NEWSPAGE 13 October
2010

(Photo: Spasifik Magazine)

(Photo: Raw Shakti Yoga)

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

Raw Shakti Yoga Namu'a Island Retreat, 05-07 November 2010

This is our first Namu’a Island Yoga Retreat since the devastating tsunami of 2009. Raw Shakti's donors paid for the water tank and pipeline that the family on Namua uses for the shower and water to the island and for all of their tourist guests.

The retreat starts 5 pm Friday and ends at 1 on Sunday. We have the whole island dedicated for our retreat. The food will be healthy and the ocean, as some of you know, is at your feet.

On this retreat you will enjoy the pristine beauty of this private island off the coast of Upolu. A Samoan family takes care of us, helping prepare our meals and set up our fales. You have the opportunity to sleep in fales that are right next to the clear blue water. You wake up with the white sandy beach and turquoise lagoon at your feet. There is time on this retreat for swimming and snorkeling. A view of the sea and lush green coastline of Upolu awaits you. Often we see dolphins swimming and sea turtles as we walk around the island to swim in the natural jacuzzi.

This is a perfect island for yoga, relaxing, meditation, and exploring. You will practice rejuvenating Raw Shakti Yoga daily before breakfast and dinner. You will be living and learn about the yoga lifestyle which promotes optimum health. You will come away feeling refreshed from this retreat lead by Taialofa.

For more information, visit:
http://www.rawshakti.com/yogaretreat/retreatdetail.php?retreatid=55


Australian Youth Ambassador joins STA team

Peter Riesz is an Australian volunteer in the Youth Ambassador program. He has started work with the Samoa Tourism Authority for a 12 month assignment, and has already become an active team member.

He has been working with the Planning and Development Division of the STA to help improve their existing website and develop their online tourism booking system. He will also be involved in the training of STA Staff and industry members to utilise the new system.

This is a great chance for Peter to work in an exciting industry while also being able to gain valuable feedback through the training of industry members. This is indeed a rare opportunity for a web designer. He hopes that his work will help market and further develop sustainable tourism for Samoa.

For a long time Peter has had a passion for design and multimedia. During his study in Information Technology (BIT) and Communication Design (BComm) he was drawn to the web design profession. Volunteering has enabled Peter to take his skills and experience as a web designer overseas to work in a new culture on a truly rewarding project.

According to Peter, living in Samoa has so far been a fantastic experience for him. One of his favourite things to do has been riding his bike down the cross island road to work in the morning enjoying what he refers to as views of paradise and taking in what is to his standards some of the cleanest air in the world.

Getting involved in the STA activities has enabled Peter to build great relationships with his new work family away from home both in and outside of work. One such highlight is continuously beating STA mate Suifua at squash. This for Peter has been lots of fun.

Photo Caption: The Raw Shakti Yoga team.
 

(Photos: Australia-Pacific Technical College)

AUSTRALIA: Trainer travels to complete course assessment
Source: Australia-Pacific Technical College

The APTC commitment to deliver Australian standard technical and vocational training to students from the smaller Pacific Island Forum countries is exemplified by the recent visit to Kiribati made by APTC Fitting Trainer Leigh Rollo of the School of Automotive, Construction and Electrical, and Engineering (ACEM).

Leigh, who is based at the APTC Campus in Samoa, said, "I was in Kiribati to conduct on-site training and assessment with Narere Kunei, my only fitting and machining student in Kiribati. As a result of this assessment, Narere has completed his Certificate III in Engineering-Mechanical."

Narere, who works at the Plant and Vehicle Unit of the Ministry of Works, Tarawa, said that the APTC training had helped him improve his work and that he has developed new skills in working with lathes and grinders, which, "I can now do better than before."

Leigh said that Narere's employers must agree with this statement, as he has been promoted to the position of Leading Hand, with increased responsibilities.

"This drive to succeed is all the more admirable, as Narere has had to contend with an impaired leg, the result of the polio contracted in early childhood," concluded Leigh. 

Photo Captions:

Photo 1 - Trainer Leigh Rollo (left) with Narere Kunei at the PWD workshops in Tarawa.

Photo 2 - Leigh assessing Narere's work for his Certificate III in Engineering-Mechanical.
 

HAWAII: Scientists suggest no change to Hawaii Tuna longline management
Source: Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council Press Release

Scientists from throughout the Pacific concluded their three-day meeting in Honolulu last Friday (October 08, 2010) with a suite of recommendations on federal management of fisheries in Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and the US Pacific Remote Island Areas. The recommendations by the Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will be forwarded to the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, which is scheduled to convene 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Oct. 12 to 14, 2010, at the Laniakea YWCA-Fuller Hall, 1040 Richards St., Honolulu. Eric Schwaab, assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries, is scheduled to open the Council meeting on Oct. 12. Council recommendations are transmitted to the Secretary of Commerce for final approval. Recommendations on major agenda items made by the SSC include the following:

* Hawaii Longline Bigeye Tuna Catch Limit Management: The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has published a proposed rule to limit the catch of bigeye tuna in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean by U.S. longline vessels at 3,763 mt (8,278,600 lbs) annually through 2011. This is consistent with the recommendations of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), to which the United States is a party. In 2009, the fishery reached its bigeye quota on Dec. 29th. The most recent projections by NMFS Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) indicate that the quota this year will be reached in mid-November. The SSC discussed the option of changing the fishing year for the Hawaii longline fishery, which currently aligns with the calendar year. After considering the following findings among others, the SSC recommended that no action be taken on this item and that the fishing year remain aligned with the calendar year:
o Fishermen did not seem to be significantly interested in changing the fishing season;
o In the event that a closure occurs prior to the holiday season, dealers can potentially obtain fish from outside of Hawaii and from Hawaii-based fishermen operating in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, and consumers will, therefore, be able to obtain fish during the holiday season;
o It seems that altering the fishing season would not improve fleet-wide annual revenue; and
o Other management entities, such as the WCPFC and Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, require reporting on a calendar year, and any changes to the fishing season from a calendar year would require additional monitoring and reporting costs.

* Hawaii Bottomfish: Recent research indicates that opakapaka (Hawaii pink snapper) at their maximum size of about 25 inches may be up to two times older than previously thought. PIFSC Director Samuel Pooley reported that recent results from radioisotope methods on samples of larger specimens from the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands suggest that the fish are 40 to 45 years old at this size. Previously, they were believed to be 20 to 25 years old. These data will lead to a reassessment of the resilience of this species to fishing pressure.

* American Samoa Longline Large-Vessel Closed Area: Currently, pelagic fishing vessels greater than 50 feet in length are prohibited from fishing out to approximately 50 nautical miles offshore from the islands in the American Samoa archipelago. This prohibited area was implemented in 2002 to separate large and small vessels. The American longline fishery prior to 2002 was comprised primarily of small artisanal longliners, known locally as alias. Despite the closed area and a limited entry program established in 2004, the alia fleet has declined to only one alia operating in 2009 and 2010. In January 2009, a US Presidential proclamation established the Rose Atoll Marine National Monument and closed about 9,000 square nautical miles to commercial fishing. While the monument area overlays the current large-pelagic fishing vessel area closure for the most part, incongruence occurs on the northern, eastern and southern boundaries. Considering the change in the fishery to a large monohull fleet along with the additional closed fishing areas created by the monument, the SSC recommended that the large pelagic fishing vessel area closure be reduced on the northern boundary and enlarged on the eastern boundary to be consistent with the marine monument boundary, but that the southern boundary remain as is. These changes would make an additional 2,500 square nautical miles of ocean available for fishermen, which would compensate fishermen for the loss about 1,700 square nautical miles of ocean due to the incongruence of the eastern and southern boundaries of the monument.

* Process for Establishing Annual Catch Limits: The Council is required by the reauthorized Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to specify the method it will use to determine the occurrence of overfishing of a stock or stock complex. The SSC recommended the Council use the maximum fishing mortality threshold (MFMT) for this determination. The SSC also noted that the Council could use the overfishing limit (OFL) as a trigger to conduct a new stock assessment and to set a more current MFMT. It was noted that the MFMT is derived from stock status parameters estimated from a stock assessment model fit to a time series of data generally covering the history of the fishery. In contrast, OFL is based on a forecasted estimate of biomass often two or more years beyond the first year of the data used in the stock assessment. Forecasts inherently have high uncertainty. The SSC also recommended that the Council adopt a risk of overfishing range of 0 percent to ≤50 percent and a qualitative mechanism for choosing the risk of overfishing.
 

(Photos: Ravell Call / Deseret News / NBC 10)

TONGA: From Tonga to the NFL: Vai Sikahema beating the odds
Source: Deseret News

Vai Sikahema tried to warn him. An agent representing Jose Canseco, the former Major League Baseball slugger, called to propose a boxing match between Sikahema and Canseco. Sikahema, the BYU graduate and former professional football player who is now a popular TV sportscaster in Philadelphia, thought the fight was a bad idea.

"You called the wrong guy," Sikahema told the agent. "He's got no chance."

This was the summer of 2008. Sikahema was 45 years old by then and hadn't played football in 15 years or boxed in 31 years. Canseco, famous for home runs, his bodybuilder physique and his admitted use of steroids, was a year younger and much bigger and still trying to hang onto his baseball career in the bush leagues. Divorces and legal issues had beset him with financial difficulties, which is why he turned to boxing.

"You don't want to do this," Sikahema continued. "Canseco is going to be in trouble."

The agent was surprised. How big are you, he asked?

"5-8. 200."

"Well, Canseco is 6-4, 250."

"I'm telling you he's in trouble. Does he know what a Tongan is?"

"No."

"Well, he'll find out. I come from a warrior culture and we fight till one of us is lying on the ground. I grew up boxing."

"Canseco has five black belts."

"OK, we'll see."

Canseco and his backers didn't know that boxing was the reason Sikahema had come to this country in the first place. They didn't know that his father had brought his family from Tonga to live in a hellish hot garage in Arizona so he could train his son to be a fighter. They didn't know that he spent his youth boxing around the West, living out of the back of a pickup truck, and that he might have fulfilled his father's plans for him if he hadn't discovered something better. There was one other thing they didn't know: His father had trained him specifically to fight big men, because he knew all his opponents would be bigger than his son. He had been taught to weather blows to get inside, then pummel the body and unload that left hook.

The fight was arranged for Atlantic City. The Philly media jumped on it. Channel 10 — Sikahema's employer — ran special half-hour programs on the bout. Sikahema knew a defeat would risk his considerable popularity in a fight town like Philly, but he wasn't worried. If he appeared overmatched to most observers, his victory would be considered that much better. As a local leader of the Mormon church, he was more worried about how the fight would be perceived by fellow church members than by Canseco.

"This guy is big and a bruiser," Sikahema's cousin, Danny Humphrey, told him. "If you go out there and get beat up, it's bad. There's your TV career and your position in the (church) stake presidency. What will it be like if you show up at church with black eyes?"

"I'm not worried about winning," said Sikahema. "I just want to make sure it's the right message to send to the youth of our church."

Humphrey sounded another warning in the locker room before the fight — "Vai, this guy is huge. All he needs is to hit you with one punch."

"He's not going to touch this face," said Sikahema.

Canseco went down the first time just 30 seconds into the fight. Sikahema burrowed in close, dropped low and came up with a hard left hook that had all of his weight behind it. Canseco went down the second time with an overhand right and stayed down. The fight had lasted 1 minute, 37 seconds.

Sikahema donated $5,000 of his winnings to the family of a slain police officer.

"It was unfair," says Sikahema now. "I feel sorry for Canseco."

Isn't it like Sikahema to pull off such a feat? His life has been a series of victories over great odds, and every time you think you've heard the last of him, he remakes himself and pops up somewhere else.

His is the classic American success story and the fight a symbol of his life. He immigrated to the U.S. from a tiny island in the South Pacific and, through fierce determination and work ethic, he became a star football player at BYU, a player in the NFL, a college graduate, a popular TV journalist and personality, a beacon for his fellow Tongans and a regional leader of his church. And he's not finished yet.

"He's pulled it all together," says LaVell Edwards, Sikahema's coach at BYU. "It seems to be the way his life has been."

* * *

Who is this guy? Who is Vaiangina "Vai" Sikahema? When I contacted him about writing his story, Sikahema replied with an e-mail: "Send me your address and I'll send you a book you MUST read before we do an interview."

"Minerva Reef" arrived in the mail a few days later, a worn, green hardback by Olaf Ruhen. It was accompanied by a hand-written note.

"It will explain for you much about my life and why I succeeded as I have," he wrote.

The book chronicles the story of a shipwreck. In 1962, the Tuaikaepau, a 51-foot wooden cutter, was scheduled to travel from Tonga to New Zealand. Sikahema's father, Loni, a promising 21-year-old heavyweight boxer, signed up along with 16 other Tongan men to take the journey in search of fights and odd jobs to support their families. On the morning the boat was to leave, Sikahema's grandfather, Vaiangina Unga, came to the wharf and insisted that he should travel in Loni's place so the younger man could remain with his wife, who was eight months pregnant with Vai. After a brief argument, Vai's grandfather prevailed.

A couple of days later, the Tuaikaepau crashed into Minerva Reef. They were considered lost at sea, and when Vai Sikahema was born he was named after his supposedly dead grandfather. But 12 of the 17 men survived, including Unga, after enduring 101 days on the reef. It is a legendary tale among Tongans and one that matches the more widely read "Mutiny on the Bounty" in the chronicles of sea adventure and survival.

"It displays all the best characteristics for which Tongans have become known — courage, faith, sacrifice, love and an incredible toughness," Sikahema wrote. "It will help you understand why I was driven to succeed in my life."

The book tells where he came from. Now jump ahead some 48 years to see where he went. Just two generations removed from the Tuaikaepau, Vai Sikahema, like his seafaring forebears, has struck out for a distant place, far from poverty and the Pacific, settling in the sports-mad, blue-collar, gritty city of Philadelphia. In his post-football life, he has made a second career of talking about sports on TV and radio. He earns a big paycheck, owns a nice home, has a wife and four children, and the respect and love of an entire city.

"Hey, Vai!" people call out as he makes his way around Philadelphia. "Yo, Vai, you da man!" He is approached by well-wishers and fans in restaurants and standing on corners and walking the street.

"He is loved in Philadelphia," says Danny Humphrey, a financial analyst and Sikahema's cousin. "He hasn't paid a toll in years. The toll booth attendants know him by name. They say, 'Vai, your money's no good here.' "

Humphrey witnessed the lovefest for the first time a few years ago during the first of many visits to Philadelphia. He was standing on a corner with Vai when a bus passed by with Vai's bigger-than-life photo splashed on its side, and then a cab pulled up that also featured Vai's visage.

"I've been here five minutes, and I'm sick of you already," Humphrey told Vai.

This was shortly before he saw a couple of commercials on Ch. 10, the local NBC affiliate, promoting its lead sportscaster with a song called "My Vai," sung to the tune of the Mary Wells hit "My Guy."

"Vai and Bon Jovi run a tight race for which one the blue-collar folks love the most," says Humphrey. "He has everything they embrace — he's a minority, a blue-collar type athlete, a man who wears his feelings on his sleeve, a Rocky figure who overcame all the odds to become a pro football player and, finally, the man they turn to on TV for their sports news."

After stints with the Packers and Cardinals, Sikahema played the final two years of his NFL career for the Philadelphia Eagles as a running back and return specialist. He endeared himself to Philly fans forever with one play: During a 1992 game against the rival Giants in New York, he returned a punt a club-record 87 yards for a touchdown and then squared off to the goalpost and began pummeling it repeatedly like a boxer on a speed bag. The goalpost stunt has followed him everywhere, and even now fans who see him on the street will imitate him boxing those goalposts.

After his career was finished, Sikahema made a smooth transition to TV and radio. He has served as sports director and sports anchor for WCAU/Ch. 10 since 1996. He is the most popular sportscaster in the fourth largest TV market in the country. He also co-hosts a daily two-hour sports-talk show with John Gonzales called the "Vai & Gonzo Show" on ESPN Radio/The Fanatic.

Three times a day he drives the 40 minutes to Philly from his home in Mt. Laurel, N.J. Up at 7, he runs five miles, showers and then drives to Philly for the radio show. He returns to New Jersey to work out at the gym and run errands, naps for a half-hour, showers again and leaves in time for his evening TV news show at 6. He returns home again for dinner and then drives back to Philly at 9 p.m. to do the 11 p.m. news, arriving at home at about 1 a.m. On Saturdays he sleeps till noon.

"It's a crazy schedule, but I love my jobs," he says

His popularity has transcended sports. He does a weekly TV segment called "Wednesday's Child," featuring a child who is up for adoption. His employers have capitalized on Sikahema's engaging personality and wide appeal. The TV station has chronicled his personal life, including a pilgrimage he and his family made to Tonga, his family history, his graduation from BYU eight years ago, his speaking engagements at church firesides, his American citizenship ceremony a decade ago, his volunteer work at Ground Zero, and the buildup to his boxing match with Jose Canseco. The radio station features a "Vai Vs." series in which he undertakes various challenges — running a 40-yard dash under five seconds, performing 100 pushups in less than a minute and so forth.

"There is no one like him," says Chris Blackman, WCAU's vice president of news. "He's got a sincerity that is just infectious. He's immensely popular here. He's just a good person and it comes through."

So it has all worked out for the kid from Tonga. He could serve as a poster child for the poor immigrant who overcomes all the odds — language, money, poor grades — to succeed in America. Now he has arrived at another crossroads in his life. With his children nearly grown, his athletic career finished, his TV career going strong, his finances secure, Sikahema is looking for new challenges and causes.

He will continue to urge his fellow Tongans to work hard and seek education with his frequent firesides and speeches. He is considering a teaching career and the pursuit of a master's degree and a mission for his church. And then there's his current passion: He has invested money in technology that utilizes turbine engines floating on the sea to generate hydrogen, which is then converted to electricity. The prototype will be operable in Australia later this year and then Sikahema hopes to see it employed by Tonga and the other island nations.

"It could power all of Tonga someday," he says. "It would cut the cost of power to a fraction. Yes, I stand to gain financially, but I can live without any of this. What is significant to me is that I'm involved in a project that will significantly improve the quality of life for the people of my country and relieve them of the grip of fossil fuels."

Sikahema might easily settle into a life of ease as he nears his 50th year with a long list of accomplishments behind him — a life of golf and country clubs — but it is his nature to achieve and undertake new challenges.

"I always had this sense of my life that I would do things, and do a lot of things," he says.

Photo Captions:

Photo 1 - Former BYU football player Vai Sikahema stands near the field at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo.

Photo 2 - Vai Sikahema defeats Jose Canseco in a charity boxing match.
 

(Photo: World Health Organisation)

WORLDWIDE: WHO to recognise Healthy Islands initiatives in the Pacific
Source: World Health Organisation Press Release

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has launched a Healthy Islands Recognition program, open to all communities, organizations and agencies in the Pacific.

Dr Chen Ken, WHO Representative in the South Pacific and Director of Pacific Technical Support said, "The program will support the work being carried out by health and community leaders to achieve the vision of Healthy Islands, to make the Pacific islands places where children are nurtured in body and mind; environments invite learning and leisure; people work and age with dignity; ecological balance is a source of pride; and the ocean which sustains us is protected."

“I’m pleased to announce this new program to recognise and acknowledge the important work being initiated and implemented by communities and organizations throughout the Pacific. We hope that by supporting and partnering with communities and agencies at a local, regional and national level, we will ensure a unified and revitalized approach to help us reach our vision of Healthy Islands.” Dr Chen Ken said.

There will be two recognitions given out each round: best practice and best proposal. WHO will convene the Healthy Islands Recognition Committee to assess the applications and they will be presented at every Pacific Ministers of Health meeting, starting with the second Healthy Islands Forum in April 2011.

Communities and organizations are encouraged to send in an electronic submission which can be downloaded from the WHO SP website at http://www.wpro.who.int/southpacific/.

The first deadline for submission is 31 December 2010.

Photo Caption: WHO Representative in the South Pacific and Director of Pacific Technical Support, Dr Chen Ken.