From The Crowd

By the sweat of our brows

Many years ago on at least two separate occasions I drove with some friends from Sydney to Somersby on the Central Coast of New South Wales to visit an open air museum and theme park...

Maui fire | Fiji man hailed a hero in Lahaina

Part 1 Man from Savusavu, Cakaudrove has been hailed a hero in the United States for the part he played in providing assistance during the recent Lahaina wildfire on Maui, Hawaii. On August 8, wildfires swept across Maui and killed at least 97 people, making it one of the America’s deadliest disasters. For weeks, the...

Good fats, bad fats, salt and cholesterol

Fats, oils, salt and cholesterol are all factors that have a significant bearing on our health, particularly in middle to later life. How often do we hear of an untimely death of a close friend or relative from some sort of heart-related incident. A closer look at the factors in our diets may help us...

Care for your mind, body, and spirit

Bula Fiji! Thank you for taking time out to read Bula Vakasaama, a column dedicated dicated to enlightening readers about practical strategies for optimal mental health and mind wellness. Today, I’d like to invite you to appreciate the importance of self-care. Society has conditioned us to put others’ needs before our own, however, it is...

23rd September

Cybersecurity | Protecting and defending the use of cyberspace from cyber attacks

Last Thursday (21/09) I was fortunate to be invited to present and be a panel member at Digicel’s Cybersecurity Symposium at GPH. The chief guest was the Minister for Home Affairs and so that set a good platform for the day. Events like these are useful not only for information dissemination, but for networking with...

Disastrous mill upgrade project

The Fiji Sugar Industry suffered a loss of $550 million through its disastrous mill upgrade program of its four mills since its commencement in 2006. And the losses continue to accumulate even today through interests on the borrowed money. This project was financed through an initial loan of $102 million from the EXIM Bank of...

Unveiling the iconic logo | How a WWII fighter pilot helped the Flying Fijians find their wings

One of the great thrills of my life was discovering, when I went to work for the Fiji Rugby Union in 2001, that my boss was Pio Bosco Tikoisuva. I had just turned nine years old in 1977 when I listened to Pio’s exploits as Fiji captain organising the defeat of the British Lions, on...

Across the divide | School reunions | Part 4

Cross-cultural experiences at schools play a key role in helping bridge the divides that separate us and confine us from fully realising and celebrating the delights of diversity in our lives. Last week, I brought to you particulars about the recent reunion at South Taveuni Indian School where I spent the first five years of...

22nd September

Can kava mana be exported?

Kava is the ancient drink of Pacific people. Surrounded in custom, and steeped in thousands of years of tradition, it is considered a ‘life source’ for many. ‘Anau Mesui Henry describes kava as ‘being alive’, that you’re honouring it when you’re drinking it ‘the proper way’. “When my family moved to Aotearoa, my mum and...

21st September

Turtle conservation | Urgent action needed for Fiji

New preliminary research findings highlight persistent and alarming rate of ongoing sea turtle harvesting, which directly contradicts the welldefined regulations prohibiting this practice. A troubling trend that warrants immediate attention. The findings identified major harvesting hotspots in the provinces of Lomaiviti, Macuata, Kadavu, and Bua. The turtle, also known as vonu or ika bula, holds...

20th September

Sinking islands

On a tiny island in the Caribbean sea, hundreds of people are preparing to move to escape rising sea levels that threaten homes. Carti Sugtupu is only the size of five football fields but the island, off Panama’s northern coast, crams houses together with barely an inch to spare. Some homes jut out to the...

19th September

Pacific families feel the strain | The ‘painful dollar’ of Australian farms

The evenings are always the hardest for Nai Misipeka. Alone with her five children, after cooking and cleaning, she puts them to bed. With Fiji four hours ahead of Western Australia, the time difference means by the time her husband John gets off work their conversations are almost always tinged with sadness. “When he calls...