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A collection of stories and articles by Samantha Rina and a few that capture her achievements.

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The Fiji Times •

The long, cold walk in the dark

At 3am, while most of Fiji still sleeps, Vani Sulua and her husband begin their trip to the market. In the darkness, they wade through the cold Wainimala River, lifting sacks of root crops and vegetables above the water to keep them dry. At the riverbank, they try to stay warm as they wait for the carrier that will take them into town, a routine that has become their only way to earn a living. From Nasivikoso Village in Magodro, Ba, Vani, 31, now lives in Waibasaga, Wainimala, in Naitasiri with...
The Fiji Times •

$3.2m project, no water

TEN villages on Moturiki Island remain deprived of access to clean and consistent water supply despite the commissioning of a $3.2million water project on the island in 2022. Over the last three years, water committee representatives from each village have made numerous journeys – first, by boat from their villages to Ovalau, then, on foot to the hills of Navuloa Village — to determine the cause of water disruptions and attempt to repair it, often without the help of the Water Authority of Fiji...
The Fiji Times •

New research calls Fiji’s GBV response a ‘failure’

FIJI’S national response to gender-based violence (GBV) has failed to stop the killings, with 57 women now dead at the hands of their partners or spouses. This was among the confronting findings revealed in new research by Avelina Rokoduru, a Doctor of Philosophy candidate at the University of Otago in New Zealand, who says the four-decade-long GBV strategy must be urgently reviewed. “Despite four decades of national, regional and international response, GBV especially in the form of intimate pa...
The Fiji Times •

ACHIEVEMENT | The woman who served 16 top diplomats

WHEN Lusiana Kausoqo first walked into the Australian High Commission in 1982 for a job interview, she was crippled with fear. It was the woman who was coaxing and guiding her at the elbow - her employer at the time, Penny-Ana Urwin - who was adamant that Ms Kausoqo, then 25, would complete the interview process. “I was very nervous and scared that day,” said Ms Kausoqo. “I had never been to a massive house like that.” At 68 years of age, Ms Kausoqo – known as Lusi to many – has served at least 1...
The Fiji Times •

Fix the water crisis, Government urged

FIJI is facing a water crisis and the Government must commit to fixing water issues experienced around the country. In a statement by the Non-Governmental Organisation Coalition on Human Rights (NGOCHR), group chair Shamima Ali called for urgent action to address the crisis. “For women, the water crisis is personal,” she said. “They are responsible for finding a resource their families need to survive – for drinking, cooking, sanitation, and hygiene. “They may stand in line and wait for water, t...
The Fiji Times •

Women bear bigger burden

WOMEN bear most of the burden of irregular and disrupted water supplies, says Lusiana Buli, 60. “When we are supposed to be sleeping, my sister-in-law is awake and doing household work and chores that cannot be done without water,” Ms Buli said. “Because of the physical disability my sister and I have, we are unable to help and it feels bad having to look on helpless while she does all the work. “She would get up in the middle of the night to wash the clothes, fill buckets and bottles with water...
The Fiji Times •

BACKTRACKS | A page from the family songbook

THE extended family gatherings had a way of bringing out the best in just about everyone — the children came to play, so too the adults. Grandparents came armed with their ho’fel (sulu vakatoga) as prizes for the traditional card games, mums and aunts with their prized potluck dish and an array of drinks and desserts to feed the clan, and the dads and uncles rocked up with their many guitars, ukuleles and keyboards. This was the life William Fatiaki grew up in — regularly exposed to a setting he...
The Fiji Times •

Forced to slow down

For four years, Tomasi Tuibua’s only language was tears. The stroke he suffered at the age of 32 had left him unable to speak and he suddenly found himself in an unfamiliar world – a world where he was forced to slow down. “I was working in Kadavu in 2000, doing all sorts of work from construction, scuba diving, and kayaking. I would take resort guests from village to village, presenting their i-sevusevu,” he said. “It started with a headache and I was in a lot of pain and decided to go to the h...
The Fiji Times •

The hardest step up

AT the bus stand in Suva, Ilikena Waqabaca struggles to board the bus every day. The distance between the ground on which he stands and the first step of the doorway to the Raiwaqa bus is one of the hardest steps he has to take. A stroke survivor, the 53-year-old man from Ketei Village in Totoya, Lau has been living with mobility challenges for more than 10 years. “Sometimes, when the steps to the bus are too high, that becomes a problem for people like us to access,” he said. “I used to struggl...
The Fiji Times •

CEDAW ­— A tool to right the wrong

It’s everybody’s business THEY journeyed to our shores from across the world to hear from our women. The visit by members of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) committee was nothing short of a fitting response to remarks aired last week to “go where the women are if you want to hear their voices”. For 45 years since it entered into force as an international treaty in 1981, CEDAW meetings were always held in Geneva, one of the major headquarters...
The Fiji Times •

Fiji committed to meeting obligation

Fiji undertook a comprehensive consultative process to formulate its Sixth State Report to the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), Minister for Women, Children and Social Protection Sashi Kiran told the CEDAW Committee on Friday. As Fiji fronted the committee to give an account of its work on progressing and advancing gender equality, Ms Kiran said Fiji placed great importance on meeting its obligations under the convention. “Fiji is committed to t...
The Fiji Times •

'Go where women are'

Go to where the women are if you want to hear from them, says the Pacific Community’s Principal Strategic Lead – Pacific Women Mereseini Rakuita. Officiating alongside Australia’s elect to the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Committee at a press club event for women in the media yesterday, Ms Rakuita was asked what could be done to better engage women and improve their participation in the Electoral Law Review consultations. “If the women are no...
The Fiji Times •

Haidar: We’re on good track

Fiji has made progress on women’s rights over the past decade, but significant challenges remain, says Nahla Haidar, chairwoman of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Committee. “I feel like I’m talking to a different country 10 years later,” she said following Fiji’s review yesterday. “I have a feeling we’re on good track, sharpening the issues, identifying the problems and the constraints.” Ms Haidar, who was the rapporteur for Fiji on the Com...
The Fiji Times •

The disconnect – A lived reality of the Pacific

The discrimination is real, and it exists everywhere — in our places of work, worship, public spaces and in our very own homes. More often than not, these acts of discrimination against women are done unconsciously. With all the time, funding and effort invested in raising awareness of discrimination against women, change is happening, albeit at a very slow pace. This week, The Fiji Times caught up with Nahla Haidar, the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination...
The Fiji Times •

‘Review obstacle’

There should be more scrutiny of barriers that prevent women from participation in politics, says United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Committee chairperson Nahla Haider. Responding to a question posed by Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, on why women did not vote for women, Ms Haider said not too many women wished to go into politics. “I wouldn’t take the statement of the Prime Minister as one that shows there’s no respect or solidarity...
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