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NEW ZEALAND: Samoa tsunami anniversary: humanity
restored
89 fales built for families from the five worst
hit villages 600 Kiwi volunteers and skilled
trades people help to rebuild homes Preparing
for the future.
Almost one year after a devastating
earthquake-triggered tsunami struck Samoa,
Habitat for Humanity New Zealand, has completed
the rebuilding of 89 new fales for families who
lost everything in the disaster.
Habitat launched its Project Samoa Hope Appeal
to help rebuild destroyed homes following the
tsunami on September 29, 2009. The project was
completed on 30 June, 2010.
The charity received more than $600,000 in
donations from generous Kiwis, church groups,
corporates, and other organisations such as
Caritas and ACC World Relief. World Vision New
Zealand alone contributed an additional $150,000
towards the Habitat New Zealand initiative and
Air New Zealand generously provided volunteers
with discounted airfares.
According to Mr Pete North, Chief Executive for
Habitat New Zealand, the new fales are cyclone
resistant and also have an outside ablution
block with a shower and flush toilet, as well as
a water tank for rainwater to be collected from
the roof. The fales were built for families from
five of the worst hit villages on the Samoan
coastline.
"Right from the outset the response to the Samoa
Hope Project was overwhelming, not only in terms
of generous donations, but also skills and
time," said Mr North.
"Over the past year, we've had 600 Kiwi
volunteers and skilled tradesmen going to Samoa,
at their own cost, to work alongside local
communities to build the fales," added Mr North.
In the early stages of the Samoa emergency
response, World Vision New Zealand distributed
urgent relief items, such as flash lights and
transistor radios, to affected communities.
In an additional step to better prepare the
Pacific region for similar events in future,
both Habitat for Humanity New Zealand and World
Vision New Zealand, have also committed further
funds and resources to implement
disaster-preparedness programmes in the Pacific
region.
"The recent Canterbury earthquake has
demonstrated the importance of disaster
preparedness and effective emergency response to
save lives. Not only do we want to be set to
assist our Pacific neighbours during disasters,
we also want communities to be equipped to cope
well with any such challenges in future," said
Mr Chris Clarke, Chief Executive of World Vision
New Zealand.
Habitat for Humanity's response:
Habitat for Humanity New Zealand's Project Samoa
Hope Appeal received $600,000 in donations from
generous Kiwis, church groups, as well as
corporate organisations and other sponsors.
World Vision New Zealand contributed an
additional $150,000 to the project and Air New
Zealand flew Habitat volunteers to Samoa at
discounted airfares.
Funds were used to mobilise building volunteers
and resources, and build 89 fales on the
tsunami-affected southeast coast.
Habitat's intention is to now mobilise Kiwi
trade and handy people to assist repairing
earthquake damaged homes with vulnerable
Christchurch families who have little or no
insurance.
Habitat for Humanity New Zealand is now asking
both trades and handy people to volunteer their
time and skills to help repair earthquake
damaged homes with vulnerable Christchurch
families who have little or no insurance. Those
interested in volunteering can register their
interest at www.habitat.org.nz.
World Vision's response:
Kiwis generously donated over $265,000 to World
Vision's appeal.
Funds were used to: provide immediate relief
items such as flash lights and transistor radios
shortly after a tsunami and support Habitat for
Humanity's Project Samoa Hope rebuilding
project. Remaining funds are being used to
Pacific disaster preparedness projects inlcuing
Emergency service training in the Pacific
Islands in partnership with the Counties Manukau
District Health Board and Civil Defence.
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(Photo:
Auto Telecom New Zealand) |
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SAMOA: Orthopaedic medical team visits Samoa
Source:
Australian High Commission Press Release
An expert team of volunteer Australian
orthopaedic (disorders of the spine and joints)
medical specialists arrive in Samoa this week
for a 10 day visit at the Tupua Tamasese Meaole
Hospital.
The volunteer medical team will be in Apia from
29 September - 9 October 2010. During the visit,
the team will provide free orthopaedic treatment
and surgery to patients.
The team includes surgeons Dr Wayne Viglione and
Dr Rod Pattinson, anaesthetist Dr Rod Green,
nurses Teei Strickland and Paula Barrass,
physiotherapist April Sutcliffe and surgical
registrar, Dr Joe Isaac.
The visit is funded by AusAID and managed by the
Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.
Australian High Commissioner to Samoa, Matt
Anderson said the visits by Australian
specialist medical teams are a key part of
Australia’s ongoing health support to Samoa.
“This is the fourth specialist medical group to
visit Samoa this year after visits by the
ophthalmology, ear, nose and throat, and plastic
and reconstructive surgery teams. Australia’s
support is ensuring that all Samoans have access
to specialist medical treatment that is not
available locally,” Mr Anderson said.
“The other benefit is that the visiting team
also work closely with local doctors and medical
staff to develop their skills so they can
continue to provide specialist medical treatment
in the future.”
All patients must be screened by private general
practitioners for appropriate referral for
treatment or the visiting surgical team. General
practitioners and/or patients should contact the
TTM Hospital on 21212 and speak to the Medical
Records section, Dr Aleki Fuimaono or Dr Limbo
Fiu.
The visit to Samoa is funded under AusAID’s
Pacific Islands Project which arranges one or
two weeks visits in different medical
specialties to 11 Pacific island countries. The
medical specialities include cardiac surgery,
ear, nose and throat, neurosurgery,
ophthalmology, orthopaedic surgery, paediatric
surgery, plastic and reconstructive surgery,
psychiatry, urology, radiology and a diabetes
training program.
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(Photo: J.
Kneubuhl) |
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AMERICAN SAMOA: ASCC Fine Arts head shares
tsunami composition
Source:
American
Samoa Community College Press Release
Namulauulu Dr. Paul Pouesi, chairman of the Fine
Arts Department at the American Samoa Community
College (ASCC) has composed a song to
commemorate the events of September 29th, 2009,
when an earthquake and tsunami devastated parts
of American Samoa. The song, “Iesu le Fa’aola”,
speaks of turning to God to find meaning and
comfort in times of terrible events, with music
composed by Dr. Pouesi and lyrics written in
collaboration with his brother Daniel Pouesi of
California. Dr. Pouesi has begun distributing
the song to his students and to community
members in the hopes it will be included in the
ceremonies next week to mark the tsunami
anniversary, and he also invites any “aufaipese”
to download the song from his website should
they wish to perform it.
Describing his inspiration for the new
composition, Dr. Pouesi recalled his experience
with the commemorations of the 9/11 tragedy. “In
2002, choirs all over the world performed the
“Rolling Requiem” by Mozart. The ASCC Choir
represented American Samoa that year, and it
made that local and national news. Since all the
churches in Tutuila and Manu'a will participate
in this special service to mark one year since
the tsunami, I thought it would be uplifting to
make available this musical piece as a requiem
for church choirs to sing in their worship
services.”
Anyone interested can access the words and music
of “Iesu le Fa’aola” simply by visiting the
Pouesi Community Service website (http://lenota.com/page10.aspx).
Explaining the lyrics, Dr. Pouesi said he and
his brother Daniel looked to the Bible for a way
to try and make sense of tragic events. “We
adapted words from Psalm 31 for this
commemorative song because it is both a psalm of
lament and of trust,” Daniel Pouesi recalled,
sharing his thoughts via email. “Psalm 31
alludes to Jesus' own suffering. In His hour of
deepest anguish, Jesus prayed and put his trust
solely in His Father and asked that the Father
be His rock of refuge. The psalm follows what
should be our response to distress. There's
calamity, a prayer for deliverance, trust in the
Lord, and gratitude in the midst of suffering.
And finally, there's hope.”
Dr. Pouesi feels confident that any choir can
easily perform “Iesu le Fa’aola”. “My concert
and chamber choirs learned the music in 30
minutes - it's simple,” he said. Pouesi’s
students will take the music to their respective
church choir directors to see if they can learn
it to perform as part of the special services
this Wednesday.
With the fall 2010 semester still getting into
gear, Dr. Pouesi spoke of other activities that
will keep the Fine Arts Department busy for the
next few months. “We’ve divided the stage band
into three groups, Gospel, Jazz & Pop, and Rock,
and we’ll do three concerts at the ASCC
mini-amphitheater in front of the cafeteria on
October 7th, November 9th, and November 23rd.”
Dr. Pouesi also said music instructor Kuki
Tuiasosopo has the Ukulele Ensemble active for
this semester, while visual artist Regina
Meredith and her students will apply their
talents towards a number of Community Service
projects.
Photo Caption: ASCC Fine Arts chairman
Namulauulu Dr. Paul Pouesi (front, second left)
prepares for a rehearsal with the String
Ensemble. Dr. Pouesi has composed a new song
commemorating the events of September 29th,
2009, and is disseminating the song through his
website in the hopes that local choirs will
perform it this Wednesday.
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FIJI: Ministry of Health staff sharpen skills in
mosquito surveillance to control
Source:
Secretariat of
the Pacific Community / Ministry of Health Joint Press Release
Fiji Islands is currently hosting an entomology
training course to enhance identification,
surveillance and control of vector mosquitoes
(those that can transmit diseases) in the
country with the support of the Secretariat of
the Pacific Community (SPC) and the Pasteur
Institute of New Caledonia (IPNC). The training
is supported by financial assistance from the
French Agency for Development.
About 25 Ministry of Health participants from
all over Fiji Islands are taking part in the
five-day course training to sharpen their skills
to identify and monitor the activity and density
of disease vector mosquitoes, to address two
priority mosquito borne diseases in Fiji: dengue
fever and filariasis.
Fiji has several species of mosquitoes that can
transmit dengue fever and filariasis, including
Aedes aegypti, Aedes albopictus, Aedes
polynesiensis and Culex quinquefasciatus.
Improvement of mosquito surveillance and
understanding of their dynamics in the
environment will assist the country in
preventing future outbreaks of dengue fever and
reducing incidence of filariasis.
Dengue fever is a disease of concern in Fiji
Islands. In 1997-1998 and 2008 the country
experienced major outbreaks resulting in loss of
lives, substantial health care stress and
considerable economic costs. The 1998 outbreak
affected 24,000 people (including 1,600
hospitalisations) and the 2008 outbreak affected
2,000 people.
At present there is no vaccine available for
dengue fever. Hence the mainstay for dengue
prevention is the control of vector mosquitoes.
This training is very timely as the rainy season
will soon begin, bringing conditions favourable
for mosquito breeding. The training also
supports the implementation of the recently
developed Fiji National Dengue Strategic Plan
2010-2014.
Filariasis is also a priority disease, with
suspected prevalence of approximately 6.3% of
the population infected with microfilaria.
The training is being conducted by Laurent
Gillaumot (Entomologist from IPNC), Lucien
Swillen (Vector Control Specialist from New
Caledonia) and Dr Narendra Singh (SPC
Preparedness and Training Specialist), along
with other key staff from the Mataika
Laboratory, Fiji Ministry of Health. It is
taking place at the Fiji School of Medicine’s
Environmental Health Lab.
Presently all efforts are dedicated to larval
indices and little work is being done on adult
mosquito identification. The training covers
mosquito capture using various traps; mosquito
identification (adult/larvae); surveillance; and
control strategies, including monitoring
resistance. It will improve the understanding of
a number of vector borne diseases of relevance
to Fiji Islands.
All 25 officers from around the country will
also undertake field work, calculation of vector
(mosquito) indices, documentation and analysis
of vector surveillance data, and implementation
of appropriate mosquito control methods.
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(Photo:
Solomon Star) |
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SOLOMON ISLANDS: Government to bring reform to
customary land
Source:
Solomon Star
Prime Minister Danny Philip says his Government
will introduce a customary land reform programme
to liberalise developments throughout the
country.
Mr Philip revealed this after Opposition leader,
Steve Abana asked how many economic growth
centres in Malaita will government put in its
policy.
"There will lots of consultation with Malaita
Province to come with the locations on number of
growth centres we can build on this province,”
Mr Philip replied.
"These are highly ambitious projects, all of
them cannot finish in 4 years but at least we
can make a start," Mr Philip said.
He said the Ministry of Infrastructure doesn’t
have a plan yet because Government is still to
settle down in its programming, identification
locations in consultation with each province but
it will not be a top down.
"Consultation with provinces and also with
landowners will go in line with Customary Land
reform programme where Government has so that
the process to introduce these major
infrastructure developments will go good," he
said.
However, he said Government does not want to see
what happens with Bina Harbour where talking has
been going on for over 20 years.
Mr Philip said the philosophy behind the
economic growth centres to cover all of Solomon
Islands is to create access to roads,
transportation and market..
Photo Caption: Prime Minister Danny
Philip.
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(Photos:
Office of Congressman Faleomavaega) |
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WORLDWIDE:
Iosefa Aina appointed to President's Advisory
Commission on AAPI
Source:
Office of Congressman Faleomavaega Press Release
Congressman Faleomavaega announced recently that
President Obama has appointed Mr. Iosefa F. Aina
as a member of the President’s Advisory
Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific
Islanders (AAPI). This Commission is a component
of Executive Order 13515 signed by President
Obama to re-establish the White House Initiative
on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
According to Executive Order 13515, signed by
President Obama on October 14, 2009, the purpose
is to establish a White House Initiative on
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and a
President’s Advisory Commission on Asian
Americans and Pacific Islanders. The Initiative
and the Commission are to improve the quality of
life and opportunities for AAPI populations
through participation and access to various
federal programs. Also, each will work to
advance data collection and analysis for AAPI
populations in order to help address the
specific challenges affecting the communities.
The Commission of 17 members representing the
AAPI communities and populations throughout the
United States and in the Territories was sworn
in during a Reception and Swearing-in Ceremony
in the U.S. Capitol last night. The President
appointed Daphne Kwok as Chair of the
Commission. Members of the Commission include
Iosefa Aina, Debra Cabrera, Kamuela Enos,
Frances Eneski Francis, Farooq Kathwart, Hyeok
Kim, Ramey Ko, Rozita Villanueva Lee, Sunil Puri,
Amardeep Singh, Unmi Song, Dilawar Syed, Khampha
Thephavong, Doua Thor, Hector Vargas, and Hines
Ward.
Mr. Iosefa Aina is currently the Director of the
Asian American Resource Center and the Associate
Dean of Students at Pomona College in Claremont,
California. He has been actively involved with
our Pacific Islander community in California
through his work as a founding member of the
Pacific Islander Education and Retention,
National Pacific Islander Educations Network,
and Empowering Pacific Islander Communities.
Iosefa, or “Sefa” as he is popularly known by
his peers and friends, is a graduate of the
University of California-Los Angeles with a
Bachelors of Arts in History, and is currently
working on his Masters in Higher Education at
Claremont Graduate University. He is from the
village of Aoa and is the son of Mr. Savea Aina
of Fitiuta, Manu’a and the late Lutena Pulu
Faiivae from Aoa.
“I want to personally congratulate Iosefa Aina
on his appointment to the President’s Advisory
Commission,” Faleomavaega said. “I am especially
pleased to have nominated Sefa to the White
House for consideration in this prestigious
Commission and as I reminded him after the
swearing in ceremony, his input will be critical
in improving the welfare of all our Pacific
Islanders and Asian Americans throughout the
nation. Given that there are more than 16
million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
and still growing, the White House Initiative
and the work of the Commission will ensure that
the quality of life and opportunities for the
AAPI’s will be increased.”
“Sefa’s Polynesian background and experience
through his grassroots work will bring insight
to the work of the Commission. As Vice-Chairman
of the Congressional Asian Pacific American
Caucus and Member of Congress from American
Samoa, I look forward to working closely with
the President’s Advisory Commission. I am proud
of Sefa’s success and I wish him the very best
as he begins this endeavour,” Faleomavaega
concluded.
Photo Captions:
Photo 1 - Congressman Faleomavaega
congratulating Mr. Iosefa Aina after he was
sworn in as a member of the President’s Advisory
Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific
Islanders.
Photo 2 - Mr. Sefa Aina poses for a
picture with Congressman Faleomavaega and
Congresswoman Judy Chu of California, 32nd
District.
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