Rotarians step up, help villagers
ROTARIANS on Taveuni have been busy the past months helping villagers in Vuna rebuild their hall.
Led by Peter Brown and his team, the villagers asked the club for assistance to rebuild the village that was taken down by STC Winston in 2016.
The Rotarians got together and worked with their counterpart, Rotary New Zealand, and raised a total of $160,000 to complete the construction of the hall which was opened last week by New Zealand High Commissioner Charllote Darlow.
Ms Darlow thanked the Rotarians for their great help in giving back to the villagers what they needed, a multipurpose hall.
“Communities are about resilience and we have been on Taveuni for two days and one thing that has impressed me is the way everybody works together,” she said.
“The oneness of the Fijian people shows a strong, resilient island community you have.
“I certainly don’t underestimate the journey you’ve taken to recover from TC Winston and even through COVID and other cyclones, the community has been persistent and determined.”
Ms Darlow told the villagers of Vuna that the NZ Government would continue to work with the Fijian Government and its people for the benefit of all Fijians.
Rotary Club president Paul Purvis said the project was another successful community work that the club had always been known for.
“We have many successful projects on the island that have helped many villagers, hospitals and those living in islands surrounding Taveuni.”
For the hall foreman and builder, Mr Brown said he visited Vuna Village after TC Winston to give affected families plastics of food and that’s when he was approached by the Tui Vuna Aporosa Rageci.
Mr Rageci thanked the Rotarians and the New Zealand Government for their great help.