NEWSPAGE 12 November
2010

(Photo: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations)

SAMOA: Nurses’ work following Samoan tsunami honoured
Source: New Zealand Nurses Organisation Press Release

Samoan nurses who returned to Samoa to assist in the aftermath of last year’s devastating tsunami were honoured in an emotional ceremony at the 15th South Pacific Nurses’ Forum in Auckland on Wednesday (November 10, 2010).

The third day of the forum, attended by more than 300 delegates from 12 Pacific nations, had a focus on disaster preparedness. The assistant chief executive, nursing services, in Samoa’s Ministry of Health, Professor Pelenatete Ieremia Stowers, described the nursing response to the tsunami which struck on September 29, 2009, claiming close to 200 lives. Nurses were the first health professionals on site on the day of the tsunami and some had lost children, relatives and homes.

The work of nurses in Samoa and those who returned to help was acknowledged at the forum and a song composed to honour nurses’ work was performed. The forum heard that the Samoan nurses who returned to Samoa after the tsunami were the most appropriate people to assist, as they knew the culture and spoke the language.

Thirty-six nurses from New Zealand have worked in Samoa over the last year and have dug deep into their own pockets to finance their travel and work. The nurses who returned to help in Samoa formed the Samoa Health Mission, which entered into a formal partnership with the Samoan Ministry of Health in September.

The service manager of Auckland Pacific public health provider, Health Star Pacific, Anna Bailey, said the tsunami had been a “clarion call” to Samoan nurses in New Zealand and Australia and they had responded generously.

New Zealand Nurses Organisation president Nano Tunnicliff and Te Runanga o Aotearoa NZNO kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku, in a joint presentation to the forum, referred to the challenges facing the nursing profession in times of rapid change and outlined a vision for nursing beyond 2020.
 

(Photo: Australian High Commission)

AUSTRALIA: Three Samoans win Australian Leadership Awards for next year
Source: Australian High Commission Press Release

Three Samoans have been awarded the prestigious Australian Leadership Awards (ALA) scholarship to undertake postgraduate study in Australia next year and participate in a special leadership development program.

The ALA scholarships are valued up to $180,000 (A$90,000) each and include travel, living allowances, tuition fees and university costs, as well as leadership training. The AusAID funded scholarships have been awarded to:

• Kovi Aiolupotea - currently the ACEO Quality Assurance with the Samoa Qualification Authority, will complete a one year Masters of Leadership and Management in Education at the University of Newcastle, NSW.

• Ainsof So’o - currently a software engineer with Computer Services Limited, will complete a Masters of Information Technology at the Queensland University of Technology. The course runs for 18 months.

• Meapelo Efi Siaana Maiai - currently a Senior Program Officer with the UNDP, will complete a Masters of Environment (Protection) at Griffith University in Queensland. The course is a one year program.

In congratulating the three winners, Australian High Commissioner to Samoa, Matt Anderson said the latest winners take the total number of Samoans ALA scholarship winners to 13 since the scholarship program began in 2007.

“The ALA scholarships are highly competitive, based on leadership qualities and outstanding academic achievement and Samoa currently enjoys one of the highest success rates of scholarship winners in the Pacific. I would like to congratulate Kovi, Ainsof and Meapelo on their success. I am sure they will bring great credit to both themselves and Samoa,” Mr Anderson said.

Mr Anderson said that through these leadership awards, the next group of Samoan leaders will be able to extend their education and participate in a unique development program to enhance their leadership skills, build networks and increase their understanding of regional development challenges.

As part of the scholarship, a special leadership development program is also offered which includes a conference in Canberra, regional workshops, leadership coaching and practice opportunities.

“This will help to develop their full leadership potential and understanding of development challenges at national, regional and global levels,” Mr Anderson said.

Previous and current Samoan Australian Leadership Awards scholars include:

2010

• Teleiai Lalotoa Sinaalamaimaleula Mulitalo - a legislative drafting consultant, is studying a four year Doctor of Philosophy (Law) at the University University of Queensland.

• Talalelei Akeimo - a senior policy analyst with the Public Service Commission is studying a Masters of Public Policy at the University of Sydney.

• Elita Tooala - the principal research officer with the Ministry of Finance, is studying a Master in Business Administration at the University of Western Sydney.

• Prince Shuren - a product analyst for Samoatel, is studying a Master of Business at Bond University in Queensland.

• Ane Moananu, Coordinator of the Law and Justice Sector, is studying a Master of Business Administration at Newcastle University in New South Wales.


2009

• Michael Soonalole, Chief Inspector/Legal Advisor of Ministry of Police and Prisons - completed a Masters Degree in Law at the University of New South Wales.


2008

• Faaolo Utumapu, a Hansard Officer for the Ministry of the Legislative Assembly completed a Masters Degree in Communications and Media Studies at Monash University in Melbourne.

• Mau Simanu, a Senior Lecturer at the National University of Samoa completed a Masters Degree in Engineering Management at the University of Technology in Sydney.


2007

• Faamao Ualesi, a Senior Scholarship Officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, completed a Masters Degree in Business Administration at Curtin University in Perth.

• Mema Motusaga, a lecturer at NUS, completed a Masters Degree in Community Development at Victoria University in Melbourne.

Photo Caption: Australian Leadership Award scholars for 2010 Meapelo Efi Siaana Maiai, Kovi Aiolupotea and Ainsof So'o.
 

(Photo: Hawaii State Junior Golf Association)

HAWAII: Top young Hawaii golfers sign at kickoff to Asia Pacific Jr. Cup
Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser

Waikoloa's Kings' Course will be the site of a whole lot of lifetime memories this week.

At yesterday's opening ceremony for the fourth annual Asia Pacific Junior Cup, five members of the Hawaii team signed national letters of intent for golf scholarships at Division I schools in the fall. For the next three days, 16-player teams (10 boys, six girls) from Hawaii and Japan will participate in the Junior Cup, a Ryder Cup-style tournament that features team matches the first two days and singles matches Saturday.

Japan has won the Silver Tiffany Trophy two of the first three years, when the event was called USA Hawaii-Japan Junior Cup. Last year the result was decided on the 18th green of the final match. Hilton Grand Vacations is the tournament title sponsor. Proceeds benefit the Hawaii State Junior Golf Association and Waikoloa Foundation.

Yesterday, University High's Alice Kim (Gonzaga), Punahou's Alina Ching (Pepperdine) and Cyd Okino (Washington), Aiea's Ryan Kuroiwa (Hawaii) and reigning state high school champion Cassy Isagawa (Oregon), a Baldwin senior, signed their letters at the Cup's opening ceremony.

HSJGA member Michelle Condry, also a member of Punahou's state championship team last season, will play for San Francisco. She is not on the Big Island this week.

The scholarships are a precious payoff for years of athletic and financial commitment.

Okino started playing tournaments at age 7. She has golfed in 27 states, won more than 30 titles and played 12 USGA events, including the 2008 U.S. Women's Open. She captured two Hawaii State Women's Match Play Championship titles, the first at age 11, and won three straight Hawaii State Open women's titles.

Father Cyrus, a driving teacher, estimates the Okinos have spent $100,000 on travel and equipment.

Qualifying for the Asia Pacific Junior Cup is also a reward. Isagawa is playing in her fourth. She now knows how to concede a hole in Japanese and appreciates the different mind-set team play presents.

"You can't really be thinking about yourself anymore," Isagawa says. "You have to think about your partner. If you're not playing your greatest and your partner is playing well, no matter how frustrated you are, you have to keep it together and support your partner and team."

Isagawa has enjoyed a remarkable year, which she attributes to eight years of hard work with coach Brenda Rego. This summer she was second at Junior Worlds, co-medalist at the Girls Junior America's Cup, helping Hawaii to its first team title in 18 years, and won the 35th Junior PGA Championship.

That brought her a place on the Junior Ryder Cup team and a trip to the mecca of golf, St. Andrews in Scotland. Isagawa called the trip "a huge thing for me."

She is currently 23rd in the Polo Junior Ranking, up nearly 300 spots from the summer of 2009, when Oregon first started showing interest. Over spring break, Isagawa visited Pepperdine, California, USC, Oregon and Stanford.

"All the schools said they were keeping an eye on me, but they didn't have a guaranteed scholarship except for Oregon," Isagawa recalled. "I have to say, when I went to Oregon and saw the facilities and everything, I knew I'd be able to fit in. I could adapt to the weather and environment. I felt at home there."

She came back, talked to her parents and Rego, and verbally committed a week later, then started winning everything in sight. Yesterday's signing sets her up for new friends and a different level of competition, lots of studying and four years of practice at Eugene Country Club. The course was part of what attracted her to Oregon. So was a state-of-the-art teaching system that can video her swing and allow "Auntie Brenda" the opportunity to give her immediate feedback from 2,500 miles away.

Six-figure investments, overseas coaching and international matches -- welcome to the new world of junior golf.

Photo Caption: Top junior golfers competing in the Asia Pacific Junior Cup on the Big Island signed national letters of intent yesterday. Choosing their colleges yesterday were, from left, Alina Ching (Pepperdine), Cassy Isagawa (Oregon), Alice Kim (Gonzaga), Ryan Kuroiwa (Hawaii) and Cyd Okino (Washington).
 

(Photo: U.S. Department of Defense)

TONGA: Mullen thanks Tonga for steadfast support
Source: U.S. Department of Defense

The U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff stopped at the island nation of Tonga on Monday (November 08, 2010) to thank Tongans for their efforts to promote peace and stability in the world.

Navy Adm. Mike Mullen became the first chairman to visit the kingdom, although he had visited the island when he commanded the destroyer USS Goldsborough in 1987.

“I came back to Tonga simply to say one thing: ‘Thank you,’” Mullen said during a ceremony welcoming the admiral and his wife, Deborah, to the island. “Thank you for your friendship, thank you for your support, thank you for the long-lasting relationship.”

The Tongan people have stepped to the fore in the fight against terrorism. Tonga maintained a 55-man deployment to Iraq from 2004 to 2005. Anyone going to the Al Faw Palace - then the headquarters of Multinational Force Iraq - saw the Tongan soldiers guarding the compound.

The Tongan military is readying to deploy another 55-man detachment to Afghanistan. The soldiers are currently training with British forces in England. The deployment of these soldiers represents 10 percent of the Tongan military; the entire nation has a population of just over 100,000.

The chairman met with King George Tupou V, Prime Minister Feleti Vaka’uta Sevele, and Brig. Gen. Uta’atu, the Tongan chief of defense, during his stop. Mullen and his party are returning to the United States from the Australia-U.S. Ministerial Consultations held in Melbourne, Australia.

The military-to-military relationship between the United States and Tonga began in early 1942, when the U.S. desperately needed to keep the sea lanes to Australia and New Zealand open. The Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor destroyed much of the American fleet, and there was a danger that the Japanese - attacking south and east - would cut off and invade Australia.

Ultimately, more than 10,000 American servicemembers were based in Tonga during World War II, and the Tongan military fought alongside U.S. Army and Marine Corps units on Guadalcanal. That battle represented a turning point in the war against the Japanese.

The Tongan military held a Retreat ceremony in honor of the chairman. Mullen visited the island with the Goldsborough twice in 1987. He said he remembers one visit as if it were yesterday. “We parked at the pier … and it was blowing about 50 knots,” he said. “It’s a tough pier to get alongside when the wind is coming like that.”

Mullen said he also remembers the warm welcome and the outreach of the people to the ship’s 300 American sailors. “Quite frankly, it was part of my long-term view that someday I hoped I could get back here,” he said.

And now he has returned to convey the thanks of the American people. “Again you’ve volunteered to be at our side in a tough fight,” he said.

Photo Caption: U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen.
 

(Photo: Agence France-Presse)

WORLDWIDE: Pacific nations look to increase control over tuna fisheries
Source: Agence France-Presse via Google News

Pacific island nations were missing out on income from lucrative tuna fisheries and should consider tripling access fees for foreign vessels, the region's fishing chief says.

Transform Aqorau said Pacific islanders needed to take a united stand to ensure they received a fair share of their tuna catch, worth an estimated two billion US a year, which is dominated by US and Asian fishing companies.

"On our own, we cannot change the fisheries system in the Pacific, collectively, we can," said Aqorau, director of the eight-nation Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) grouping.

Speaking ahead of a PNA meeting in the Marshall Islands later this month, Aqorau said that access fees for foreign fishing vessels "should be double or triple what they are today".

"We are not yet benefiting from what is rightfully our resource," he said.

About 60 percent of the Pacific tuna catch comes from PNA waters and the organisation's commercial manager Maurice Brownjohn said foreign companies must involve the island nations more in the fisheries.

"PNA leaders have had enough of selling licences and being observers," Brownjohn said.

"We need more participation in jobs, manufacturing, and joint ventures."

The PNA meeting on November 25-26 will include representatives from tuna fishing and processing companies.

"PNA's goal is to look at how it can improve the value of the product, rather than just selling licences for boats to fish," Brownjohn said. "We want to grow the cake and take a bigger slice."

The Noumea-based Secretariat of the Pacific Community warned last month that Pacific fisheries faced collapse by 2035 if management of one of the region's main economic resources did not improve.

It called for greater cooperation between island nations to counter the threat from overfishing, population growth and climate change.

Photo Caption: A Taiwanese fisherman unloads tuna in Majuro.