MINISTER FOR YOUTH AND SPORTS
HONOURABLE PARVEEN KUMAR BALA

Address at the Nausori Village Hall, Nalawa, Ra
Thursday 5th March, 2021, 3:00PM

• Village Elders;
• Trainers;
• Representative from the Reproductive and Family Health Association of Fiji;
• Members of the respective youth clubs;
• Ladies and Gentlemen;

Bula Vinaka and a very good afternoon to you all,

I wish to thank you all for a warm welcome, Vinaka and likewise I would like to begin by extending a warm welcome to each and every one of you.

Today I am honoured to witness another milestone achievement for our dear youths here who have completed the Empowerment training on Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights .I acknowledge our key stakeholder , the Reproductive and Family Health Association of Fiji , who have facilitated this empowerment training.

This type of workshop gives our young people a voice, a space where they could articulate their feelings and concerns and come up with answers that are pertinent and meaningful to them.

This is an eventful occasion because I shall also do the honours of handing over assistance under my ministry’s Youth Farm Initiative Programme.

At this juncture, I wish to thank the host village for providing accommodation to the youth participants here.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Empowerment training on Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights that you all undertook is aligned with our vision to build healthy and socially engaged youths throughout the country. SRHR is an umbrella for various issues that affect men and women alike. It represents four separate areas: sexual health, sexual rights, reproductive health, and reproductive rights.

We need to make sure all young people have access to education, family planning, and health services so that we can all lead happy, healthy lives, with enjoyment of all human rights.

So, it goes without saying that you are privileged lot who have undertaken training on a crucial topic. Congratulations to all 48 youths who have completed the training.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I wish to dedicate the next part of this address to the Youth Farm Initiative Programme.This programme is a cooperative venture whereby Government provides grants and assistance to those youths engaged in farming while landowners provide consent for these youths to utilize the vacant land.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am pleased to note that a total of 141 youths will benefit from our assistance. Better known as the Youth Farm Initiative Programme, this initiative provides grants to youth clubs to cultivate land and grow crops. I must acknowledge and express my gratitude to the landowning units who have set aside land for the young people while we provide grant for equipment, tools, vegetable seedlings, water tanks, fencing materials-and many other necessities needed for your farming activities.

The Ministry created this initiative so that these young people will put land to use and be able to earn income through the sale of the crops they grow. We are providing those who are out-of-work or on reduced hours with a steady flow of assistance. We believe that these Fijians deserve the chance to work again and that is why we are here extending a helping hand to you.

The ministry has done its part, now the onus is on you .I challenge each one of our grant recipient to commit to the assistance rolled out here for you .Please fully utilize it so that you may reap its rewards in the near future.

Finally, ladies and gentlemen-With those words-I congratulate you and wish you all the best.

Vinaka-vakalevu and Thank you!