Village welcomes first truck
This year’s Fiji Day celebration was extra special for the people of Nayarabale Village in Cakaudrove as they welcomed their first truck to their village. More than 300 people from different parts of the country sharing links to the village converged at the village green to traditionally welcome the arrival of the vehicle. The four and half tonne truck will solve transport problems in the village. Located about 50 kilometres from Labasa Town, the village has access to a bus only twice a day at 7:30am to Labasa and at 4pm to their village. “We are so happy to welcome yet another advancement which is set to make transportation much easier,” the Turaga-ni-Koro Lote Turaga said. The $86,000 initiative was funded by the Nayarabale Youth Group from a yaqona farm they were cultivating. In an interview with the leader of the group, Iliesa Vakaruru said this had been a part of their plan when they piloted the Rural Millionaire project in their village. Mr Vakaruru said this was a part of their bigger plan to improve their village and address some issues which continued to hinder development in their village. “We have only harvested a portion of our plantation and we have some other plans for our village,” Mr Vakaruru said.
“Our village is located at a considerable distance from the town and other services like the health centre in Coqeloa which is about 15km to 20km from here. “We have made a priority of the issues we feel is urgent. While this is a youth project, it is something that we partake in as a community.
“I would like to challenge youths in the country that they can do this, all they need is discipline, respect and unity.” Apart from the vehicle, the youth group also bought four brush-cutters, tiles for their church and five pots for the community hall. There are a total of 25 young men that make up the youth group.