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(Photos:
Department of Labour) |
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NEW ZEALAND: Donation from NZ Immigration
Auckland Pacific Division staff
Source:
eventpolynesia.com
Yesterday, Auckland Pacific Division of the New
Zealand Immigration Service channelled their
donation to three Pacific leaders of Samoa,
Tonga and Kiribati so they can pass it on to
their communities offshore who have suffered in
the recent tragic events.
Leilua Winston of the Tsunami Samoa 09 Funds
Appeal (TS09) together with Stafford 'Aho,
Tongan government representative in Auckland and
Fr Arobati Rikare of Kiribati, all attended an
afternoon tea organised by the Pacific Division
in Manukau to hand over their staff donation to
assist with the hard work they are doing with
people in Samoa, Tonga and Kiribati. The sum was
raised from a cake stall and monetary donations
by the staff.
New Zealand immigration Auckland branch manager
Pacific, Nancy Wright-Sandoy presented their
staff contribution towards relief efforts
through these leaders for families and villages
that were affected in the Islands.
“We feel that we have to do something and my
staff were involved in a small internal
fundraising activity for the purpose of raising
whatever money we could, says Ms Wright-Sandoy.
“The reason we chose Samoa, Tonga and Kiribati
is simply because we have staff from these
islands whose immediate families were affected
by the tsunami in Samoa, the Princess Ashika
ferry sinking in Tonga, and the boating incident
with Ueenteraoi II in Kiribati”.
Like many other government departments and
private organisations, NZIS is giving of its own
resources. “We feel good, knowing that we have
done something”. Ms Wright-Sandoy said that they
have contacted these leaders as representatives
from their community as they are well respected
and were in control of the situation during the
difficult times. “It has been very humbling to
meet and present our contribution to them, and
convey our messages of love and support to our
Pacific families”.
“We were honoured by the spirit of free giving
and the commitment by all to support their
community, particularly those who have been
affected by these tragic events. We, as leaders
recognise that these are challenging times but
it doesn’t stop the giving nature of our
people”, says Tsunami Samoa 09 Funds Appeal
spokesperson Su’a Teleiai Edwin Puni”.
“How much of a contribution is not important
here, what most valuable to us is that we are
doing something to support my staff that have
families affected by these tragedies”, adds Ms
Wright-Sandoy. “It is heartening to see many of
our employees committing their personal time and
money to make a difference for our Pacific
people with their contribution”.
The highlight of the presentation was from Angel
Ah Kiau, niece of one of the staff along with
her mother who gave a very moving account of how
she felt when she travelled to Samoa two days
after the tsunami. Her father is from the
village of Lalomanu, one of the villages that
were badly affected by the tsunami. Her story
eloquently summed-up the purpose of the day.
Photo Captions:
Photo 1 - Immigration NZ Auckland branch
manager Pacific, Nancy Wright-Sandoy with
immigration manager, Feloni Tupou and senior
advisor, Tai Ah Kuoi.
Photo 2 - NZIS staff cake stall to raise
funds for the donation.
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(Photo:
Samoa Government) |
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SAMOA:
Parliamentary Updates
Source:
Government Press Secretariat Press Release
Deputy Prime Minister travels to China
Cabinet has approved the attendance by the
Deputy Prime Minister Hon. Misa Telefoni and
Chief Executive Officer of the Samoa Tourism
Authority Matatamalii Sonja Hunter, to represent
Samoa on the Inspection Tour for the EXPO2010 in
Shanghai, China, follow by their participation
of the China International Travel Mart in
Kunming, China, from the 18th - 22 November
2009.
The Samoa delegation will be witnessing
preparation by the Government of China towards
the EXPO2010. This Exposition is an
International Annual Event which attracts
tourists from around the world. It aims at
representing the common wish of the whole
humankind for better living in future urban
environments. The delegation will attend the
China International Travel Mart to be held in
Kunming after the Tour.
Hon. Misa Telefoni and CEO for the Samoa Tourism
Authority are expected to return to Samoa on the
24th November 2009.
World Summit on Food Security
Cabinet has approved the participation by the
Minister of Health, Hon. Gatoloaifaana Alesana
Gidlow and Chief Executive Officer of the
Ministry of Health, Palanitina Tupuimatagi
Toelupe of the World Summit on Food Security to
be held in Rome, Italy on the 16 - 18 November
2009.
The main objective of the Summit is to stress
the importance of Food Production and Food
Safety. The participation of the Samoa
Delegation of this Summit is founded on the
Ministry of Health and the Ministry of
Agricultures Mandate for Promoting Food Safety
of the Public.
Closing time for selling liquor at Night Clubs.
Cabinet has lifted the curfew for selling liquor
from 10pm to 12midnight on Friday and Saturday
nights only.
The decision states that:
1. The 10pm curfew for selling liquor from
Mondays to Thursdays remains.
2. Selling Liquor on Fridays to Saturdays will
continue until 12midnight.
3. Night Clubs’ music will stop at 10pm.
The decision was not easy for the Liquor Board
because public safety is the priority, although
the Bar and Nightclubs Association insisted they
were facing financial hardships.
The September ban continued on till this week.
The amendment to this ban will come to force on
Friday 13th 2009.
2009 OJU Judo World Cup
Judo teams from all over the world are in Samoa
to participate in the Oceania Judo Union (OJU)
Judo World Cup 2009.
Samoa won the bid to host the Games and this is
the first Judo World Cup competition to be held
in the country. Over 30 countries are expected
to participate. The Government of Samoa has
already presented $700,000 to assist the Judo
Association of Samoa with their preparations.
Teams and officials upon arrival in the country
on Wednesday, 11 November 2009, have visited and
planted trees at Lalomanu, Satitoa and Ulutogia
Primary Schools. The official opening for the
Games will be on Thursday 12 November 2009 at
the Faleata Gymnasium 2 at 6.30pm to be followed
by local entertainments. The tournament will be
held on Friday and Saturday, 13-14 November
2009.
A Dinner will be held in conclusion of this
World Event at the Faleata Golf Course on
Saturday evening.
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(Photos:
Fagaitua Alumni Association) |
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AMERICAN SAMOA: Operation Eastern Star makes
first 'School Kits' drop
Source:
Fagaitua Alumni Association Press Release
On Friday, November 6th 2009 Operation Eastern
Star made its first 'School Kits' Drop to
Fagaitua High School students who were affected
by the recent tsunami. The kits included:
bag/tote, folders, notebooks, pencils/pens.
Alumni along with Fagaitua HS staff identified
approximately 220 students as affected. The
operation prepared 250 kits to be given out to
students residing in villages beginning from
Pago Pago all the way down east to Alao and Tula.
The donors for this drop were:
Wendy Anae of BYU Hawaii
Iva Tiave of Farrington High School-Hawaii
Moana Purcell and Kina Sai of Hawaiian Air
Aigalesala Fanene Miss Fetu O Sasa'e
Salote Fanene
Mr. Selesele Tu'upo
Fagaitua HS Class of 1988
Athenia 'Peti' Laupola
Mr. Tauapa'i Laupola- Fagaitua Alumni
Association President made the presentation on
behalf of Operation Eastern Star. Mr. Elvis
Liufau, Vice Principal of Fagaitua High School
accepted the 'school kits' donations. After the
short presentation, the kits were distributed to
the affected students.
Operation Eastern Star has served relief
supplies to over 100 families total from the
villages of Masefau, Tula and Alofau. They hope
to also reach the remaining targeted villages of
their drive before the end of the month. In
addition, Operation Eastern Star aims to give
school kits to students that attend elementary
schools located on the eastern district.
Operation Eastern Eastern Star consists of
Fagaitua Alumni & Friends along with Fagaitua
High School Faculty, Staff and Student Body. The
main purpose of the drive is to give relief to
students, families and friends on the eastern
district who to this day are in need of basic
relief supplies/school supplies. If you are
interested and would like to help by making a
donation, please email [email protected]
or contact the following individuals:
Mr. Tauapa'i Laupola-Fagaitua Alumni Association
President @ 731-5098
Suaese Pooch Ta'ase-Fagaitua Alumni Assoc Vice
President @ 258-1471
Bethany Malae Toelupe-Fagaitua Alumni Assoc
Secretary @ 258-5660
Fau Faga'ava-Fagaitua Alumni Assoc Treasurer @
252-2852
You can make a donation directly at Fagaitua
High School Campus which serves as the main drop
off site for donations and ask for Fau. Or you
can visit us online @ http://www.95boyz.com/operationeasternstar
for more information. Thank you!.
Photo Captions:
Photo 1 - School 'kits' that were given
out to Fagaitua High School students.
Photo 2 - The Operation Eastern Star
presentation made by Mr. Laupola (in red aloha
shirt) on behalf of OES and Vice Principal Elvis
Liufau accepting the donations.
Photos 3 & 4 - Distributing to affected
students by OES team.
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(Photos:
Miss South Pacific Pageant 2009 / Miss Samoa Pageant 2009) |
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FIJI: Miss South Pacific Pageant 2009 update
Source:
Hibiscus
Event Group Press Release
As we count down to kick off the Pageant and
associated festivities, young women from all
over the region prepare to take the stage in
Suva in less than two weeks time and
preparations are well underway to turn Albert
Park into a mini South Pacific; a place where
all things Pacific will be showcased during the
week long event.
Contestants will start to arrive from next week,
with staggered arrival times. All the
contestants will be here and ready to go by
Friday 20, November.
Set up at the grounds has begun. We now have
food stalls in place and the carnival ride
operators will begin their set up later in the
week. A rehearsal for the lighting and sound
equipment is planned for early next week and we
are aiming for the entire site to be ready for
action on the Saturday 14, November.
There will be cultural entertainment and
sporting competitions at three venues around the
park combined with the sale and display of arts
and crafts from pacific island booths and the
judging of the queens on the main stage each
evening from Wednesday, 23 November.
The first two heats of the Dragon Music Pacific
Has Talent competition are over with the semi
final scheduled for Saturday 14, November and
the grand finale planned for the Tuesday 24,
November.
The new website www.misssouthpacificfiji.com
went live last Friday and has a whole host of
important Pageant information such as profiles
on the contestants, a layout map of Albert Park,
the programme and all the associated promotions.
Speaking of promotions, somewhere in Suva there
are two very happy people who have already won
$5,000each from the PBS text competition.
The Suva City Council is gearing up for it’s
“Clean Up” campaign as they really walk the talk
of this year’s theme ‘Preserving our environment
the pacific way’. The council has launched the
campaign to have Suva, clean, green and
beautiful by the time the pacific beauties from
the 10 island nations converge on the city next
week.
One thing left to tick off are the volunteers
from the Pacific Island community to assist with
the manning of the booths and the building of
the floats for their relevant countries. If
people are interested they are to contact the
Fiji Arts Council (3311754).
The ten Miss South Pacific Pageant 2009
contestants are:
Miss American Samoa, Lorisa Matau
Miss Cook Islands, Engara Melanic Amanda
Gosselin
Miss Fiji Islands, Merewalesi Nailatikau
Miss French Polynesia, Aruhoia Marine Biret
Miss Niue, Carthy Malamaima Lavini
Miss Papua New Guinea, Antonia Singut
Miss Samoa, Hope Tusisaleia Pomele
Miss Solomon Islands, Millicent Barty
Miss Tonga, Paea 'Okusitina Wilhelmina
Miss Tuvalu, Akelita Marisa Pesega
On 10 November, Jacinta Bourne resigned as
Miss Samoa 2009 for personal reasons and Miss
Samoa Pageant 2009 runner-up Miss Samoa USA,
Hope Tusisaleia Pomele assumed her crown and
duties.
Photo Captions:
Photo 1 - Miss American Samoa, Lorisa
Matau; Miss Cook Islands, Engara Melanic Amanda
Gosselin; Miss Fiji Islands, Merewalesi
Nailatikau.
Photo 2 - Miss French Polynesia, Aruhoia
Marine Biret; Miss Niue, Carthy Malamaima Lavini;
Miss Papua New Guinea, Antonia Singut.
Photo 3 - Miss Samoa, Hope Tusisaleia
Pomele; Miss Solomon Islands, Millicent Barty;
Miss Tonga, Paea 'Okusitina Wilhelmina.
Photo 4 - Miss Tuvalu, Akelita Marisa
Pesega.
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NEW CALEDONIA: First ever visit by ASEAN to SPC
Source:
Secretariat
of the Pacific Community Press Release
The Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC)
is receiving a delegation of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for the first
time this week.
‘I hope that the visit will provide a major
opportunity to strengthen partnerships between
the two organisations and will help us engage in
more formalised collaboration in the close
future,’ said Dr Jimmie Rodgers, SPC
Director-General.
The main purpose of the ASEAN visit to SPC is to
exchange information about regional public
health initiatives, especially the Pacific
Public Health Surveillance Network (PPHSN).
PPHSN is a voluntary network dedicated to the
promotion of public health surveillance and
appropriate response to the health challenges of
22 Pacific Island countries and territories.* It
was created in 1996 under the joint auspices of
SPC and the World Health Organization.
ASEAN established a similar regional platform
recently to facilitate information exchange on
public health issues among its member states.
The meeting will be the occasion for ASEAN to
look into PPHSN experience and identify
potential links with the network.
Other issues to be discussed will include the
lessons learned from the regional preparedness
and response to Influenza A (H1N1) 2009, and
potential links with SPC’s Public Health
Division for the Pacific Island region.
Nine representatives from Indonesia, the Lao
People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia,
Thailand, Viet Nam and Japan compose the ASEAN
delegation to SPC.
The three-day study visit will take place at SPC
Headquarters in Noumea (New Caledonia) from 12
to 14 November 2009.
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WORLDWIDE: Economic tsunami looms for the
Pacific
Source:
United Nations Development Programme Press
Release
The Pacific is faced with an economic tsunami in
the form of the global economic and financial
crisis. More households will find themselves
sliding into poverty, while others will find it
increasingly hard to make ends meet. The urban
poor, small scale and subsistence farmers, low
skilled workers, internal-migrants and
immigrants will find themselves facing more
hardship as a result of the crisis.
If no appropriate action is taken, the lives of
many Pacific peoples, especially women and
children, stand to be shattered. This could lead
to a regression in development gains made
towards achieving the Millennium Development
Goals.
The World Bank describes the current global
economic and financial crisis as a development
emergency.
It is for these reasons that the Government of
Vanuatu, together with the United Nations and
other development partners, will convene a
conference on the human face of the global
economic crisis and its impact on the Pacific.
“The impact of the current crisis will depend on
a variety of factors and will vary between
different countries. Nevertheless, children and
women in Pacific Island countries are likely to
be amongst the most severely affected, and those
already most vulnerable will face the greatest
impacts,” said Knut Ostby, Resident Coordinator
of the United Nations and Resident
Representative of the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) Fiji Multi-Country Office.
The full impact of the global economic crisis
has not yet been felt in the Pacific. This gives
a small window of opportunity to Pacific Island
governments to put together more thoughtful and
effective policies that not only buffer the
effects of the current crisis but also build
resilience for future crises.
The conference will look at three major ways of
building reinforcement to counter the impact of
this economic tsunami. The first is to address
the vulnerabilities faced by women and children.
The second is to find ways to enable Pacific
governments to respond in creative and
sustainable ways to the crisis. This includes
promoting green growth and social safety nets.
The final reinforcement is to build the region’s
resilience in addressing future crises.
A report produced by UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
and UNDP Pacific Centre, “Protecting Pacific
Island Children and Women During Economic and
Food Crises: Working Edition one for Advocacy,
Debate and Guidance” urges Pacific governments
to use the crisis as an opportunity to start a
new development paradigm.
“Pacific Island governments can use this crisis
to jump start a new development paradigm, one in
which social expenditure on children and women
is at the heart of a more inclusive and
sustainable pattern of economic growth in the
region,” states the report.
The report discusses a set of new policy options
to protect women, children and other members of
society from being washed away in this economic
tsunami.
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