NEWSROOM: 18 November - 24 November 2007

Secondary schools and colleges arts exhibition
24 November 2007 - Source: Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture Press Release

The Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture hosted an exhibition to showcase the students’ projects in the areas of Visual Arts, Design Technology, Agricultural Science, Food and Textiles Technology, Performing Arts and Music and Computer Studies from secondary schools and colleges around the country from Wednesday 21st to Friday 23rd November 2007 at the Samoanagalo Fale at Malifa.

The exhibition covers Years 9-13 with emphasis on Year 12 student’s practical tasks which were produced throughout the year as part of the Internal Assessment requirements for the 2007 Samoa School Certificate Examination.

The Exhibition was officially opened on Wednesday 21st November at 10.00am by the Minister of Education, Sports and Culture, Hon. Toomata Alapati Toomata. It was opened to the public free of charge immediately after its opening on Wednesday morning.

Awards for the top students in the Samoa School Certificate Internal Assessment Components for the above subjects was also presented during the opening ceremony by the Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture, Tautāpilimai Levaopolo Tupae Esera.

The exhibition opened again to the public on Thursday 22nd and Friday 23rd from 8.00am, providing an opportunity for people to see the levels of knowledge and skills that the students have achieved throughout the year in these vocational subject areas.
 

Paddles up; Va’a Moana regatta launches today
23 November 2007 - Source: Lauren Cassar

At precisely 5.10 pm today (Friday 23rd November), a field of paddlers will launch into the waters at Mulinu’u Peninsula in the first Samoan va’a regatta since the South Pacific Games (SPG). The event, Va’a Moana has been organised by the Samoa Outrigger Canoe Association (SOCA) and will feature competitors from four Samoan clubs, America Samoa and various social teams formed from government and private businesses around Samoa.

The regatta which was announced in early October will consist of ten events spanning across open men’s, women’s, and social categories. Both sprint and marathon events are scheduled with first place prizes being awarded in all events. The regatta will launch with social mix and open men’s sprint heats and will conclude on Saturday evening with the V6 500m sprint finals for all categories.

According to Saju Abraham, SOCA Secretary, “the event is designed both to create interest in the sport and give the competitive paddlers something to work towards. The social arm of the sport has recently expanded so this is a great way for the newer paddlers to meet people from other clubs and get a taste for whether they want to become more serious about the sport or not.”

Preparations for the event began earlier this week with members of SOCA along with paddlers from Pualele Outrigger Canoe Club and Tautai Outrigger Club setting the course at Mulinu’u. Despite the commitment shown from these keen paddlers, the regatta would not be going ahead without the much appreciated support from the Ministry of Education, Sports & Culture, KL Security, Rees Hirage and the South Pacific Games Authority who have allowed for the use of the SPG va'a for the event.

As clubs train quite separately from one another there is sure to be a few surprises on the day as to whom the medals and top three places will be awarded to. Nonetheless with Pualele OCC entering their SPG bronze medal team in the open men’s 500m event a high benchmark will be set and ambitions high in the quest to claim victory.
 

IWF World Cup final countdown: watch these faces!
22 November 2007 - Source: Matthew Joyce, SIFA 2007 IIWF World Cup Media Team

As we approach the start of competition for the Samoa International Finance Authority (SIFA) sponsored 2007 International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Cup, finishing touches are being put on the venue at Faleata whilst the athletes are fine tuning their approaches to competition. While some are aiming for world records and personal best scores others are vying, in their final chance for qualification in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

This week we will follow the lives of several of the Oceania Weightlifting Federation’s (OWF) medal hopefuls in their preparations for the SIFA 2007 IWF World Cup. Each day we will cover a different aspect of their lives and reveal the intricacies of living and competing as a world class athlete. These athletes have been kind enough to talk about how weightlifting has affected their personal lives, their preparations for competition, training regimes and lifestyles, as well as factors that influence their results but are out of their direct control.

With six days left until competition we introduce to you some of Oceania’s weightlifting wealth ‘lifting the bar’ (thanks to SIFA), on weightlifting in the Pacific.

WATCH THIS FACE – DIKA TOUA
Dika Toua, a broad smiling splendor from Papua New Guinea, is twenty three years old and has been weightlifting for thirteen years already. She was inspired to take up the sport by her aunty, a weightlifting champion and also a representative of Papua New Guinea, who experienced international success in the mid to late 1990’s. Having followed the sport through her aunt, Toua was further inspired by news of Paul Coffa’s influence on the sport and consequential success in Nauru.

Toua is part of Paul Coffa’s OWF team and has been living and training in Samoa for the past two years. She is not a newcomer to international competition having competed in previous IWF World Cups, Commonwealth Games and also the Athens Olympics in 2004. Toua holds three junior plus five senior Oceania records across the 53kg and 58kg divisions. Her main aim for the SIFA IWF World Cup is to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

WATCH THIS FACE – ITTE DETENAMO
Nauru’s super weight and super hopeful is 148kg friendly giant, Itte Detenamo who is competing in the SIFA 2007 IWF World Cup 105+kg division. Detenamo currently weighs 148kg and after he was introduced to the sport by his father, the Honourable Vinson Detenamo, at ten years of age has now been competing for eleven of his 21 years.

Despite his obviously intimidating physical stature, Detenamo is surprisingly quietly spoken and modest about his achievements. When asked about his rivals in the weightlifting realm he replied, “I am not worried about that. I just want to compete against the best [in the world]”.

Detenamo has held a multitude of titles including Oceania, South Pacific and Commonwealth Junior records as well as the South Pacific Senior records in the 105+kg division. His record weight lift in competition currently stands at 170kg for snatch and 211kg for clean and jerk, but as recently as last Friday, Detenamo lifted 216kg in clean and jerk during a training session. This improvement makes him a driving force for the OWF team and someone who his team mates naturally look up to.

As the countdown to the start of competition continues, we will follow Toua, Detenamo and some of their team mates and competitors to see how a world class athlete prepares for an international competition such as the SIFA 2007 IWF World Cup. Whilst our profile athletes have had different introductions and experiences in the sport of weightlifting, they both agree that without their revered coach Paul Coffa and international experience in tournaments such as the SIFA IWF World Cup, they would not be as committed to the sport and to succeeding as they are today.
 

Historical moment at Samoa Cricket Ovals
21 November 2007 - Source: Lauren Cassar

The Samoa Cricket Ovals at Faleata sports complex hosted a historical event on Saturday; the first ever women’s cricket match in Samoa. The event which was organised by Tina Macumber, Development Officer with the Samoa International Cricket Association (SICA) attracted a larger than expected crowd and created a sound launching pad for women’s cricket in Samoa.

The event was organised with the aim to introduce people to women’s cricket, teach some of the basic skills and rules involved with the sport as well as to project the fun that can be associated with the game. An introductory training session was held on Thursday, prior to the match where an overview of the game was conducted.

Following the bronze medal success enjoyed by the Samoan Men’s National Team in the recent South Pacific Games, cricket is a sport that has seen an increase in popularity over recent months. Whilst not a new sport to Samoa, it is a sport relying on committed individuals such as Macumber to recruit and retain new players so to maintain its popularity and ensure a future at an international level.

Approximately thirty people turned up to either watch or participate in the match. Most of these people had, had no prior experience with the sport but were interested in meeting other sports-minded people and getting involved in a team sport. Participants were split into two teams of eleven and played 15 overs, consisting of six balls, each. The result of Saturday’s match was a draw and although clichéd it was agreed by all in attendance that ‘cricket was the winner on the day’.

According to Macumber, “I am very happy with how today turned out.” We attracted more people than I had expected and now we have the contact details of people who are interested in playing future matches. We are aiming to launch a women’s competition in 2008 and will be working on recruiting more players in a school development program. Although today
was all about fun and an introduction to cricket, there is a number of promising players who I hope will join us at future events.”

Prior to Macumber’s arrival, Perelini Mulitalo has been the only female advocate for women’s cricket in Samoa. Her involvement has spanned 7 years on a volunteer basis and whilst support through SICA has been strong, challenges such as her full time employment as a teacher for the past 14 years have prevented her from organizing an all women’s competition.

The next women’s cricket match will be held in early 2008 and announcements will be made in the new year as to how to get involved. For more information about the sport please visit http://icc-cricket.yahoo.com
 

Western Union helps Samoans stay connected
20 November 2007 - Source: Western Union Money Transfer Press Release

Western Union, a worldwide leader in money transfer services, helps Samoans in New Zealand conduct their personal and business affairs with minimum fuss, and stay connected with family, property and businesses in their homeland.

Western Union’s comprehensive agent network features 17 dedicated locations in Samoa (12 on Upolu and five on Savaii), many of which are in rural locations. This extensive network makes transferring funds from New Zealand quick, easy and hassle free. Western Union agents are often located within petrol stations or retailers, and many are open until midnight, which offers great convenience to customers.

To make sending money home even more appealing, Western Union recently introduced new pricing, which makes sending money to Samoa even cheaper - it now costs as little as $14 to send up to $10,000 to Samoa. Plus, anyone who sends money with their Western Union Gold Card gets $3 free phone credit, which gives them six minutes of calling time to Samoa.

Many Samoans living in New Zealand send money back to the island to support family living there – helping to pay for groceries and household expenses such as monthly utility payments like power, water and telephone bills. Western Union helps take the stress out of transferring money by offering an easy to use, reliable service which ensures funds are received safely and quickly.

Western Union agent in Samoa, Anarosa Molioo says remittances are very important to the Samoan economy.

“One of Samoa’s biggest exports is our people,” says Ms Molioo. “Every year 1,100 Samoan people migrate to New Zealand to find work under the Samoan quota, and it is vital for these people, and their families in Samoa, that they are able to send money home quickly and easily.

“With Western Union money is sent, and generally available for pick up, within minutes and in most cases, no bank account is required for the sender or the receiver.”

As well as sending money home for general expenses, Samoans living in New Zealand also transfer funds for family events throughout the year such as birthdays, weddings and funerals.

“Samoan people living in New Zealand need to transfer money home regularly throughout the year, so it is essential that the service they use is reliable and easy to use,” says Bridget Dennis, Western Union’s regional manager, New Zealand and Isles.

“By offering our customers a convenient network of agents locations in Samoa, a fast and secure service and exceptional customer care, Western Union can ensure that money transfer between New Zealand and Samoa is hassle free.

Western Union aims for exceptional customer service and makes arrangements for elderly or sick customers who aren’t able to come into the branch to collect funds and, in many cases, Western Union managers have personally delivered transferred funds to customer’s homes.

Samoans who have property or family businesses in the islands are frequent customers at Western Union, sending funds back for loan repayments with financial institutions. Business transactions occur quickly and easily, with money arriving instantly. Western Union customer service representatives are always on hand to help fill out forms and offer assistance to make transferring money trouble-free and straightforward.
 

Call for involvement in International Volunteer Day Celebrations
19 November 2007 - Source: International Volunteer Day Press Release

What is International Volunteer Day?
In 1985, the United Nations General Assembly designated the 5th of December as International Volunteer Day (IVD) - an annual celebration day for volunteers. IVD is an opportunity for volunteers from all walks of life and in all communities to stand up and celebrate their efforts. The United Nations Volunteers programme (UNV) is the focal point for IVD, which in recent years has often been used to promote and achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This year’s theme is no exception as it will look to target MDG 4 (Healthy Children), MDG 5 (Healthy Mothers) and MDG 6 (Preventing HIV/AIDS and diabetes). This year’s IVD will also celebrate and promote the work of the many organisations and individuals in Samoa that volunteer their time and efforts to strengthen their communities and to help build a better world.

What is this year’s theme?
This year’s IVD theme is “Creating a Healthy Samoa”

What is happening?
A number of volunteer and NGO organisations, including UN Volunteers, UNDP, AUSAID, SUNGO (Samoa Umbrella of NGOs), the US Peace Corps and JICA have joined together to organise a public gala that will include stalls, fun sporting activities and music.

When is this happening?
The IVD celebrations will be held on Saturday December 8th from 9am – 12pm.

Where is this happening?
The public gala will take place in front of the Government Building in Apia.

Activities on the day
Activities will include:
• Stalls for many non-governmental organisations promoting their work and volunteering opportunities within their organisations.
• Fundraising stalls for local NGOs and organisations selling healthy food and drinks, health and organic products, and arts and crafts.
• Fun sporting activities for children and adults alike.
• A Red Cross blood drive and awareness campaign.
• Spot prizes and an award for the best stall will also be presented.

Stalls are available!
Spaces are still available for local NGO’s and other non-profit organizations who would like to run a stall. Stalls and tables will be provided at no cost, and will be allocated at the discretion of the organising committee based on merit with this year’s theme- “Creating a Healthy Samoa”. We are specifically interested in organisations or products that promote this year’s theme, such as organic products, healthy food and drink options, fair trade arts and crafts products, and other health-focused products. This is a great opportunity to do some fundraising and promotion and to recruit some volunteers for your cause.

To find out more about IVD or to register your interest for a gala stall please call Rachel on 7593057 by no later than 4pm on the 23 November, 2007.

Satapuala Village meets with Tuilaepa Sailele Malielagaoi
18 November 2007 - Source: Government Press Secretariat

Representatives of Satapuala village met on Thursday evening, 15 November 2007, with the Prime Minister at his office.

A compromise has been reached whereby Satapuala village has agreed to vacate the government property they have been occupying, as their land claims, along with those of other villages concerning hinterland bordering government land, are being examined.

Deliberations and consultations over the matter will continue. But in the meantime, Government has deferred township development plans for the Mulifanua area indefinitely.

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