Communities

A passion project taking the Rotuman diaspora by storm By Donna Hoerder What started as a passion project for two cousins is creating a flurry of interest for many other Rotumans. Especially the Rotuman diaspora who can relate to the challenges and expense of visiting Rotuma, an island 400 miles northwest of the capital Suva, […]

By Samisoni Pareti Located on the northwest tip of Vanuabalavu, Lau, tiny limestone islets— many of them looking more like boulders –litter the bay to make up this natural wonder. The limestone rocks are secure anchors, and the many narrow channels and sheltered coves form natural anchorage and berthing bays for yachts, motorboats and other […]

In Fiji, a group of 15 dedicated women has been doing their part to create a circular economy by turning plastic trash into cash. Based in the coastal village of Galoa, the Bulikula Women’s Plastics Group was formed four years ago.  With support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO), […]

By Elizabeth Kolivuso The Frank Hilton Organisation raised over FJ$17,000 in partnership with the Shivas Regal Project through a charity concert fundraiser that was held in Brisbane last month. This was the first ever fundraiser for the organisation to be held outside of Fiji. The Frank Hilton Organisation provides essential health and support services to […]

The Rise Beyond the Reef story By Ariela Zibiah Salanieta Utobota, and her husband can plan for their children to attend boarding schools and complete university education confidently, while sitting in their Bukuya home in the highlands of western Viti Levu. That they are able to plan for all four children’s education without having to […]

By Samantha Magick The Urata lookout just outside Savusavu has long been a favourite place for travellers on the Labasa-Savusavu highway to break their journey for a spectacular photo and some fresh air. But its popularity meant that it had also become a place that was despoiled by the litter they left behind. Now the […]

By Sera Tikotikovatu-Sefeti Entering Sigavou Studios is a surprising experience. Located in a light industrial area in Nadi, a beautiful mural outside hints at what is to come. The steps you ascend relay a motivational message, and when you get to the top, you are greeted with an explosion of colours. The founder, Maria Rova, […]

By Sera Tikotikovatu-Sefeti The Fiji Times at 150 is a book that is really a kaleidoscope of stories with a vivid, witty, funny, and remarkable history of Fiji through the Fiji Times’ lens. The author, historian and writer Anurag Subramani, described it as a ‘scrapbook of Fiji’s history’ at the book’s launch last week. He […]

By Sera Tikotikovatu-Sefeti What happens when a worthy charity, healthy competition, dress-ups, creativity, and a nostalgic childhood memory of simple ‘bara’ races meet? You are met with uncontained excitement from adults who want to give their all for a cause close to their hearts. ‘The Amazing Wheelbarrow Race’–- an event aimed at raising funds to […]

By Kite Pareti The devastation Covid-19 wrought on Fiji’s tourism industry brought out the best in many of Fiji’s tourism workers and operators. For Marriott Fiji’s Cluster Director of Human Resources, Farrah Shazleen and her team, it was a chance to lead a number of people-centred initiatives for Marriott staff and the community at large. […]

By Shazia Usman Picture this – two girls around 10 years old. Wearing two-sizes-too large psychedelic-coloured shorts their mums bought for them at some sale, catching the Number 21/22 bus on a bright Saturday morning in Samabula, Suva, Fiji. Their destination? The Suva City Library, of course.  They were great friends, these two, but stronger […]

By Sera Tikotikovatu-Sefeti Yesterday marked a special day for the descendants of the Girmityas in Fiji as they commemorated not only the shared pain of their history, but also the deep friendship that they share with indigenous Fijians. In a moving traditional ceremony in Naivilaca village in Noco, Rewa, home of the people who rescued […]

Part Two: Reflections of the Fiji Fringe with Sharleen Ali By Ben Wheeler Sharleen Ali is dynamic. She bristles with a creative energy that seems to produce so many thoughts a minute that if there was a way to convert them to electricity, her ideas could power a small village. It is this potency that […]

By Sera Tikotikovatu-Sefeti Nausori was declared a town in 1931 but is rich in a history that started well before that time. It is the site of Fiji’s first sugar refining company, a place of remembrance for the people who died aboard the Syria and those who came to the rescue of passengers, and the […]

Pacific researchers assessing the wellbeing of tourism-reliant communities in Fiji, Samoa, Vanuatu and the Cook Islands amid the COVID-19 pandemic have found these communities are mainly resilient in the face of adversity. Professor Regina Scheyvens and Dr Apisalome Movono’s ongoing study “Measuring the Well-being of Tourism-Reliant Communities in the South Pacific during the COVID-19 pandemic” […]

By Samantha Magick “Our children are valuable and we have the responsibility to ensure that they are educated;  that they have the basic needs to go through school.” That’s the firmly-held belief of Vunilagi Book Club founder Mariana Waqa, who for four years has worked with a group of volunteers to bring high-quality books and […]

Words and images: Sera Tikotikovatu-Sefeti Imagine waking up to the sound of chirping birds, soft lapping waves and a soft breeze, uninterrupted by the sound of loud, noisy traffic and the fast pace of city life. That is what it’s like to live on Moce island in Fiji. On Moce in the Lau group, 325km […]

What started as a small interaction over a cup of coffee in 2006 has today turned out to be the biggest cancer fundraising event in Fiji. As Motibhai Group executive director Bhupendra Patel recalls, it was a mere coincidence that he happened to meet a group of Australian ladies at the Suva Central complex on one fine morning 17 […]