diseases.

The Ministry of Rural & Maritime Development and

National Disaster Manage-ment permanent secretary MrSetareki Tale welcomed the timely assistance.

The donation is very timely given the fact that Vanuatu is still in the initial stages of recovery. This will certainly add value to the efforts of rehabilitation, Mr Tale said.

The donation was made possible through nego-tiations by the Government Member of Parliament, Hon. Alvick Maharaj with Budget Pharmacy Ltd.

q PRESS RELEASE

The Rotary Club of Nadi donated various items on Thursday, April 2, as part of their support towards the re-lief efforts in Vanuatu.

The club handed over almost 300 cartons of clothes to the National Di-saster Management Office (NDMO) as the shipment of these items to Vanuatu will be done in the coming days.

Nadi District Officer Jiuta Waqavonovono said the government was thankful to its many citizens that came forward to show their sup-port during the two-week appeal.

Government appreci-ates the efforts of such or-ganisations in coming for-ward in assisting with the relief effort towards our brothers and sisters in Vanu-atu, Mr Waqavonovono said while receiving the items

Rotary Club Assists Vanuatu Victims Secretary General

from Rotary Club.This is truly the Fijian

spirit of assisting our neigh-bours as they rebuild their lives.

Your assistance and those that contributed gen-erously is much appreci-ated.

Rotary Club representa-tive Krupesh Patel said the people of Nadi gave with generosity as they are well aware of the needs espe-cially after a natural disaster.

We are grateful that the people of Nadi and also some from Suva and Navua also assisted in this drive, Mr Patel said.

This is just a small token of assistance for our broth-ers and sisters in Vanuatu who are in need of these items as they rebuild their lives.

We are however ready and willing to also assist in other ways should they re-quest.

By ANUSHIL KUMAR

By Dr. WAHID KHANChair - Diabetes Fiji Inc.

The Ministry of Women, Children and Poverty Alle-viation in partnership with stakeholders has organised divisional handicraft shows as a build-up to Fijis Nation-al Womens Expo 2015.

The craft shows, which will be held in the Northern, Eastern, Central and West-ern division from April to May, will provide opportuni-ties for women groups in Fiji to showcase their skills and talents.

Led by the Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation, Hon. Rosy Akbar, the Planning Committee of the National Womens Expo comprises of government ministries, non-government organisations and corporate organisations that is developing the pro-grams for the Expo.

Minister Akbar said the Ministry aims to make 2015 National Womens Expo a much bigger event then the first one held last year in Au-gust.

The Expo will be a gate-way to enhance their skills and connect locally pro-duced items to new mar-kets, Ms. Akbar said.

This will be possible through an integrated ap-proach within government ministries and corporate bodies.

The objective of the Expo is to enhance opportu-nities for rural women to up-lift their lives and eradicate poverty.

She said the expo aims to assist rural women to se-cure market for their prod-ucts both locally and inter-nationally.

The Expo will create opportunities for women to acquire skills to help them reach their maximum po-tential as women leaders and entrepreneurs.

The objective of the Di-visional Craft Show and competitions in the four di-visions is to ensure the best of quality and value of the womens products are be-ing displayed and assessed

during the Craft Show and to strengthen existing mar-kets that are available at the Divisional Level for rural women.

The Divisional Craft Show is open to all the womens groups that have registered with the Department of Women. Those who have not registered yet are ad-vised to contact the near-est womens office or the Ministrys Headquarters on 3312199.

Meanwhile, a total of FJD$133,152.00 was earned by the 448 womens groups that participated in the three-day Trade Craft Show held at Vodafone Arena last year.

By ANUSHIL KUMAR

Elderly women cuts the cake during the International Womens Day celebration at Holiday Inn, Suva while the Minister for Wom-en Rosy Sofia Akbar (1st from left) and Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum looks on. Photo: DEPTFO.

The condition of homes in Vanuatu after it was hit by the devas-tating Cyclone Pam which left the people of Vanuatu homeless. Photo: SUPPLIED.



LOCAL NEWS

Market for Change Consultation Western Charity Alliance

(WCA) in conjunction with Vodafone ATH Fiji Founda-tion conducted a week long farming consultation with market vendors in Nadi and Namaka Market to discuss on ways to improve their standard of living and assist to sustain their livelihood.

Project Officer (Vodafone ATH Fiji Foundation) and Executive Director Western Charity Alliance, Jitendra Naidu elaborated it was not-ed that 95% of vendors most-ly rely on produce supplied by farmers or middle mans from far and near.

The farmers highlighted that at times almost 10-15 percent of the produces gets damaged or are not in state to be sold at the market stalls.

The supplies are sold ac-cording to weight and quan-tity at most times which makes it difficult to check every produce sold by the farmer or the middle man.

Financial literacy was also a missing factor from these vendors as they dont

keep records of the items bought and sold from their stall. Most of them dont know how much profit or loss they do in a month.

Mrs Meena Kumari, a ven-dor at Nadi Municipal Mar-ket, says whatever earned in day by the vendors either goes in their groceries or is used to pay the farmers for the produce every second day.

She elaborated that mar-ket business isnt profitable; instead they are just manag-ing to survive and sustain their livelihood.

Almost 75% of the ven-dors have lands available and are planting few vegeta-bles to sustain their market business.

The other 25% does not have large area to plant but are keen into backyard gar-dening to give them a little boost into their market busi-ness and to relieve them from relying on farmers or middle mans produce.

Some of the issues faced by these farmers/vendors are as follows:

No availability ofseeds

Seeds are verycostly

Chemicalsandma-nures are costly

Landpreparationisa major issue, Tractor higher

Fiji is now for the first time ever part of the 3R National Framework on the Home Composting Subsidy program and Clean School Program in partnership with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The Minister for Local Government, Housing and Environment, Parveen Ku-mar Bala officially launched these programs on April 10.

The Clean School Pro-gram specifically targets identifies champion schools and their respective Coun-cils to work closely with stu-dents and their teachers in teaching and demonstrating all requisite processes and awareness on the Reduce, Reuse and Recycle (3Rs) concept and composting , Hon. Bala said.

He added the Home Compost Subsidy Program is a program to encourage families and community members to recycle organic waste by practicing home compositing.

In relation to these pro-grams, Government, through the facilitation of my Ministry and in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, will be targeting all municipalities at the Central, Western and Northern Division.

He said Government owes this to the people as the 2013 Constitution now provides for inclusive socio-economic development and guarantees all citizens the right to a clean healthy envi-ronment.

The Lautoka City Council (LCC) and the Nadi Town Council (NTC), with the as-

sistance of JICA-funded3R Project, have been promot-ing the Home Compositing Subsidy Program and home composing activities in their municipal areas since the year 2010.

The 3R Project was initi-ated by JICA together with Fijis Department of Envi-ronment after Fiji requested

JICA Partners with Ministry Of Local Government for Fijis first ever 3R National Initiative

technical cooperation from Japan for a project on waste minimization and recycling promotion.

These were the remarks of the JICA Resident Rep-resentative Fiji Office, Mr Hiroyuki Sawada who was also present at the launch. Mr Sawada said the 3R prin-ciples continue to be pro-

By IVA DANFORD- NAISARA

Minister for Local Government, Housing and Environment, Parveen Kumar Bala along with the JICA Resident Representative Fiji Office, Mr Hiroyuki Sawada together with the students of Andrews Primary School at the launch.. Photo: IVA DANFORD

is really expensive Lack of Training

and mentoring Lack of visitation

by expertiseMr Naidu also highlighted

that WCA and Vodafone will start to equip these vendors by providing seeds and other

farming products; they will also hold empowerment programs such as financial literacy to assist them keep their records. Later on, they would make a close tie of the farmers with these ven-dors to have a sustainable market and excel in farming.

Market vendors at their stall in Nadi Municipal Market. Photo: SUPPLIED.

q WESTERN CHARITY ALLIANCE

moted through a current regional project, known as the Japanese Technical Co-operation

Project for Promotion of Regional Initiative on Solid Waste Management in Pa-cific Island Countries (J-PRISM).Through its techni-cal cooperation project for Promotion of Regional Ini-

tiative on Solid Waste Man-agement in the Pacific JICA assisted the Department of Environment in establishing a National Subsidy Program for Home Composting.



LOCAL NEWS

Reclaim the Night On March 6, the Fiji

Womens Crisis Centre of Nadi together with many other men and women marched through the streets from Votualevu roundabout through to Namaka Police Station chanting and waving posters demanding safe spaces for women and girls.

The FWCC Coordina-tor Shamima Ali said the Centre has been around for 30 years and still has a long way to go but it does not mean that they do not celebrate their successes.

She said some women who may be working in the garment industry can say in Fiji not much has changed but we are still struggling.

It is very good to see men joining us today, she added.

Ali acknowledged the presence of the Sorop-

timist International of Nadi and the police who are partnering with the FWCC in eliminating vio-lence against women.

Women, men and children march with lit candles to reclaim the night in Namaka, Nadi. Photo: MARGARET NAQIRI.

Divisional Police Com-mander Jope Ralulu, who was also present at the march, said as police of-ficers they conduct inves-

tigations and he always assures and challenges the officers that this is a spiritual battle that they can combat.

The march commem-orates the International Womens Day and huge crowd of supporters from all workd of life turn up

to highlight or publically raising awareness on the issue of sexual assault.

By IVA DANFORD- NAISARA



EDUCATION

It was a dream-come-true moment for the family of Shivneil Kumar Raj as he graduated with Bachelor of Commerce degree in Ac-counting and Economics during the University of Fiji graduation ceremony at Saweni campus in Lautoka on Friday, April 10.

Not only with a degree, Shivneil was the hero-of-the-day as he was the dou-ble gold-medalist in UniFijis 10th graduation ceremony.

He scooped gold medals

in Accounting/ Economics and the Vice-Chancellors award of excellence.

Speaking to The Jet, Shiv-neils happiness was beyond his words to describe as it was the most joyous part of his life.

Im very proud of my achievement and I thank God Almighty and my par-ents for supporting me throughout my journey, Shivneil said.

My years of hardwork, sleepless nights and sacri-fices have really paid off.

The 2011 School Dux of Central College said he did not face much hurdles dur-

Shivneil Makes Family Prouding his three-year journey because of the friendly staff of UniFiji.

There was not much difficulties faced as the lec-turers were always there to help us.

UniFiji has one thing unique as whenever the stu-dents face difficulties, the lecturers are very accessible and approachable to seek help from.

He also left a message to all the students.

My message to all other students is basically work hard and continue to work hard till your goals are achieved.

By ANUSHIL KUMAR

The University of Fiji gold medalist Shivneil Kumar Raj with his proud parents after graduation. Photo: SUPPLIED.



EDUCATION

PM Opens Technical College of Fiji - Nadi Campus

Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama officially opened the Technical Col-lege of Fiji (TCF), Dr. Shau-kat Ali Saheb, Nadi Campus on Tuesday, March 24.

While speaking at the opening ceremony, Hon. Bainimarama tagged TCF as a milestone on their journey towards achieving the vision of a clever and skilled coun-

try.TCF is a national institu-

tion that we intend to use to raise the standards of our tradesmen and women throughout Fiji by giving them better access to formal qualifications to improve their skills.

To date, we have lacked the ability to provide broad-er access to Level Two Cer-tificates. The establishment of TCF fills this need.

And it provides students with a more solid ground-ing in the various trades compared to Certificate One

By ANUSHIL KUMAR courses. But without having to acquire the qualifications to undertake more demand-ing courses of study at FNU.

He said this three tier ap-proach is an important step forward to give access to the young people to trade certifi-cate programs and learn the skills on which the economy is dependent upon.

Whether it is building, plumbing, electrical work, carpentry, hospitality or all manner of disciplines that fall under the trades cat-egory.

At campuses like this

Ponipate in his dalo plantation. Photo: SUPPLIED.

Farmer Ponipate stands beside his 4x4 Wheel Drive worth $40,000. Photo: SUPPLIED.

one student can spend a year of study that results in a Level Two Award Program Certificate. But we are also offering the public a series of short course that will also improve the skills base of the Fijian workforce.

Prime Minister also had a short advice for the parents.

Dont just tell your child they can one day become a doctor, a lawyer or an engi-neer. If they show any apti-tude or interest in a trade, encourage them to take that path as well.

Because as a nation we

need builders and carpen-ters as much as we need members of the traditional professions, especially as our economy expands at the current rate.

He said anybody want-ing to do a short course will have their fees paid for by Government as provided for in the Budget.

Those wishing to do the one year courses can have their fees paid under the TELS program, which means the Government can give loan to help students pay their fees which the stu-

dents will only pay back in instalments once they have started working.

Meanwhile, the campus of TCF - the Dr. Sauhat Ali Sahib Nadi Campus is one of ten campuses that the government intend to have up and running across Fiji by the beginning of next year.

Three are already under-way; in Nadi, Suva and La-basa, and work is currently proceeding to establish the remaining seven by identify-ing properties and develop-ing new partnerships.

Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama with MP Sanjit Patel (2nd from left) and board members of the Technical College of Fiji (TCF), Dr. Shaukat Ali Saheb, Nadi Campus on Tuesday, March 24. Photos: SUPPLIED.

Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama with staff and students of the Technical College of Fiji (TCF), Dr. Shaukat Ali Saheb, Nadi Campus.



New Taste in Town

Josephine NavulaNamaka, Nadi

Yes, they have been prepar-ing well and confident of a victory

Mosese DalituicamaWaimalika, Sabeto

Yes i think they will retain their title since they made a

historic win last year they will do whatever it takes to keep

that flame burning. But it will be a hard battle to win as all schools are fighting for the

same trophy

Monica SovagusuMalawai Housing, Votualevu

Yes, I think they will retain the title since they were capable

of doing something like that last year

Sue NasilasilaNasoso, Nadi

Yes, they have been training and they work hard to achieve

what they can do out on the field

Emily RavagaCAAF Compound, Nadi

Yes, definitely counting on Jasper to win this year

Do you think Jasper Williams High School will retain the girls title in this years Coca Cola Games?

Sweet Tweets

LOCAL NEWS

A new restaurant start-ed its operation follow-ing the official opening in Nadi on Friday, March 6.

Chef s Kitchen, a joint business of the renowned Aims Rent-a-Car, was for-mally opened by the Min-ister for Industry, Trade & Tourism Faiyaz Koya.

The new eatery is lo-cated in Namaka, Nadi right beside Aims Rentals office.

Managing Director An-war Shahs said it was their plan to get a name in the food industry as they had been running the rental company for years.

We were in a rental car company for many years and we thought of putting a step ahead in food industry, Mr Shah told Fiji Sun.

This is also something related to tourism and the local market as well be-cause we have to look af-ter the local people too.

Mr Shah invested $80,000 into this kitchen and plans to spend more should the need arise.

By ANUSHIL KUMAR

Minister for Industry, Trade & Tourism Faiyaz Koya during the opening of the Chefs Kitchen in Namaka, Nadi. INSET: Minister for Industry, Trade & Tourism Faiyaz Koya with Chefs Kitchen Managing Director Anwar Shah during the official opening ceremonyin Namaka, Nadi. Photos: DEPTFO.

His wife, Irene Shah is a pastry chef and manag-es the kitchen apart from being the Director of the rental business.

We will see later on if we require any changes or expansion to the kitch-en.

We wanted to do something in the food in-dustry as my wife is a pas-

try chef and she knows about cooking and she has great interest in it.

When asked about the choice of the location, Mr Shah said he chose Na-maka as it is a flood-free zone and right next to his initial business which makes it easier to man-age both.

Chef s Kitchen can ac-

commodate a total of 30 customers at once with a standard service by its 11 full-time employees.

Mr Shah said the res-taurant is 100% halal and only non-alcoholic cock-tails are available.

He said the business is getting good responses from the customers.

It is going good so far,

we have a very good re-sponse, and our staffs are trained well so we had a good feedback from the customers.

With hopes of achiev-ing success in the food industry, Mr Shah aims to expand further into other areas of Fiji.

Artists BREATHE life into local exhibition

Less than a year ago local artist and father to 8 children Meli Laddpeter found out his diagnosis of bronchiectasis, a rare progressive lung disease had drastically worsened. A struggle to walk more than a few steps without needing to pause for a breath, Meli Lad-dpeter is now living with the worry that his family will be in need with his inability to return to work and the on-go-ing cost of medical attention required to sustain him.

In support, 33 local artists have stepped up, organising an exhibition showcasing a collection of local art. Each artist has been asked to cre-ate a piece of work able to be sold, with proceeds going to-wards his medical needs and the support of Melis family.

BREATHE is scheduled for later this month from April 24 to 28 held at the Sofitel Resort and Spa in Denarau. A spe-cial evening cocktail event will kick off the exhibition; on Friday 24 April at 6pm. Tickets cost $30 and are available for purchase from Sofitel Recep-tion, Taste Fiji in Martintar, Cardos in Port Denarau and Victoria Wines in Suva and Nadi. Free entry is available to the full exhibition which

then runs from Saturday 25 to Tuesday 28 April, 11am until 7pm.

We are so thankful for the support of the Fiji arts community which is rally-ing together to raise funds for a fellow artist, without them BREATHE wouldnt be possible. Its humbling to see so many people as well as sponsors supporting such a worthy cause Says BREATHE organising team member Maria Rova. She continues Meli who is cur-rently admitted in Nadi Gen-eral Hospital, is greatly con-cerned about his familys wellbeing, he just wants his kids to have a house to live in and for them to complete their education. This exhibi-tion will contribute towards making that a reality

Everyone is encouraged to show their support by visiting the exhibition which will be full of impressive art produced by the 33 local artists taking part. A raffle will be running, tickets cost $5.00. Each entry comes with the chance to win over $7000 worth of prizes.

Aptly named BREATHE, the exhibition will allow both locals and tourists a rare op-

portunity to check out some of Fijis most talented artists. With such a vast display of lively and enigmatic artwork it will be difficult for anyone not to take at least one piece home.

For all the latest BREATHE updates, please visit: https://w w w . f a c e b o o k . c o m /breatheappeal

About Meli Laddpeter: Meli is a graphic designer

and free-lance artist based in Nadi. Of part Fijian, Ton-gan, and Wallis Island de-cent, Laddpeters art is an exploration of his Pacific heritage and issues that are important to him. I try to capture the moment of liv-ing within my art, says this young exhibitor. I appreci-ate the emotions that can be triggered by a creation of art, and am amazed by the

Grand Creator who is be-hind all things. Laddpeter is a member of the Redwave Collective. His works, which include inks and waterco-lours on paper, and acrylics on masi and canvas, bear the influence of the Oceania Center workshops that he has attended.

Meli Laddpeter (Middle) spending some precious time with his family at his home. Photo: SUPPLIED.

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DEVELOPMENTS

The forging of domestic and foreign partnerships provide an impetus for growth in Fijis tourism sec-tor.

This was highlighted at the launch of the Denarau Moorings by the Minister for Tourism, Hon Faiyaz Koya.

It is very encouraging to see Fijian entrepreneurs en-tering the tourism and hos-pitality sector. In fact, this is the third Fijian company that is fully Fijian owned that has put their mark in the tour-ism industry in the last three months, Minister Koya said.

We must not forget that todays launch is not just a tourism or real estate devel-opment, but an investment by a Fijian together with for-eign investors.

Minister Koya added that government has set ambi-tious goals for the tourism industry and with the num-bers recorded over the past year, government is defi-nitely on track to achieving these goals.

It is worth noting that

Domestic and Foreign Partnerships Impetus for Growth

approximately 15 percent of the total investments are coming from private sector investments which include domestic and foreign inves-tors.

The Fijian governments focus is to grow investments and spread the wealth to all Fijians.

It has been the vision of the Bainimarama govern-ment to ensure that both domestic and foreign inves-tors are treated equally and fairly.

The Denarau Moor-ings project is a $120 mil-lion investment by the Deo Construction Development Company Limited will fea-ture 152 rooms to the hotel inventory, 56 waterfront apartments and a 3-sto-rey high-end shopping and commercial centre.

q DEPTFO

Minister for Tourism, Hon Faiyaz Koya (1st from right) at the launch of the Denarau Moorings. Photo: DEPTFO.

The artistic impression of the Denarau Moorings. Photos: SUPPLIED.



LOCAL NEWS

The University of Fiji has received a grant of US$404,729 from the Pacific-American Climate Fund (PA-CAM) to help in a program called Developing Base Maps of Tropical Aquatic Re-sources in the Pacific proj-ect which was also launched on the 13th of April.

This grant is to assist a three-year project of map-ping of the coastal eco-system where coral reefs and coastal ecosystem are vulnerable to the effects of weather changes. US Am-bassador, Judith Cefkin said the launch signifies their commitment to address the global threats of climate change for the long term well-being of the communi-ties in Fiji.

The launch of this proj-

ect with University of Fiji, takes scientific steps that will assist the Fijian Gov-ernment to make informed decisions and develop strat-egies to deal with climate change, said Ambassador Cefkin.

Ms Cefkin added the pur-pose of PACAM is that it is a grant-making facility funded by the U.S Agency for Inter-national Development to as-sist Pacific in reducing long-term vulnerabilities.

The University Pro- Chan-cellor Anil Tikaram said that they are overwhelmed to be selected to receive a grant through the PACAM. This partnership with USAID is a positive indicator that the university has protocols in place acceptable to donor organization to enable be-ing awarded this prestigious grant, he said.

Mr Tikiram said the launch of USAID funded project underscores the need to work together to ad-

Uni Fiji Receives a Timely BoostBy IVA DANFORD-NAISARA

FNPF Calls on Members to Verify their Personal Details

The Fiji National Provi-dent Fund has called on all its members to verify and update their personal details at any FNPF office, as part of its data cleansing exercise to update members records.

FNPF Chief Executive, Mr Aisake Taito said this exer-cise was necessary to safe-guard members interests whilst ensuring that they re-ceive timely service.

We have found that in the past members applica-tions are delayed because of discrepancy and mis-match in members names and other records inclusive of date of births and signa-tures, he said.

A lot of members only verify their details when they apply for assistance.

Once the discrepancy is identified, members are then required to make changes to their records and provide supporting docu-ments to support the chang-

es and having these certified by relevant authorities; and these, if not done, could lead to delays in providing service to members.

Members who intend to validate their information would need to provide the FNPF card/ number, TIN Number, Birth Certificates (full extract and printed after 2000), Married Certificates (for women who use their married names full extract also), Information on past employers and provide their current signature.

This initiative would also help the Fund identify and clear for posting members contributions held in the suspense account.

The suspense account holds contributions paid but are unidentified because of the following reasons; mem-bers name or FNPF num-bers does not match FNPF records, use of initials and nick name on the monthly

contribution schedule and employees did not register the member during their pe-riod of employment.

Mr Taito said contribu-tions kept in the Suspense Account do not earn inter-ests. He said the onus was also on members to ensure that information held with FNPF is verified and updat-ed.

He said employers can assist by taking a proac-tive approach by ensuring that data in regards to their employees in the monthly Contribution schedules are accurate.

The issue of unidenti-fied contributions can be resolved through a collec-tive effort by all stakeholders including members, who would need to take the first step by verifying their infor-mation.

dress national, regional and global concerns on climate change.

This project will be con-ducted in Votua, Ba and Maui Bay in Nadroga/ Navosa and

will provide a baseline to measure changes over time and develop management

plans for preserving the eco-systems for the future.

US Ambassador, Judith Cefkin handing over the grant to Uni Fiji. Photo: SUPPLIED.

q FNPF

The Fiji National Provi-dent Fund highly praised its 400 members, pensioners and employers who attend-ed the forums held in Nadi, Lautoka and Suva recently.

Chief Executive Officer, Mr Aisake Taito said the Forum continues to draw increasing crowd since it started in 2013.

It was practically a full house in all venues this year, which is indicative that members are taking a keen interest on the development of their retirement savings, Mr Taito said.

Participants, who were

presented with an overview of the Funds progress and its future plans, were en-couraged to ask questions which were responded to by the executive team.

Mr Taito said this gives an opportunity to build much better relationship with its members.

It also provides an av-enue for the Fund to hear from members and pension-ers and use their comments to improve its services.

The Forum is an oppor-tunity for the Fund to gauge the level of understanding our members have on the role of the Fund, and its pro-cesses, he said.

A Fund member thanked FNPF for their initiative.

Thank you for this ini-tiative. Its very educational and a good opportunity to listen to the high ups (exec-utives) and have our ques-tions and concerns raised directly with them, the

member wrote on his evalu-ation form.

It would be good to con-tinue this practice to get the general public who are the contributors of this fund to understand how much is in-vested and options available with respect to the fund.

A lot of queries were re-ceived from the members which varied from pension-related issues, member services, the extension of benefits currently provided by FNPF, customer services and investment.

Advisory services were also provided to members during the Forum in addition to t-shirts, information kit and pens.

Another forum will be held in Labasa later this month and Mr Taito is en-couraging the members in the North to attend it.

FNPF Commends MembersBy ANUSHIL KUMAR

FNPF Establish Toll-Free Line

In an effort to raise the standard of service delivery to its members and pension-ers, the Fiji National Provi-dent Fund has established a toll free line and an email contact that will provide a convenient means for cus-tomers to lodge their enqui-ries and complaints.

The toll free number 112277 and the email con-tact [email protected] can be used by key FNPF customers inclusive of members, pensioners, ven-dors, suppliers and employ-ers to lodge their complaints against any Fund-related

matter. FNPF Chief Executive, Mr

Aisake Taito said the intro-duction of these initiatives were an indication of the Funds continued efforts to improve its services to its customers.

The toll free line will pro-vide a convenient point of contact for those who wish to raise issues about our ser-vices.

The telephone service is a free line which we hope our customers will utilize to lodge their complaints.

In addition, the email contact will encourage

those using the online plat-form to provide value feed-backs to the Fund.

The Fund anticipates that the feedback on these services would assist FN-PFs continuous service im-provement initiatives, Mr Taito said.

The Fund also hopes that the toll free number and the email contact would help the Fund gauge num-ber of complaints from its members and solve them accordingly and at the same time to hear from members perspective how we can serve them better.

He said that for feedback purposes, it was important for complainants to lodge a valid name, phone or email contact to enable the Fund to get back to them regard-ing their complaints.

A toll free line and the complaints email contact will help the Fund become more aware of our members needs and I encourage them to contact us if they have any queries by dialing 112277

and to email [email protected] any time of the day to their convenience.

q PRESS RELEASE



TOURISM

The Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism, Faiyaz Koya together with the As-sistant Minister Lorna Eden were at Nadi International Airport on Tuesday, March 31, to welcome the inaugu-ral Jetstar flight that has fi-

nally arrived in the country.A total of 180 passen-

gers were on board which included the Australia and New Zealand Chief Execu-tive Officer of the airline Da-vid Hall.

The new flight route from the Gold Coast to Nadi is expected to attract more tourists from the Gold Coast benefitting Fijis growing

JetStar to Boost Tourism Industry in Fiji


tourism industry. The new three-times a

week service flight to Fiji was due to the strong de-mand from the Gold Coast tourist visiting Fiji, said Hall.

He said that he was pleased to work together with the Fijian Government, Nadi International Airport and the tourism sector to de-liver the great new service in

bringing our nations close together.

We are pleased to be the only airline offering a direct low fare link from the jewels of Queensland coast to the hearts of the South Pacific, he said.

Hall said there is lots of demand for Australians to visit Fiji and about 50,000 ad-ditional seats are expected

to be added from this route.He said JetStar have been

flying to Fiji since 2010 and the airline has a long part-nership and future with the Fijians.

All flights will be oper-ated by 180-seat Airbus A320 aircraft in a single class and will depart Nadi on Tues-days, Thursdays and Satur-days.

BELOW: The Minister for Indus-try, Trade and Tourism Faiyaz Koya together with the Austra-lia and New Zealand JetStar CEO David Hall enjoys the en-tertainment by the Sabeto vil-lagers during the arrival of the JetStar at Nadi International Airport. Photo: SALMAN ALI.



TOURISM

Sofitel Becomes First Resort in Fiji to Receive HACCP Accreditation

Sofitel Fiji Resort & Spa on Denarau Island has be-come the first resort in Fiji to comply with the highest international industry stan-dards to receive Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) accreditation and certification.

Sofitel passed the final audits by the Fiji Govern-ments Ministry of Health after successful implemen-tation of the stringent food safety system HACCP.

This has been a huge undertaking and we are very proud of the entire resort.

Achieving HACCP Certifica-tion is not an easy task, said Resorts General Manager Alan Burrows.

I wish to congratulate the project team of working on this for having developed a high standard system and for making food safety and HACCP the centre of the at-tention of all staff involved in the food production chain.

Hazard Analysis and Crit-ical Control Point (HACCP), being a detailed system of food safety analysis and monitoring, it is being bro-ken down in various parts

to make it reliable from the moment food arrives hotel premises, until it is being served as a ready to con-sume product.

It involves various depart-ments, including procure-ment, receiving, kitchen, F&B service and prioritises receiving with cold storage and temperature control, labelling with dates and shelf lives, internal cooking temperature, chilling and re-heating hot foods, and serv-ing.

234 rooms and suites, and offer guests an extensive q SOFITEL FIJI

The Sofitel Fiji Resort & Spa team with their new HACCP accreditation. Photo: SUPPLIED.

range of facilities including six restaurants and bars, two swimming pools and a day

spa. Pullman Nadi Bay Re-sort & Spa will also feature four meetings rooms, with

capacity for up to 400 guests theatre style.

InterContinental Fiji Golf Resort & Spa implements new sales strategies and guest experience initiatives following recent announce-ments to waive visa entry re-quirements between China and Fiji.

As part of our strategy we have included China in yearly sales calls to further develop the market and strengthen the overall posi-tioning of InterContinental Fiji as the premier destina-tion in Fiji, said Hudson Mitchell, Director of Leisure Sales & Marketing.

Kamal Haer, Area Direc-tor of Sales & Marketing, Fiji & Vanuatu and I are current-ly in China, meeting industry partners and stakeholders.

We enjoyed an increase

in China market shares in February with the Rosie Holidays Shanghai Charter and have recruited a Chi-nese Sales & Guest Service Coordinator to ensure that we provide exceptional and seamless experiences to the discerning Chinese travel-ler.

In foresight of the strengthening Chinese market, the resorts parent company - InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) studied trends and initiated a global training programme called China Ready, where lead-ership teams implement best practices for satisfying Chinese guests to deliver a memorable holiday.

The China-Ready train-ing programme encompass-

es an overview of China, Chinese traveller profiles and characteristics, and ba-sic Chinese language class-es.

Chinese outbound travel continues to grow in traveller numbers and trip frequency. The China-Ready training is essential for an understand-ing of the Chinese culture and guest expectations, said Jacob Pauu, Acting Human Resources Manager and China-Ready champion.

Our passionate team have taken the China-Ready training onboard whole-heartedly and we have received positive feedback from our Chinese guests as a result. We are geared to increase Chinese market share within the re-

sort significantly this year, concludes Mr Mitchell.

InterContinental Fiji Golf Resort & Spa overlooks the azure waters of Natadola Beach voted by CNN as

one of the best beaches in the world, and Fijis finest beach. Spread across 35 acres of tropical gardens, the resort offers all of the fa-cilities and services expect-

ed of luxury international resort.

Kamal Haer and Hudson Mitchell with IHG China Sales Office Member. Photo: SUPPLIED.

Intercontinental Fiji Expands into Chinese Markets

q INTERCONTINENTAL FIJI

Fiji Hotel and Tourism As-sociation (FHTA) appointed new committee members for the Coral Coast Chapter during the Annual General Meeting on Tuesday, March 10.

Chapter Chairman Peter Hopgood (Outrigger) was re-elected as the Chairper-son while Brad Downton of The Warwick Fiji is the Dep-uty Chairperson.

Craig Powell of Shangri-la Fijian Resort is the Market-ing Chairperson, Jay Whyte (Sigatoka River Safari) was elected as the Assistant Mar-keting Chairperson while Coral Kennedy of Sandy Point is the Hospital Chair-person.

Chairman Hopgood stat-ed the goal of the new com-mittee would be to; market the Coral Coast as Fijis pre-

mium holiday destination, support the local commu-nity, in particular work with government on the develop-ment of a new medevac fa-cility at the Sigatoka District Hospital. This is to bring all stakeholders on the Coral Coast together on a monthly basis to discuss issues that have an impact on our com-munity which includes Po-lice, Town Council, Business Houses, Health Profession-als, Regional Government and Resort Operators.

He said in the last 12 months it has been an ex-tremely positive time for the Coral Coast, particularly with the opening of the new maternity ward at the Sigato-ka District Hospital for which he said the hoteliers were proud to be able to assist government in the develop-ment of this facility as the Coral Coast FHTA donated over $600,000 to the project

New Committee for Coral Coast Hoteliers

General Managers of Coral Coast resorts with Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama at the opening of the maternity ward at the Sigatoka Hospital. Photo: MASA / OUTRIGGER FIJI.

By ANUSHIL KUMAR



TOURISM

Fiji Airways has been confirmed as the Platinum sponsor for the Fiji Tourism Expo (FTE) 2015, building on the partnership and suc-cess of the inaugural event in 2014, to showcase the great diversity of tourism products and services avail-able in Fiji.

FTE, now an annual event, aims to deliver a uniquely Fijian tourism ex-perience for international buyers of tourism products by showcasing all that Fijis tourism industry has to offer.

The program this year has been tailor-made to cater for the needs of all service providers, large and small, designed to effectively pro-mote Fiji as a tourist destina-tion to the world.

Tourism Fijis Director of Events, Ms Sally Cooper says the event would not have

been possible without the support of Fiji Airways.

The success of Fiji Tour-ism Expo is a result of strong partnerships and having the support of our industry partners. Tourism Fiji very excited that Fiji Airways is partnering with us again for FTE 2015, Ms Cooper said.

FTE 2015 is scheduled to take place at the Denarau Convention Centre, Nadi from the 15-19 June 2015.

Fiji Airways Board Direc-tor, Mr Stefan Pichler says, Were delighted to sup-port Tourism Fiji and the Fiji Tourism Exchange. As a key industry partner and stake-holder, we recognise the importance of an event like this on the annual Fiji Tour-ism calendar. Our team is looking forward to the FTE, where we have planned ex-citing social activation pro-

grammes for delegates at our booths.

Tourism Fiji has pur-posely selected the dates for FTE 2015 immediately prior to the Australian Tour-ism Exchange (ATE) 2015, to be hosted in Melbourne, to make it easier for buyers from key long haul markets to make the most out of their annual visits to the Pacific region.

Exhibitors and buyers interested in partaking in FTE 2015 are encouraged to visit fijitourismexpo.com for more information and regis-tration.

q TOURISM FIJI

Fiji Airways Confirmed as Major Sponsor for Fiji Tourism Expo 2015

Mr Jack Young of Koro Sun with Ms Candy Andrus, Fiji Airways at FTE 2014. Photo: TOURISM FIJI.



TOURISM/SPORTS

The creativity and team effort of Tourism Fiji and in-dustry partners in the Austra-lian market came to fruition when they were announced as the National Winner for Best In Show for the Flight Centre Travel Expos in Aus-tralia.

Tourism Fijis Australia Regional office participated in four Flight Centre shows Sydney, Melbourne, Bris-bane and Canberra. This is the first time for the office to win the national title.

The annual expo was held over two days in Syd-ney from January 31 Feb-ruary 1, with 97,021 people going through the exhibition and a total of 65.96% of new customers attending the expo.

According to the Flight Centre Travel Group, the organisers of the expo, Tour-ism Fijis display was voted overall winner due to its openness and ease for cus-tomers to enter and gain in-formation, as well as, their customer interaction, tradi-tional dancers and the look

and feel of the exhibit with stunning imagery.

Were thrilled to have won the national title of Best in Show for the Flight Centre consumer expos, Tourism Fijis Australia Re-gional Director, Ms Carlah Walton said following the announcement.

Tourism Fiji in Australia is committed to demon-strating Fijis unique cul-ture through our innova-tive stands at these major consumer shows, and with growing passenger numbers out of Australia, clearly the effort and investment is pay-ing off.

As the winner of the award, the Australia office also won $5000 worth of hire equipment from Moretons Hire for next years shows.

The Tourism Fiji booth was unique compared to the other displays at the expo as it had a thatched roof, simi-lar to the traditional Fijian bure, and a revolving tower which incorporated brand-ed images and messages.

Tourism Fiji Display Scoops National Award at Flight Centre Show

The added wow factor for many of those that at-tended was the presence of four Fijian warriors that were guarding the booth for the duration of the show, which resulted in many stopping by to pose for pictures with the men in grass skirts and war clubs.

Partners operating in Fiji who collaborated with Tour-ism Fiji and had a presence at the expo included; Cap-tain Cook Cruises, Planta-tion Island Resort & Lomani Island Resort, Blue Lagoon Cruises/Awesome Adven-tures, South Sea Cruises, Musket Cove Resort, Wanan-

avu Beach Resort & Viwa Island Resort, Warwick Fiji Resort, and Naviti Resort.

Director of Sales & Mar-keting at The Warwick Fiji, Mr Kushend Kumar ex-pressed his delight with the efforts of the team in putting together a grand exhibition,

Thank you very much for the update and congratula-tions once again for a job well done!

q TOURISM FIJI

Tourism Fiji booth display at the Flight Centre Travel Expos in Australia. Photo: SUPPLIED.

Saunaka Gets Sponsors For The First Time Ever

The Saunaka Rugby 7s Club which is one of the old-est rugby clubs in Nadi had a historic timely boost from their sponsors yesterday.

McDonalds, who were sponsors of the teams jer-seys which were worth $1950, also presented them with $1000 cheque to help the Saunaka team finan-cially.

Marc McElrath, Mc Don-alds Development Partner said they are very delighted to have been one of the ma-jor sponsors for the club and

to invest in the boys.Since the Fiji 7s national

team featured most of the boys form Saunaka village from the past till now, we plan to start investing in the club from grassroot level, said McElrath.

He added since most of the village boys are unem-ployed, this sponsorship will help them not only in wear-ing the Saunaka jersey but representing our national one day.

Head Coach Ponijesa Lu-tuciri said this is the first ever sponsorship the club has received ever since estab-lishment and they are very

thankful to the sponsors of making it happens for the club.

Together with this, the club received $2000 worth of muscle vests from Hydra Sports Fiji, transportation worth $3000 by Sahabud Dean Transport Limited and $2350 total registration fees for the five major 7s tourna-ments which are the Nawa-ka 7s, Marist 7s, Red Rock 7s, Martintar 7s and Coral Coast 7s.

With a total sponsorship of $10,300, the Saunaka 7s rugby club hopes to mark at the Fiji Bitter Nawaka 7s with kicked off today.

By IVA DANFORD - NAISARA

Mc Donalds and Shahabud Dean wwTransport Limited officially handing over jerseys to the Sau-naka 7s Rugby Club officials, Photo: Iva Danford-Naisara

Fiji Airways and the Oceania Football Confed-eration (OFC) have today announced a major spon-sorship agreement for the 2015 OFC Champions League.

The partnership sees Fijis national airline get naming rights for the popu-lar tournament, which will now be known as the 2015 Fiji Airways OFC Champions League.

Twelve teams from the Oceania region will com-pete in the tournament, with the winner earning a ticket to the FIFA Club World Cup in December 2015.

Participating in this years edition are the top clubs from Fiji, New Zealand, Van-uatu, Papua New Guinea,

Solomon Islands, New Cale-donia, Tahiti and Samoa.

Were delighted to en-ter into this partnership with OFC for the Champions League, Fiji Airways Board Director Stefan Pichler says of the new partnership.

This great tournament features the regions top football clubs and players. This partnership will allow us to promote our brand in a region which we service quite extensively. We look forward to the tournament with great anticipation and wish all the visiting teams the very best.

OFC General Secretary Tai Nicholas says the op-portunity to link with Fiji Air-ways is a great step forward for the Confederation.

We are excited at the opportunity to work closely with Fiji Airways promoting what is the most important football competition on the annual calendar for our re-gion, Nicholas says.

Fiji Airways has a strong presence in the Pacific re-gion, servicing many of our Member Association na-tions, so it makes sense for us to be working with them to continue raising the pro-file of the Fiji Airways OFC Champions League.

The 2015 Fiji Airways OFC Champions League kicks off on the 11 April, with matches played in Suva and Ba, Fiji. The final will be held on 26 April at ANZ Stadium in Suva.

Fiji Airways teams up with OFC for 2015 Champions League Fiji

q PRESS RELEASE



BUSINESS NEWS

For a woman who has been highly motivated since she left school, Deb-ra Sadranu (pictured) is very passionate about run-ning a business in Fiji that involves making a differ-ence in the community as a whole.

Debra moved to Fiji in 1997 after working in the beauty industry in Sydney for 11 years as a profes-sional beauty therapist.

She was also a member of the AABTh- Advanced Association of Beauty Therapists, Australia.

Debra saw the opportu-nity to enhance the growth of the developing beauty industry in Fiji.

She established the South Pacific Academy of Beauty Therapy which was the first beauty school of its kind in the Pacific Island region, accredited with the Fiji Higher Education Com-

mission and certification of assessment by AABTh Australia.

With the demand for spa expertise, Debra start-ed the first two Beauty Spa outlets at Vomo and Treasure Island, thereafter expanding to a chain of Se-nikai Spas.

As the Award winner of the Business Woman of the Year 2015, Debra is a very successful woman who fo-cused on giving back to the community.

It was a great honour, I dedicate my award to all the women in my com-pany who have worked alongside me for the past 17 years, she said.

Debra prides herself in providing training and employment for the young women of Fiji and estab-lishing village enterprise through harvesting local extracts for her product manufacturing.

We partnered with Market Development Facil-ity to provide training to the Tamasua Village for supply of our Virgin Coconut Oil,

she added.She said her company

provides scholarships and training to rural women and also provide support to people with disabilities.

My latest initiative was the opening of our new Es-sence of Fiji Spa Rejuvena-tion Centre/Transit lounge and it has been my vision

Business a Passion for Award Winner Debra

and dream come true to date, Debra said.

Debra adds, she will be focussing more on export of their spa products and also development of the spa industry throughout the Pacific region.


Debra Sadranu



AON TOURISM AWARDS & NADI IN PICTURES



BUSINESS NOTICE BOARD



LOCAL SPORTS

$35k Boost for Lautoka Local LeaguePunjas Group of Com-

panies provided a timely boost to the Lautoka Football Association on Tuesday, April 9, sponsor-ing $35,000 for the Local League Competition this year.

Director Rajesh Punja said the funding is yet another initiative of Pun-jas that promotes active, healthy lifestyles through support.

He said football spon-sorship is nothing new for the Punjas Group as they supported football during the South Pacific Games in 2003 and Battle of the Giants tournament from 2003 to 2005.

We are happy to part-ner with Shop & Save Supermarkets to support football in Lautoka and we hope this $35,000 sponsorship will boost

participation, interest in the sport and lift the mo-rale of players, officials and supporters, Punja said.

With the right sup-port, training and guid-ance, our footballers will have the ability and op-portunity to participate at the international level like Roy Krishna of Labasa.

He said the Punja Group is celebrating 80-years of service this year and throughout 2015 the Group is marking this milestone by giving back in different ways to the community through proj-ects and events.

In our 80th year, we are doubling our efforts to support initiatives that help reinforce our com-panys principles and phi-losophy of giving back to the people that have sup-ported us over the past eight decades.

Lautoka Football Asso-ciation vice president and Local League chairman

Valelevu Wins Muslim Tourney

Rajnesh Naicker thanked the Punjas Group for the kind sponsorship.

He said it is hostorical for the local club level that such a big amount of sponsorship has been secured.

Given such a huge

amount, the Lautoka Football Association plans to stage this years local league competition on a bigger and better way, Naicker said.

There would be a huge remuneration for the winners of this years

competition, something which has never been paid to any club locally.

Not only we will be giving incentive to indi-vidual players such as player of the year, top goal scorer and so forth, together with the players

From left: Punjas Group of Companies Director Rajesh Punja, senior director Kanti Punja, Lautoka Football Association vice president Rajnesh Naicker and Abdul Khalil during the sponsorship announcement press conference at the Punjas Headquarters in Lautoka. Photo: MARGARET NAQIRI.

we will also be rewarding the administrators of the different teams.

The Lautoka Football Association Local League competition kick-started on Sunday, April 12.

It was a moment of joy for the Valelevu Mus-lim Soccer team as they defeated hosts Nadi 1-0 to win the Fiji Muslim Sports Association Inter-District Championship at Prince Charles Park on Monday, April 6.

The Shaheen Hus-sain-coached side shat-tered the hosts midway into the second half as striker Irshaad Begg took advantage of the blun-der made by the Nadi defender and blasted-in the winning goal.

Nadi, laced with cur-rent district reps William Valentine and Shafim Buksh, toiled hard look-ing for the equaliser, however, the defenders in blue jumper worked overtime to claim the SM Koya cup after a lapse of six years.

Nadi coach Javed Ahmed said finishing was the key factor that was lacking in the play-

ers. I think we took the

final too casually. We had more possession but we failed to finish them off, said Ahmed.

He said the focus now shifts to the Internation-al Club Championship which will be played later this year.

We will now have to regroup, get more players and come out strongly for the Interna-tional Club Champion-ship.

Winning coach Sha-heen said the team prepared well for the final and was confident of winning the title this year.

Meanwhile, Fiji Mus-lim Sports Association president Mohammad Rafiq described the tournament as a great success.

We had a very suc-cessful tournament this year. I congratulate Valelevu for winning the title this year and also hats off to Nadi for mak-ing it to the finals, he said.

The veterans and the youth division will now

be revived again and we will be booking Prince Charles Park again for this sometime in De-cember.

He also confirmed The Jet about the Inter-

national Club Champi-onship (ICC) with eight overseas teams par-ticipating in the tourna-ment.

Next on our sched-ule is the International

Club Championship in October where we have eight overseas teams (four each from Austra-lia and New Zealand) coming with full of over-seas talents and make it

a colourful tournament this year.

The ICC is scheduled to take place from Octo-ber 16-19.

By ANUSHIL KUMAR

By ANUSHIL KUMAR

Minister for Industry, Trade & Tourism Faiyaz Koya (standing 5th from left) with the victorious Valelevu team after the completion of the Fiji Muslim Sports Association IDC at Prince Charles Park. Photo: ANUSHIL KUMAR.



LOCAL SPORTS

Karate Champ Visits Nadi District School

Torch Relay Visits Mulomulo Secondary School

Two-times World Mar-tial Arts Champion, also known as the Coke Can Kid, Andrew Ravuna vis-ited Nadi District School on Wednesday, March 25, to demonstrate some of his award winning moves to the students and teach-ers.

Ravuna, who is origi-nally from Ba, arrived into the country from Bris-bane, Australia on March 17 after four years since his last trip to Fiji with his mother Andrea.

While sharing some of his past experiences with the students, Ravuna said he was born four months premature and was not expected to live.

I was born at 800 grams and went down to 500 grams, now Im a little bit bigger, so my mum thought she would put me into karate, said Ravuna.

While growing up, I was not treated well so I had to learn to get cour-age and defend myself.

He started his karate training at the age of nine and now he is a Sensei (karate master).

Technically I found

karate but I think karate found me so I have been training ever so hard and got my black belt, he added.

Head teacher Meli Ca-bebula was very grateful to have Andrew Ravuna visit them at the school.

We are very lucky and

all the children are very happy to have him.

A world champ visit-ing our school and we at Nadi District school well all be cheering for Andrew during the Olym-pics, Mr Cabebula said.

Ravuna has been in-ducted in the Interna-

tional Sports Karate As-sociation Hall of Fame internationally.

Sensei Ravuna was also named as the sports-man of the year in 2010 and 2014.

Apart from being very talented with weapons of all kinds (Nun chucks,

World Karate Champion Andrew Ravuna poses with the students of Nadi District School. Photo: MARGARET NAQIRI.

For the first time in his-tory, Mulomulo Second-ary School hosted the 2015 Coca Cola Games Torch Re-lay at the school.

School principal Sera Lockington was thankful to the organisers and officials of the Coca-Cola Games and described the torch-relay visit as an historic event in the school calendar.

Today is a historic occa-sion for Mulomulo Second-ary School. It is the first time the torch relay is brought to the school and I thank the organisers for including us, said Mrs Lockington.

All too often, the school is ignored and yet we are situated only four kilometers from the Nadi back road.

An occasion like this will help to put the school on the map.

The school held an inter-house from which the school selected their athletes for the Nadi Zone which was held at Prince Charles Park.

Mulomulo Secondary walked away with two gold medals, three silver and four bronze medals. Five athletes have qualified for the Coca-Cola Games in Suva.

Mrs Lockington conclud-ed her speech by thanking the Torch relay Coordina-tor Onisimo Rokotuinasau and his team for visiting the school.

The annual biggest sec-ondary school athletics, Coca-Cola Games is sched-uled to take place at the ANZ Stadium in Suva from April 24-25.

By MARGARET NAQIRI

Katana/sword, Bo staff and Sai), he is a Second Dan Black Belt and a very dedicated teacher as he owns his own Dojo.

I am still training un-der my master Kyoshi Bill Wakefield C.M.A Nerang Gold Coast QLD. I owe a lot to him for knowledge

, guidance, love and sup-port from my mum An-drea who is terminally ill.

Mr Ravuna will be rep-resenting Australia Fiji next year for the Olym-pics in Rio, Brazil.

Mulomulo Secondary School students excited over the Coca-cola Games Torch Relay visiting their school for the first time. Photo: MARGARET NAQIRI.

q DEPTFO

By MARGARET NAQIRI



By ANUSHIL KUMAR

The 20 member Vodafone Fiji Under 17 side for the Oceania Football Confederation Championship (OFC) in Samoa. Photo. Antonio Kitione.

APRIL/MAY 2015. ISSUE 64 www.thejetnewspaper.com 50 CENTS

Page 23 Page 22$35K BOOST FOR LAUTOKALOCAL LEAGUE

Korovuto College successfully de-fended the Nadi Zone Athletics title winning it for the second consecutive year.

The defending champions grabbed a total of 21 Gold, 15 Silver and 9 Bronze at the two-day Nadi zone meet which ended at Prince Charles Park on March 21.

Team coach Siaki Baba said it was a moment of joy for the Korovuto Col-lege family as they are the champions of athletics in Nadi.

We are very happy for the win and I should thank the athletes for giving their whole-hearted performance during the two days of tight competi-tion, Mr Baba said.

I must thank the Almighty for giving the strength to our athletes, the parents who fully supported their children in every possible ways, the administra-tion and school management for giv-ing us time to train for this zone-meet, teachers who gave their effort to train the athletes.

He said the focus now shifts to the Coca-Cola Games which will be held at the ANZ Stadium in Suva.

We will now select and train the best athletes who will be representing our school in the Coke Games and we are hoping for the best in Suva.

Improving from where we left here at the Nadi Zone and adding few more spices to squad is our main aim before we hit the biggest Secondary School Athletics competition.

Mr Baba dedicated the win to the

Korovuto College family as a whole.Meanwhile, Ratu Navula College

had to settle for the second spot grab-bing 17 Gold, 13 Silver and 15 Bronze while Nadi Muslim College finished third collecting 16 Golds, 8 Silver and 15 Bronze.

A total of 34 new records were set during this years two-day competition.

Victorious Korovuto College also won the overall girls division while Swami Vivekananda College won the overall boys division.

Nadi Athletics Competition manager Melisio Camaitoga described the two-day event a success.

The success of the competition was all due to the hardwork of the Pemac teachers, the Principles of all the Nadi schools for the support that they have given us, Mr Camaitoga said.

We were really happy that all the events happened as per our time schedule and this is due to the team managers, coaches and the network-ing system that was coming across from the officials.

The 34 records that were broken speaks itself the level of competition that we had.

He also had a message to all the Nadi schools who will be taking part in the Coca-Cola Games.

For all Nadi coaches and manag-ers, we need to prepare our team well so that we are at par with the schools that participate all over Fiji.

Together we all will represent Nadi regardless of whichever school wins.

The Coca-Cola Games were yet to be played when this edition went to press.

Champions Again

We did it again... The victorious Korovuto College athletes celebrate after successfully defending the Nadi Zone athletics title. Photo: ANUSHIL KUMAR.

KARATE CHAMP VISITS NADISCHOOL

the jet volume 7 number 5

Documents

university management

graduation ceremony

important journey

longer journey

journey of assignments

journey of application

university chancellor

demanding journey