by Serafina Silaitoga
Fiji Times - Friday, October 15, 2010
Nabukadogo Village headman Peni Vusoni (second row from the front, third from right) with the village youths at their soli last week. Picture: SERAFINA QALO
A VILLAGE by-law in the Northern Division has banned women from wearing T-shirts in the village but has allowed men to drink yaqona until 11pm.
The women of Nabukadogo in Macuata have also been instructed to wear sulu-i-ra at all times ùwhether inside the home or outside ù while the children have been placed on a 6pm curfew.
Headman Peni Vusoni said the by-law was discussed at a meeting two weeks ago where the villagers agreed to the changes. To ensure the by-law is upheld, the village has appointed 10 wardens who will work day and night.
Mr Vusoni said respect for the village must be reinforced and that the by-laws had brought about good changes in the past two weeks, especially with the men waking up early to attend to their farms and other duties.
He said yaqona sessions in the village would now end by 11pm, after which all villagers must remain indoors. This rule, he said, would not be relaxed for funerals or traditional functions.
At 6pm, all children are to be seated in their homes doing their homework and village wardens will visit each and every home to check on them.
Mr Vusoni said the 6pm curfew would help the students live a disciplined life and improve their academic performance.
He said children were not allowed to leave their houses unless in case of an emergency or to attend church. For trips taken outside the village, Mr Vusoni said the villagers were asked to inform the wardens, especially if they expcted to return after 11pm.
For women who go out fishing, he said they could take off their sulu-i-ra but they must put them back on again when they returned to the village.
Youths of Nabukadogo take charge
Serafina Silaitoga
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Nabukadogo youths present their soli at the shed (top) yesterday as they attempt to take on more responsibility, fundraising and the work around the village
REALISING the importance of their role towards village development, the Nabukadogo youth club yesterday opened their new fund pool to help finance village projects.
The Macuata youngsters organised a youth soli in the village where their parents, village elders, traditional leaders and friends were invited to help fundraise for their first project.
Youth group adviser Ilisoni Dovibau said the youth group started again a month ago after a two-year lapse.
"We have a village youth group but it became defunct," he said.
"About a month ago, we met and agreed that our youth group should be formed so we can contribute towards village development. Youths play a major role in any village so we want to start training our youths to become responsible adults making wise decisions for themselves."
Mr Dovibau said the first project already discussed was a village shop run and managed by the youth group.
"This first soli will go towards our pool of money which will be only used to finance village projects like the shop, which is our first project.
"There is a house in the village which has not been used so we will turn that into a shop and we have already informed our village elders and parents about it," Mr Dovibau said.
At the soli, youths asked for their parents' and the vanua support as they set their eyes on a better future for the people of Nabukadogo.
Mr Dovibau said other plans have been lined up for next year, all aimed at encouraging youths to take the lead role in village developments.
"Our elders can only do much so we have to train our youths to play the lead role as they will become leaders."
| EasyTel has made a difference in our lives - Turaga ni Koro, Nabukadogo | ||||
16 February, Suva, Fiji Islands – Telecom Fiji’s Easytel system has recently been introduced to the Northern Division, making telecommunication services more accessible to rural dwellers. The EasyTel base station has been set-up in Delaikoro in Labasa – with a reach covering the following areas in the North: Labasa Town, Wailevu, Doguru, Vunimoli, Tuatua, Korowiri, Nabekavu, Vunika, Nabalebale (Savusavu), Seaqaqa Town, Batiri, Savusavu Town, Wainikoro area and Namalata, Bua. 
To date Telecom Fiji has installed twenty-eight (28) villages in the Northern division with the EasyTel service, including Nabukadogo outside Labasa. Installed in November 2003, the EasyTel service has been very well received by the people of Nabukadogo, which has greatly enhanced daily life in the village. Nabukadogo EasyTel House Turaga-ni-Koro Nabukadogo, Manoa Valeniyasana says, “We are very happy to finally have telephone service in the village, and since the service was provided it has made a great difference to our lives; it is very helpful and convenient and enables us to be in contact with family and friends from nearby towns and in other parts of Fiji.”
The telephone has also assisted some of the villagers with their fishing business. “We save a great deal of time and money now. Organising collection of our fish to sell in Seaqaqa or Labasa is now only a phone call away, where previously we would have to send a message or arrange for transport ourselves, which was time consuming and would sometimes cost more money,” said Mr. Valeniyasana. “There’s now a lot of potential for our people to improve or start up business because of the accessibility and convenience of having telephone service. Mr. Valeniyasana’s comments were fully supported by the Liuliu ni Yavusa Namoli, Vilimone Dovibua, who said that he was very thankful to Telecom Fiji for providing their village with telephone service. “It is a great relief to us to have telephone service which makes life so much easier for us now. For instance, when someone is sick we used to have to send children to fetch transport to go to Labasa or Seaqaqa. Now with a telephone, we simply make a phone call for transport or an ambulance to take the sickly to the hospital or nearby health centre”, Mr. Dovibua said. The expansion of the EasyTel service to the North reaffirms Telecom Fiji’s commitment to continually develop and enhance its network, especially in the rural areas. EasyTel is Telecom Fiji’s wireless telephone service that is delivered by the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) technology and is a system that will assist Telecom Fiji achieve its goal of greater telephone penetration into rural areas. This wireless technology allows customers to get connected to the Telecom Fiji network even if they are in areas without telephone cables or where cables are exhausted. The only requirement for customers is a regular power supply. “The essence of CDMA technology is that customers can have access to telecom services without having to connect through a telephone cable,” explained Salote Uluinaceva, Telecom Fiji’s Manager Corporate Communications. “The service will stimulate the flow of information into and from rural communities,” she added. The northern EasyTel system cost around $700,000 and in addition Telecom Fiji is planning to install three CDMA repeaters in the northern region to improve signals to low signal areas. TFL has also made a commitment to provide telephone services in all villages in the Bua province this year. This will include the modernisation of the Dreketi, Rabi and Tukavesi exchanges. The rural telephone penetration programme in the north also include settlement and villages in Macuata and Cakaudrove who have not been given any services or are still using the old manual system. All rural telecommunication services will be on prepaid facilities. For further information, please contact: Salote Uluinaceva Manager Corporate Communications Tel: 321 0486 Fax: 330 5595 Email: salote.uluinaceva@tfl.com.fj |
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