MINISTER FOR YOUTH AND SPORTS
HONOURABLE PARVEEN KUMAR BALA
Address at the Community Hall, Navai Village, Nadarivatu
Friday 5th March, 2021, 3:00PM
• Master of Ceremonies;
• Village Elders;
• Trainers;
• Government key stakeholders;
• Members of the respective youth clubs;
• Ladies and Gentlemen;
Bula Vinaka and a very good afternoon to you all,
We all are aware that we are living in an extraordinary time .This is the time we all have to work together for nation building.
I’d like to thank you all for a warm welcome, Vinaka-vakalevu!
Today, I imagine, is an exciting day for many of our youths who have completed the Empowerment training on Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights.
Ladies and Gentlemen, empowerment of youths means the creation of innovative and supportive environment where they can choose, act and implement on their own behalf and on their own terms, without the discretion of others. This is why we, at the Ministry of Youth and Sports, have empowerment trainings in place, with SRHR being one of them.
We are here to support the continuous development of young people .With empowerment trainings like this, we focus on empowering young people with knowledge to assist them in making informed healthy lifestyle choices. So congratulations to all 43 trainees who are here with us today. I hope you can take the knowledge imparted with you from the training and use it to make more wise and informed decisions.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I wish to dedicate the next part of this address to the Youth Farm Initiative Programme. The country has been greatly impacted and hampered by a few cyclones already but our efforts to reach out with our farming assistance have been continuing with high demand and public interest. I am pleased to note that a total of 139 youths will benefit from our assistance today. I understand that dalo and ginger farming is the main focus here and we will be providing you with dalo tops in addition to the farming materials we are handing over today.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Ministry has engaged more youths from across the country into farming and here we are providing these materials with no cost to you, so make the best use of it.
I urge you to make effective use of it. Please do not store it away or waste it. If you take these materials and do not use it, you are depriving other people who are genuinely interested in establishing their farming projects.
The assistance is here, so the onus is on you now to do your part. We entrust it to you now.
Finally, ladies and gentlemen, I wish to end with the quote from Michael Jordan, “Some people want it to happen. Others make it happen, be the one to make it happen and uplift those around you. Be the spark to light up the fire the warms up the nights of others.”
With those words, I congratulate you all and wish you all the best.
Vinaka-vakalevu and Thank you!
-ENDS-