NEWSPAGE 21 March
2011

(Photos: spacific pr)

NEW ZEALAND: Pacific Company launches at Te Wharewaka o Poneke

(Photos: Australian High Commission)

SAMOA: Australian volunteer medical team restores sight
Source: Australian High Commission Press Release

Australian eye specialists have restored the sight of 64 Samoans during a week-long visit to Apia.

The team of volunteers were based at Tupua Tamasese Meaole Hospital and gave valuable hands-on training to local hospital staff. In addition the team brought over new medical equipment for the hospital eye clinic. This equipment was donated by the medical company Alcon and is valued at over WST$6,000.

The team comprised surgeons Michael Haybittel and Basil Crayford, optometrist Surabhi Verma and nurse Andrea Schuurmans. Their visit was coordinated and funded by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in collaboration with the Australian Agency for International Development, AusAID.

Australian High Commissioner to Samoa Stephen Henningham said visits by Australian specialist medical teams are a vital part of Australia’s support to Samoa.

“Australia supports a program which helps bring medical teams to Samoa and other countries in the Pacific region to ensure that people have access to specialist medical treatment that is not available in their home country” he said.

This is the first of four Australian medical teams who will visit Samoa this year. Since 2002 the partnership between Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and AusAID has funded 29 specialists’ visits to Samoa. Over 2,351 people have received specialist medical advice and treatment and over 716 life changing operations have been conducted. The next team to visit Samoa will be an orthopaedics surgical team, who are scheduled to visit in May 2011.

Photo Captions:

Photo 1 - Australian High Commissioner to Samoa Stephen Henningham with the Ophthalmology team and hospital staff.

Photo 2 - Australian volunteer optometrist Surabhi Verma assesses a patient.
 

AMERICAN SAMOA: Department of Labor makes available $122 million in CPIF
Source: Office of Congressman Faleomavaega Press Release

Congressman Faleomavaega has announced that the U.S. Department of Labor last week released a Solicitation for Grant Applications (SGA), making available approximately $122 million through the Career Pathways Innovation Fund (CPIF).

According to the DOL, this fund supports career pathway programs at community colleges that will help individuals of varying skill levels enter and pursue rewarding careers in emerging industries and in-demand occupations.

Career pathway programs are a relatively new strategy for community colleges in which students are presented with clear sequences of coursework and credentials, each leading to a better job in a particular field, such as health care, law enforcement, and clean energy. The programs have multiple entry and exit points suited to the students’ need for further education in a particular field. The programs are also linked to services such as basic adult education and English as a Second Language classes, making them accessible to individuals who are not yet prepared for college courses.

The DOL will award 40 to 50 grants ranging from $1 million to $5 million to eligible entities: local workforce investment boards, individual community and technical colleges, community college districts, state community college systems, and designated two-year colleges. At least $65 million of the total funding will be reserved for projects that focus on training for health care fields. Furthermore, $6.25 million is intended to support grantee efforts to conduct third-party evaluations of their activities. Complete details on the SGA can be found online at: http://www.doleta.gov/grants/find_grants.cfm. The closing date for the SGA is March 31, 2011.

“I thank my former colleague, Secretary Hilda Solis, and her team at the U.S. Department of Labor for their hard work in making available these funding opportunities to help young people across our nation. I am pleased that the career pathway programs are one step towards improving the economic status of our country. It will help keep our workforce equipped with the skills and tools that will serve them well in their desired careers,” Faleomavaega stated.

“It is my hope that our territory will take advantage of these types of innovative grant opportunities to enhance the admirable efforts in American Samoa to better serve our college students through counseling and academic support services. I also thank and commend our local educators and mentors who make it their priority to prepare the next generation for academic and career success,” the Congressman concluded.
 

(Photo: Oceania Football Confederation)

FIJI: Fiji name 23-man U-20 squad 
Source: Oceania Football Confederation Press Release

The Fiji Football Association (Fiji FA) has released the names of the 23 players that have travelled to New Zealand to take part in the OFC U-20 Championship.

The Fiji squad, which will be reduced to 20 players for the tournament, is the first to arrive in Auckland and touched down on Sunday.

The championship does not get underway until April 19 but the Fiji FA want to give the players as much time as possible to acclimatise and get used to their new surroundings.

Technical director Saiyad Ali says the group will play a few build-up matches and continue with their preparations in New Zealand before the squad for the championship, which serves as a qualifier for the FIFA U-20 World Cup, is finalised.

The extended squad has been in camp since 2010 and the players have been exposed to high-level competition in the National Football League.


Fiji squad for OFC U-20 Championship
(Three to be omitted)

Goalkeepers
Akuila MATEISUVA
Epeli LOANICEVA

Defenders
Amani MAKOE
Serupepeli ROKOVOLIUTO
Apisalome WAQATABU
Ravinesh SINGH
Poasa BAINIVALU
Akei ULUIBAU
Iliesa LINO
Krishneel KRISHNA
Joshua TAWAKE
Malakai RAKULA
Vilitati RATU
Jone SALAUNEUNE
Malakai LEVATIA

Midfielders
Ilisoni LOGAIVAU
Christopher KUMAR
Taione KEREVANUA
Joseva BASUDRA
Joseph ELDER

Forwards
Noa VUKICA
Misaele DRAUNIBAKA
Abbu ZAHID

For more on Fiji football go to www.fijifootball.com.fj
 

(Photo: Ashley Cooper / Rex Features)

TONGA: Islands like Tuvalu need help to prepare for tsunamis
Source: The Guardian

The radio station broadcast the tsunami warning at 10pm local time last Friday, after the earthquake in Japan. The tsunami was predicted to hit Tuvalu at 1.30am. Although there was no actual drill, in the capital, Funafuti, the police went to people's houses to make sure everybody was aware of the warning.

Many people headed to the government building in the capital, Funafuti, one of the two evacuation centres in the city. The other was the hospital. The government building is the highest and most secure - the place to go to when disasters threaten the island.

But on this low-lying island state in the middle of the Pacific, where the highest point is 4.5 metres above sea level, there is little the inhabitants can do to protect themselves against big waves.

The highest point of the government's three-storey building is 12 metres above the sea, so even that won't offer much protection against a big wave. Some of the tsunami waves in 2004 were up to 30m high; the waves that hit Japan measured 10m. In Tuvalu, there is no place to hide.

Geographical conditions, isolated locations, and poorly developed infrastructure and evacuation systems make the inhabitants of low-lying areas like Tuvalu highly vulnerable.

The closest outside help would come from Fiji, 1,000km away. In addition, Tuvaluans are spread across nine islands and atolls. Unlike on Fogafale, the largest island, there is not much solid infrastructure on the outer islands. Outside Fogafale, churches are the most solid buildings. The sole means of evacuating people from one island to another is using the two ferries that ply between the islands. This makes a rescue operation immensely difficult, if not impossible. A boat did make the rounds to bring people to the capital. But it was not a quick process.

"The rescue team didn't reach us before midnight, [even] though the waves were announced for 1.30am," says Mataio O'Brien,69. He lives on Funafala, one of the small islets of Funafuti, which is a one-hour boatride across the lagoon, which meant the boat arrived in Funafuti just 30 minutes before the tsunami was expected to hit. So what would happen to the 1,000 inhabitants of Nanumea, the northernmost island, 30 hours away by ferry?

Tuvaluans are used to extreme weather and disaster warnings. But many were frightened by the tsunami warning. Tawaieta Taupili, 59, sat by the back door of the government house. Ten meters away lies the lagoon, and behind that the open sea.

"I don't have any experience of tsunamis, but I have been hearing lots of bad stories to do with the Indian Ocean and the tsunami that hit Samoa in 2009. I pray to God that it won't come," she says.

Tuvaluans are closely linked to the sea. Children play alone in the waves from when they are very small. Men use every opportunity to go fishing. Tuvalu's biggest export is seafarers. Tuvaluans know the strength of the sea, and they respect it.

"As a former seaman, I have seen powerful waves, and seen how small and powerless we humans are compared to the sea," says O'Brien.

The tsunami did not hit Tuvalu this time. However, this momentum should be used to focus on how the damage of future disasters can be reduced and how some disasters can be prevented from happening.

On Tuvalu, the islanders still remember hurricane Bebe in 1972. Bebe washed away most of the buildings on Funafuti. The government house was destroyed and 700, of a population of less than 900 people, were left homeless. Tuvalu is not only a small low-lying country, but also a poor one, and it is totally dependent on aid to cover its most basic needs. Its biggest problem in adapting to changes in climate is the lack of resources.

"We don't have the money to do anything for adaptation … We need help to raise our country above the sea level and to stop the destruction of the waves," says Tataua Pese, 37, climate change and disaster management officer of the Red Cross on Tuvalu. "The best way to adapt is to build sea walls to protect our shores from the waves. However, we need proper studies to see what is the best way to do this, and Tuvalu lacks the human resources and expertise."

In the light of last week's tsunami, it is apparent that Tuvaluans and other poor islanders have to be helped by rich countries to prepare for and respond efficiently to tsunamis, whatever their cause.

Photo Caption: Fishermen set out in their boat on Funafuti atol, Tuvalu. Can Tuvalu be better prepared for a tsunami.
 

(Photo: Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme)

WORLDWIDE: A successful Pacific Climate Change Roundtable ends in Niue
Source: Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme Press Release

The Pacific Climate Change Roundtable in Alofi, Niue has come to an end. Four days of intensive deliberations on climate change issues has provided a clear way forward for the region.

In his closing statement today, Hon. Toke Talagi, Premier of Niue expressed the need for politicians and government leaders to be involved in the discussions in future as they help drive climate change issues on the international scenes.

His Government and country were commended for their generosity and welcoming spirit, providing a friendly backdrop to the discussions, by the Director of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), Mr. David Sheppard.

One of the key outcomes of the PCCR is it has a steering committee to ensure effective coordination and collaboration which will continue to play a role after the roundtable. One of the major aims of this Roundtable is its’ intention to be inclusive, rather than exclusive. This was made clear with the participation of the civil society, donors, development partners, country participants - all stakeholders were welcome to attend this conference.

“Ambassador Feturi (H.E Aliioaiga Feturi Eisaia) reminded us that “No-one has a monopoly on good ideas”. Everyone has been able to participate here as equals - this Roundtable has provided a neutral forum for the exchange of ideas and experience,” said Mr. Sheppard in this closing statement.

“When we look back at the last roundtable we can see that the focus has shifted from process to substance. Congratulations to you all.”

A Terms of Reference was endorsed for the Roundtable. The living document will be adapted in line with changing circumstances.

Coordinators and terms of References were formed for the four working groups - mitigation, adaptation, climate change resources, and climate change information and knowledge management. During the PCCR, the working groups met to provide clear and practical recommendations that link with existing processes in the region. For example, the Climate Resources working group will provide input to and support the existing processes led by the Pacific Forum Economic Ministers Meeting.

“In terms of the agenda and outcomes, this time there was much more involvement of Governments, NGO’s, development partners and as a result of that the discussion was much more focussed and useful,” said David Sheppard.

“There was good discussion on a lot of key issues like financing, adaptation, mitigation and I think most importantly we have a clear way forward, we have working groups, each working group has good leadership with clear and effective work programmes. So I think this really reinforces the PCCR as the premiere forum for discussion of climate change issues in this region.”

The next Pacific Climate Change Roundtable will be held in 2013 the venue of the next meeting is still not confirmed.

Photo Caption: Premier of Niue, Hon. Toke Talagi, delivering his closing statement at the Pacific Climate Change Roundtable.