FAMILIES IN OUTER ISLANDS SHARE LOAD
EXPLORING HOW THOSE IN THE OUTER ISLANDS ARE AFFECTED ‘Yes, they have requested our help with some things and finance. So, we have been waiting for the first passenger vessel to the island to send them some food to help them for the time being.’
While the pandemic COVID-19 continues to put a strain on people and their livelihoods, it has also shown how closely-knit families and communities in Fiji are, as they try and overcome the challenges together.
In the village of Tovu on the island of Totoya in the Lau Group, one could assume that the villagers would not feel the effects of the pandemic, not directly, anyway. Such is the case with Arieta Vuli and her husband Josateki Temo, who are feeling the effects through their children.
“We have six children. One of our sons stays with us in the village, while four live in Nadi and one lives in Suva,” Mrs Vuli said. “One of them worked in a hotel in Nadi but was laid off after the COVID-19 outbreak.”
The other three have reduced working hours and irregular work and have reached out to their parents for help.
“Yes, they have requested our help with some things and finance. So, we have been waiting for the first passenger vessel to the island to send them some food to help them for the time being.”
The Government imposed inter-island travel restrictions after the first confirmed COVID-19 victim was identified. From March 25 to April 25 there were no ferry services and Totoya Islanders had to wait until May 14 for the first passenger vessel.
On board the vessel was a team from Conservation International (CI) to carry out relief assistance in partnership with the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade after
Tropical Cyclone Harold.
There was also a questionnaire, adapted by the Locally Managed Marine Area Network and its partners, for the fishing communities in the islands to assess the impacts of COVID-19 on them and their livelihoods. It was during the interview that Ms Vuli told the CI team how it had affected her family.
CI Fiji marine programme manager Semisi Meo said that COVID-19 had seriously affected public and private sector entities, as well as the people.
“The joint multi-stakeholder national COVID-19 assessment will help to reveal the effect of COVID-19 on natural resources, community leadership and governance, people’s social and economic status, and the emotions and stresses of communities living in various locations across the nation,” he said.
“The assessment will enable us to get a snapshot of the impact of COVID-19 on communities living on the remote maritime islands in the Lau Group. It will also identify opportunities that surface as a result of COVID-19 – opportunities that can be harnessed to better management and use of natural resources in these communities,” he added.
Mrs Vuli said that it was earnings from their virgin coconut oil and kava business that enabled them to assist their family on the mainland, who are feeling the effects of COVID-19.
“We started the virgin coconut oil business in 2013 after my husband attended a workshop in Taveuni,” she said.
“Since then we have not looked back and it has become our source of income. From the earnings, we have bought a 15-horsepower outboard engine, a power generator and other necessities for life in the village.”
They sell the oil for $13 a litre and have a client in Suva who buys from them. As much as 30 litres in sealed containers makes a boat trip to the mainland.
This is apart from the bottled oil, with their business label Koviko Island Fresh, for family members in Suva to sell at the market or in workplaces.
“Our product is organic, as there is no chemical fertiliser used in our coconut plantation in Koviko, which our label is named after,” Mrs Vuli said. The family’s dedication to hard work also sees their involvement in community projects. Mrs Vuli’s husband Mr Temo is the mata ni tikina (district representative) for Totoya Island and is also actively involved with the Lau Seascape Initiative.
His son, Rusiate Baleitoga, looks after Tovu Village’s beekeeping project under the initiative. He received his beekeeping materials, which included a suit and smoker, from CI to assist him in his work.
Mrs Vuli said that COVID-19 would pass and they were optimistic that things would get better for their loved ones on the mainland. Until then, her family will continue to look out for them.
The joint multistakeholder national COVID-19 assessment will help to reveal the effect of COVID-19 on natural resources, community leadership and governance, people’s social and economic status, and the emotions and stresses of communities living in various locations across the nation.
Semisi Meo
CI Fiji marine programme manager