NEWSPAGE 11 January
2010

(Photo: New Zealand Government)

NEW ZEALAND: $50,000 initially for relief in Solomon Islands

(Photo: Sport Waitakere)

SAMOA: Vagana awaits trials before making Samoa selection
Source: Fiji Times

Samoa netball coach Linda Vagana says she is not sure which players will be at her disposal for the Pacific Cup.

With the Samoa national trials set for next week, Vagana is hopeful she is able to secure the best overseas-based players for her side.

Samoa has a number of players plying their trade in New Zealand and Australia and if available would strengthen the team very much.

"Just like the other Pacific teams, we are pretty much in the dark as to which players we will have," Vagana told Times Sport from New Zealand.

"We will have to see at the trials as to who is available and wanting to play for us."

The former Silver Fern who was regarded as one of the best defenders in her prime said her plans for the new season will start after the trials and once she knows who is available.

"The Pacific Cup is important but we need to have our trials first and get the team in place," she said.

"We will shift our focus to the Pacific Cup once the team is in place."

Vagana, the Samoan captain in 2003, retired not long after and took up the coaching reins when Rita Fatialofa-Patolo, another former Silver Fern, stepped down.

Her impact was almost immediate as she led Samoa to fifth place at lthe 2006 Commonwealth Games and easy wins against the Cook Islands and Papua New Guinea at the World Champsionships Oceania qualifiers in Suva.

"It will be tough and all teams from all around the world want to play at the World Championships and this will be same with Samoa, Fiji and other Pacific teams," Vagana said.

Photo Caption: Samoa netball coach Linda Vagana says she is not sure which players will be at her disposal for the Pacific Cup.
 

(Photo: Solomon Star)

AUSTRALIA: Green girl keeps the peace
Source: Solomon Star

Bolwarra Heights Anne-Marie Green looks like a typical surfie chick but there’s more to her than meets the eye.

AT just 20 years of age Anne-Marie is a Private in the Army Reserve and she’s now part of the Australian Army’s contribution to the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI for short.)

During her four month deployment Anne-Marie will be the company clerk responsible for all aspects of administration from logistics to human resources.

“It’s a great honour to be selected to serve my country on an overseas task,” said Anne-Marie.

“I’m proud to be part of an operation that’s helping the Solomon Islands become a more peaceful and prosperous nation.”

It means Anne-Marie will be spending Christmas, New Year and Easter away from her family and friends to help people she’s never met. But she remains upbeat.

“I’ll really miss celebrating with mum and dad and my sister and boyfriend, Boyd,” she said.

“But I’ve formed close friendships with the other soldiers here and I’m sure this Chrissie will still be one to remember.”

Anne-Marie joined the Army’s ‘Gap Year Program’ in 2008 after completing her HSC at All Saints College, St Mary’s where she was a school leader.

“Since then I’ve done some awesome training I would never have got to experience as a civilian and I’ve really enjoyed working with soldiers from other countries like Papua New Guinea” she said.

Anne-Marie is looking forward to relaxing with friends at her favourite cafes along Newcastle Beach and getting back on her board for the Dixon Park Surf Life Saving Club when she returns home this year.

Photo Caption: Bolwarra Heights Anne-Marie Green looks like a typical surfie chick but there’s more to her than meets the eye.
 

PAPUA NEW GUINEA: SPC provides water tests to PNG to help fight cholera outbreak
Source: Secretariat of the Pacific Community Press Release

The Port Moresby office of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) has provided 2220 water quality testing tablets and related supplies to Mr Enoch Posanai, Executive Manager of Public Health at the Papua New Guinea (PNG) National Department of Health, to help fight the cholera outbreak.

These supplies will enable the National Department of Health to carry out more than 1700 water chlorination level tests and 500 water pH tests.

Contaminated water and food are the main routes of transmission of cholera, which continues to spread in PNG. National response teams have been doing water quality testing in the outbreak zones of the affected provinces since the outbreak started last year. These tests have assisted with the overall control efforts so far.

The supplies being donated by SPC are meant to ensure that chlorinated water is safe to use. In PNG, this means that the tests can only be used in urban and peri-urban areas, where people are using chlorinated town water supplies. In rural areas, people use unchlorinated water.

As well as being a key tool in the government response to the ongoing cholera outbreak, water testing can provide valuable information for planning future water supply improvements in the country.

The donated testing supplies were requested by the PNG National Department of Health through the National Cholera Task Force. SPC procured them with support from the Australian and New Zealand government agencies for international development (AusAID and NZAID).
 

(Photo: Associated Press)

SOLOMON ISLANDS: UNICEF rushes aid to tsunami victims in Solomon Islands
Source: VOANews

The U.N. Children's Fund says it is providing immediate support to the victims of a tsunami that hit Rendova and Tetepare Islands in the Solomon Islands last week. UNICEF says this is the second major disaster since April 2007 when another tsunami hit the Solomon Islands Western Province.

The victims of this current disaster are benefiting from the tsunami that struck the Solomon Islands in 2007. The U.N. Children's Fund says it was able to get assistance to the victims immediately.

It says it already had staff on the ground reconstructing schools and other buildings damaged during the 2007 tsunami.

UNICEF spokeswoman Tanya McBride says aid workers who were in Gizo, the capital of the Western Province in the Solomon Islands, were able to immediately dispatch a rapid assessment team to Rendova and Tetepare Islands.

"And this has followed initial reports that Rendova island has been severely affected with houses damaged and areas inundated by water," she said. "At the moment, we understand there are 3,600 people living on Rendova island. It is unclear how great the devastation is and it will take several days to understand what the full extent and consequences are because the islands are difficult to access and very remote."

McBride says UNICEF has pre-positioned emergency supplies in the capital Honiara. They will be used to address water, hygiene, education, child protection and psychosocial recovery issues.

She notes UNICEF expects children and adults will suffer significant psychological trauma following two tsunamis in such a short period of time.

More than 37,000 people, nearly half of them children, were affected by the 2007 tsunami. More than 50 people were killed and thousands of homes, public buildings and health care facilities were heavily damaged.

UNICEF says the full extent of the damage from this week's tsunami is not yet known.

Photo Caption: In this image provided by the Solomon Island's Police, a man stands near a damaged hut on the island of Rendova, Solomon Islands, 04 Jan 2010, following an earthquake.
 

WORLDWIDE: Eni welcomes Secretary Clinton's visit but expresses disappointment
Source: Office of Congressman Faleomavaega Press Release

Congressman Faleomavaega announced today that while he welcomes news that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will visit the Pacific region from January 11-19, he is very disappointed that some 15 Pacific Island nations are being ignored and marginalized once again.

During her first visit to the Pacific region, Secretary Clinton will visit Australia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea. She will also deliver a speech in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Secretary is not scheduled to visit any other Pacific Island nations.

“For years, I have been outspoken about U.S. foreign policy towards the Pacific region because the only real foreign policy that the U.S. has with the Pacific is with New Zealand and Australia,” Faleomavaega said. “My point is underscored by the fact that Secretary Clinton will be meeting with Australia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea while excluding some 15 Pacific Island leaders who could have gathered in one location to meet her.”

“However, in fairness to Secretary Clinton, this is nothing new. The Bush and Clinton administrations also disregarded the needs and concerns of Pacific Island nations, as have most U.S. administrations.”

“But, considering that President Obama was born and raised in Hawaii and understands the challenges and needs of the community, I thought these small island nations, however small, would finally be given the time, consideration and respect they deserve.”

“I am truly disappointed that President Obama, whom I supported and endorsed from the beginning of his presidential campaign, did not weigh in upon learning that Secretary Clinton’s first visit to the Pacific region excluded all Pacific Island nations except Australia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea. At a minimum, the President or the Secretary could have easily called for a summit of Foreign Ministers from the island nations to meet in Samoa, Hawaii, or even New Zealand. That this was not done shows a lack of sensitivity for the region and sends a message that some 15 Pacific Island nations are not an important or integral part of our U.S. foreign policy objectives.”

“This is the wrong message to send,” Faleomavaega said. “The U.S. cannot afford to take for granted the sacrifices Pacific Island nations have made on our behalf. While New Zealand refuses entry to U.S. nuclear ships, many Pacific Island nations fought side by side with the U.S. throughout WWII.”

“The U.S. also used the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) as a nuclear testing ground, exploding more than 67 nuclear bombs, including the first hydrogen bomb ever detonated. Although the U.S. has not fully compensated the RMI for the damage we did and the contamination we left behind, the RMI is still our ally.”

“But how long will it be before Pacific Island nations begin to reconsider their relationship with the U.S.? China, Taiwan and Iran are increasing their presence in the region while the U.S. cannot even bother to re-establish USAID presence. Given that most Pacific Island nations continue to support U.S. interests at home, abroad, and in the United Nations, it is my hope that the U.S. will return the favor and support the Pacific Island community.”

“China takes the time to meet with Heads of State from small Pacific Island nations and the U.S. should do the same because it is no longer enough to continually fly-over the region. Pacific Island nations deserve something better than fly-by diplomacy.”

“While it is very doubtful that Secretary Clinton can adjust her schedule at this late date, at the very least she can make it a top priority to meet in the near future with the some 15 Pacific Island leaders she is excluding on her first trip to the Pacific region. Such a meeting would be a step in the right direction after more than 50 years of U.S. neglect,” Faleomavaega concluded.