The Lau Education Charitable Trust board From the chairperson: Next generation of Lauan leaders to make an impact in our villages and communities

MALO saka a bula. My name is Peni Kacimaiwai, and I am from the village of Salia on the island of Nayau.

I moved with my family and five children to the Gold Coast, Queensland, where LECT’s Australian headquarters is located. We have been there for 14 years. As chairperson of a registered Australian charity, I use my 30 plus years of professional consulting engineering experience to oversee the organisation’s activities in my semi-retirement, helping to achieve its mission.

According to the late President Nelson Mandella, “... education is the most powerful tool with which we can change the world.”

Our iTaukei have historically lagged in this area in comparison to our other groups, but this is changing as we adapt culturally and by necessity to the demands of living in these modern and harsh socioeconomic situations. Because of its extreme remoteness, the yasana ko Lau has made it impossible for our government to maintain the same educational facilities and academic standards as its counterparts in urban schools. Even after 53 years of independence, the government still needs all the help it can get to bridge these massive differences, and LECT was established out of these very genuine requirements that the founding all-Lauan directors could clearly see.

In the 21st century, instant communication and technical improvements have become commonplace and continue to increase at an exponential rate.

However, the bulk of iTaukei still live in rural areas and continue to practise traditional subsistence lifestyles as they did before independence.

While daunting as a vision, what is exciting for me personally is the challenge of being involved in the positive impacts to the yasana that will result from “bridging the education divides” over the next 15 years which includes providing acceptable teachers accommodations and amenities.

And simultaneously, to also ensure through close collaboration with our village communities, government and like organisations that our Lauan children remain rooted in our culture and traditions, the vernacular, strong faith and increased awareness of environmental issues and climate change.

It is about nation building — me vuli ko Lau, me bula ko Viti!

I am especially enthusiastic about the new Solarbuddy desk lamps, which were distributed during the Christmas school holiday and will have a significant impact across the yasana. A new cooperation with Solarbuddy Australia has provided lamps for all students in Lau’s schools, including early childhood institutions, enabling night study. Giving each child a light is a small gesture that will lead to greater academic outcomes in the future, especially as homework becomes more common.

Three milestones have shaped LECT’s current course, including a Memorandum of Understanding with the Lau Provincial Council in early 2022.

We have linked our actions with the provincial administration and other relevant government departments.

Our positive relationships, particularly those with Roko Tui Lau, have led to increased efficiency. The Australian Board’s decision to register LECT Fiji as a charitable trust in mid-2023 has provided significant benefits, including 100 per cent taxation and duty concessions on all incoming school equipment sent in shipping containers from Rotary Australia. Our local volunteer network has expanded and continues to grow.

We can now seek grants from international aid agencies as an ODA (official development assistance) organisation that is properly recognised and operating in Fiji.

This has led to the formation of a new LECT Grants team. The acceptance of two marama from the paramount chiefly household of Vatuwaqalevu as LECT Trustees has provided the organisation with traditional leadership and credibility that encompasses all villages of Lau. While still a work in progress, this recognition helps identify LECT as a yasana organisation for the people.