NEWSPAGE 04 August
2010

(Photos: Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs)

SAMOA: Samoa Tourism Authority Updates
Source: Samoa Tourism Authority Press Release

July 2010 Dog Control Program concludes

July 31 marked the final day of the joint efforts by a group of New Zealand veterinarians brought in by the Animal Protection Society to assist with their attempts in collaboration with the Samoa Tourism Authority to control the problem of stray dogs.

The vets together with the help of STA’s team and members of the Police Force spent the whole month of July capturing and putting down stray dogs and de-sexing and providing medical attention to family cats and dogs.

This vigilant team of workers carried out clinics and dog capturing throughout the town area from Vaiala to Mulinuu (05-09 July 2010); in Tufuiopa to Fagalii (12-16 July) and Maagiagi and Lalomanu, Aleipata from the 19-23 July. The team then headed to Savaii last week to carry out the same program.

The specialist team also held popular animal desexing clinics in the said villages allowing pet owners the opportunity to bring in their pet dogs and cats to be sterilized free of charge.


Gearing up for Teuila 2010

The month of August will be one of great preparations for the Samoa Tourism Authority (with the support of other Ministries/Bodies) as it gears up for the upcoming 19th Annual Teuila Festival 2010, which will take place from the 05-10th September 2010.

The Teuila Festival for this year promises to have the usual favourites, as well as exciting extra activities throughout the week such as the Gospel/Choir singing on the day of the Official Opening; a carving competition and Expressive Arts Display; a Wellness to Beauty program in collaboration; Traditional Games; Cultural Entertainment and Competitions; Umu Demonstration; Sulatoga Competition; Fire Knife Dance (Ailao Afi) Competitions for both the Junior and Senior Levels; Variety Shows; Folafolaava Competition; and Long Boat (Fautasi) Races to name a few.

The Teuila Finale will undoubtedly be the Miss Samoa Pageant 2010.

Registration of teams and individuals wishing to take part in the Teuila festivities and competitions are being accepted with guidelines and regulations in place for the different activities.

The Screening of the hopeful Miss Samoa 2010Contestants took place this week.


Samoa Tourism Authority, Billy TK Jnr Ltd & Polynesian Blue Airlines proudly present 'The 2010 Samoa International Jazz and Blues Festival' November 12th - 14th 2010

The beautiful Island nation of Samoa will be the backdrop to this world class Jazz, Blues and Soul music festival over three days in November.

The shows will be performed over a number of venues.

The artists performing at the festival will include musicians from New Zealand, Australia, England, and the United States and of course from Samoa itself.

International artists on the bill this year are renowned musicians Robbie Macgregor (San Fran Blues Guitar star), Billy TK Jnr (Kiwi guitar hero), Tony Painting (UK blues guitarist), Phil Broadhurst (Internationally renowned Jazz pianist), LA crooner Diana Harris and Australian guitar legend Ian Moss just to name a few.

Twenty bands will perform over the three day festival! The Minister of Samoa Tourism Honourable Misa Telefoni comments, “This event is a first for Samoa and we are proud to welcome world class musicians and guests to our island paradise for the festival.”

Major sponsors for this prestigious event are the Samoa Tourism Authority and Polynesian Blue Airlines.

Festival Director Billy Te Kahika also comments, “Samoa is the perfect place to hold a festival like this and I am excited about the musicians coming and the beautiful destination that will host our festival guests - it’s an amazing project!”

SOURCE: e-Travel Blackboard
 

(Photos: Australian Defence Force)

AUSTRALIA: NSW Soldiers begin journey home from Solomon Islands
Source: Australian Defence Force

After four months of service in the Solomon Islands, members of the 5th Brigade (New South Wales) have begun their journey home to Australia today.

Designated Rotation 21, the 110 strong Reservist contingent has been on deployment in the Solomon Islands since late March in support of Operation ANODE, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) contribution to the Australian led Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI).

Rotation 21 is replaced by Rotation 22, drawn from the 4th Brigade (Victoria), whose members began arriving in the Solomon Islands in late July. The official handover of duties was formalised at a welcome parade on 28 July at RAMSI Headquarters where Tongan Defence Service soldiers performed a “Challenge Song” to welcome the new Reservist contingent.

“The Combined Task Force (CTF 635) consists of four troop contributing nations and each of these nations brings its own cultural diversity to the CTF which makes it such a useful and diverse organisation,” said Lieutenant Colonel David Thompson, Commanding Officer CTF 635.

“We have people from Papua New Guinea, Tonga, New Zealand and Australia and we always try and include that cultural diversity in any type of activity we do. Incorporating a traditional Tongan greeting into the welcome parade is a fantastic chance for the new rotation to see this cultural diversity first hand and give them a sense of what they are moving into.”

Members of outgoing Rotation 21 were later formally recognised for their service at a medal ceremony held at RAMSI Headquarters on 2 August.

“This has been an immensely rewarding experience,” said Major Brian Willsher, Headquarters 5th Brigade. “We are all looking forward to going home and seeing our friends and family. The Solomon Islands is a fantastic place and we have forged strong connections with the local Solomon Island community and will take back some fond memories of our time here. We have contributed significantly to RAMSI and its' mission and we are very proud to be handing the baton to Rotation 22.”

This is the 3rd rotation that Lieutenant Colonel David Thompson has commanded during his tenure as Commander CTF 635 and he admits that the end of each rotation is always an emotional time.

“It is both a sad time, and a glad time. Sad because you work so closely with these people for such a long period of time day in and day out - 12, 14 hour days. You become very close in a very short period of time and the mateship and ethos of the Army really shines,” he said.

“It is also very important to convey to the old rotation how invaluable their work here has been. The Royal Solomon Island Police Force (RSIPF) Commander, the Special Co-coordinator of RAMSI and the Commander of the Participating Police Forces (PPF) have been very congratulatory of Rotation 21’s performance. They have done a fantastic job.”

A welcome home parade will be conducted for the returning members of Rotation 21, 5 Brigade (New South Wales) at 09:30am, Friday, 6 August 2010 at Holsworthy Barracks, Sydney. 

Photo Captions:

Photo 1 - Commander of Combined Task Force (CTF 635) Lieutenant Colonel David Thompson receives a salute from the Deputy Commander CTF 635 New Zealand Army Major Ian Piercy during the rotation handover parade at Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) Headquarters, in the Solomon Islands.

Photo 2 - Trooper Ross Spencer shakes hands with Inspector Brian Palusi from the Correctional Services of the Solomon Islands (CSSI) after completing a routine perimeter patrol of the Rove Central Correctional Centre, in the Solomon Islands.

Photo 3 - Tongan Defence Service soldiers perform a “Challenge Song” to welcome the new Rotation 22 Reservist contingent to the Combined Task Force 635 (CTF 635).
 

HAWAII: Women bring global vision to help Hawaii residents
Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser

Patti Chang and Denise Albano have traveled to remote villages in China, Africa and South America to help poor people, often women, provide for their families. They saw the huge difference just a small loan can make.

"Loans to some people have been $100 or $200, to someone who wants to buy a bicycle to take their produce to market," Albano said.

Chang, who grew up in Manoa, and Albano, who grew up in Hawaii Kai, have lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for many years, but are now back home in Hawaii for weeks at a time.

"It's the typical story. I came home to care for aging parents," Chang said.

Being here made Chang think of their foundation, Feed The Hunger, in a new way. Hawaii isn't like some of the poverty-stricken, war-torn countries they've worked in—yet people here are struggling.

"We knew we had to do something here at home to help. Or to at least try," Chang said.

The idea is to provide small-business loans of $5,000 to 15,000 to people who ordinarily wouldn't be considered by banks because they lack collateral.

"They talk about all the C's of banking: collateral, credit, character," Chang said. "For us, character is the main thing."

In the last month, Chang, a graduate of Punahou, Stanford and Stanford Law, and Albano, a graduate of Punahou, Berkeley and NYU, have been talking to farmers as well as potential investors.

One woman in Waimanalo wants to start a farmers market with all Waimanalo-grown produce. She already runs a market. What she needs is Waimanalo products.

"Right now, she drives to Kahuku and Haleiwa and Waialua to pick up her produce," Albano said. She needs a new truck, and she needs local producers to grow products to be sold at affordable (not gourmet) prices. The vision is to provide seed money and networking help to enterprises like this one that build a strong community.

The two are adamant that they work with loans, and not grants.

"I spent 20 years writing grants," Chang said. She ran the Women's Foundation of California. "There's a sense of dignity and pride when you pay back a loan. It's light years difference than being given something."

The loans are at a low interest rate and borrowers work on a schedule to pay even a few pennies a week rather than a balloon payment at the end of the term

On a recent trip to Hilo, a kupuna advised them that all their discussion of microfinance would be better summed up with the Hawaiian concept of "kokua."

"She explained that traditionally, that's where those who have, give to those who don't; and when those people have, they in turn give back," Albano said.

For more information, go to www.feed-hunger.com or www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8RdeGtfItA
 

(Photo: Matangi Tonga)

TONGA: Tonga Customs Service Operation "Bullet" a success
Source: Government of Tonga via Scoop Independent News

The Customs & Trade Division of the Ministry for Revenue Services has been undertaking an operation targeting high risk sea freight consignments to detect the introduction of counterfeit goods, under-valued or misdescribed goods and other breaches of Customs legislation. The Honourable Sione Teisina Fuko, Minister for Revenue advised today that operation "Bullet" had been operating since June 2010.

"The operation has been an outstanding success" the Minister said. "Since its commencement customs staff have seized $330,000 worth of goods, in addition to counterfeit cosmetics, DVDs, and sporting equipment. The operation is continuing with Tonga customs being supported by technical advisers from New Zealand and Australia." The Minister said that Operation "Bullet" is an important element of an overall thrust to improve the compliance of the trading community with customs legislation and requirements. Importers who breach customs' law will have their consignments seized, and they also face the risk of prosecution, and possibly having their business licences revoked as a consequence.

The Minister advised that importers should ensure that only documents that accurately portray the value and contents of their consignments are lodged with Customs. Any documents that are detected as being untrue or misrepresentative of the actual contents or value of a particular consignment, will automatically result in that importation being seized. The Minister also advised that seized goods would not be disposed of through auction, but destroyed. 'This prevents recalcitrant traders from regaining possession of their goods" he said.

The Minister said "A level playing field is important for the trading community, to be able to operate without unfair competition from unscrupulous traders who flaunt customs laws. Customs will continue to take strong action against illegal activity with my full support"

Photo Caption: Minister for Revenue, The Honourable Sione Teisina Fuko.
 

(Photo: World Health Organization)

WORLDWIDE: WHO commits to supporting the Pacific in the salt reduction challenge
Source: World Health Organization Press Release

Dr. Chen Ken, WHO Representative to the South Pacific, said that people are eating too much salt which is bad for health. High salt intakes lead to high blood pressure. People with high blood pressure are three times more likely to develop heart disease or have a stroke than those with normal blood pressure and twice as likely to die from these diseases. High salt intakes are also associated with a range of other illnesses including stomach cancer, osteoporosis and asthma.

The WHO Noncommunicable Disease (NCD) STEPS survey has shown that high blood pressure is a major problem in the Pacific. In Fiji for instance, the 2002 NCD STEPS Survey reveals that the prevalence of high blood pressure in the age group 15 - 64 yrs is 19.1%. In the same survey in some other Pacific island countries the prevalence is unacceptably as high as 34%. This together with high blood sugar level, high blood cholesterol level and obesity are the major attributable causes of premature deaths in Fiji and the Pacific. About 75% of the deaths in the Pacific region are attributable to NCDs.

Reducing salt intakes has been identified as one of the most cost effective measure for improving population health outcomes throughout the world, with the potential to save millions of lives each year. Almost everyone benefits from salt reduction, not just people with high blood pressure. What’s more, the effects are cumulative throughout life, so even reducing children’s salt intakes reduces the burden of disease in later life.

On this basis, the World Health Organization (WHO) has been encouraging all countries to reduce average salt intakes to <5 g/day through the development of national salt reduction strategies and considering how best it would further support this regionally. This was presented by WHO and discussed during the recent Pacific Food Summit in April in Vanuatu and the Pacific NCD forum in Nadi, Fiji in June where participants gained a common understanding of the sodium sources and intake levels in countries, the effects and link of salt consumption to diseases and the strategies to reduce salt intake. The Framework of Action on Food Security in the Pacific from the summit is being tabled at the current 41st Pacific Island Forum Leaders Meeting for endorsement.

As an outcome of the meeting, WHO together with its partners is providing support to Pacific island countries in the development of salt reduction program that will be implemented at a low cost within the framework of existing National NCD strategies. Key strategies include advocacy, assessment of dietary intake, consumer empowerment and working with the food industry to reduce the salt content of foods and improving labeling.

In a recent WHO support to Fiji, the Health Minister convened a one day stakeholder meeting with key players from the food industry, government officials, health and consumer organizations and national and international experts to consider the potential for salt reduction and has a draft Salt Action Challenge Plan in place. As part of implementation, Salt Action Challenge groups have been established for processed foods, meals eaten away from home and home cooked foods. These groups are considering strategies ranging from salt standards for processed foods to behaviour change programs targeting both caterers and customers distributed through different eateries including street foods vendors, workplace canteens and schools. Part of the plan includes reliable and accurate assessment of salt intake and sources of salt in diet.

Other countries like Solomon Islands and Tonga are following suit and WHO commits to support these cost-effective initiatives in the pacific island countries.

Photo Caption: World Health Organization Representative to the South Pacific, Dr. Chen Ken.