Vodafone Rugby League 7s Competition

The Vodafone Rugby League 7s Competition will be held on Saturday, 31 January 2009, at the Suva Grammar School Grounds, Veiuto, Suva. A total of 24 teams have been confirmed for the competition.

Minute Taker's Workshop

The Centre for Continuing and Community Education (CCE) will be conducting a one day workshop on Minute Taker's on Saturday, 31 January 2009, starting 9am. The workshop will help minute taker's understand their roles and the best techniques for producing minutes that will include all the essential information needed. The workshop will cover the Role of a Minute-Taker, handling common problems you experience, minutes for formal meetings, minutes for informal meetings, techniques for preparing minutes, editing minutes, the Minute Book, taking minutes in an interactive meeting and listening skills. Admission is F$170.00 per person. For more information, pls call Amistesh Kumar on telephone (679) 3231982 or email kumar_at@usp.ac.fj.

National Auditions for Domo ni Karmen

National Auditions for Domo ni Karmen, Musical Production, will be held from Monday, 2 February, to Saturday, 7 February, and then from Monday, 9 February, to Saturday, 14 February 2009, at the New Life Christian Church, next to DHL, at the back of Grantham Plaza, Raiwaqa, Suva, from 10am to 5pm on each day. Selection will be done by Egelese Ete, Musical Director and Composer, and Damiano Logaivau. The Director is looking for people to take the part of 7 characters :

• Karmen - Soprano;
• Mikaela - Soprano;
• Iosefo - Tenor;
• Sunia - Bass;
• Marica - Soprano;
• Esekamilo - Bass/Baritone;
• The Remendado - Baritone.

Ten choir children aging in age from 8 to 12 years old are also needed.

For more information, pls call Isabelle Dina on (679) 9252329 or Damiano Logaivau on (679) 8626604.

Do we need more patriotic songs of this type for our country? Sung at the Inauguration of President Barack Obama by Aretha Franklin

Laqere Bridge Opens

The new Laqere Bridge opened to traffic yesterday, 21 January 2009, although complete tar sealing and other related works will be done by early February. There has been a markedly improvement in traffic flows in the early afternoon/evening when vehicles would queue from the bridge right up to near Nasole, Nasinu, along the main Kings Road, and from the intersection near the bridge to Nadawa, Nadera, along Dovi Road. The bridge is a 4-lane one with two lanes going either way.

Quarter Mile Car Sprints

The Fiji Car Club is organising a Quarter Mile Car Sprints event on Sunday, 15 February 2009, from 9am to 3pm at the Taunovo Bay Airstrip, Pacific Harbour. For more information or entry forms, call the Fiji Car Club office on (679) 3631912 or (679) 9380876.

Fiji Fashion Flood Appeal

A fashion show and an auction will be held on Saturday, 24 January 2009, starting 3pm at the Play House, Fiji Arts Club, Selbourne Street, Suva. This event is supported by the Rotaract Club of Suva and funds raised will be used to assist those affected by the floods in Fiji. Ticket is F$10.00 per person and refreshments will be provided. For more information, pls call on telephone (679) 3311254.

South Pacific the place to be

Swedes have voted the South Pacific as their dream destination in a survey of over 30,000 readers of the Sweden's main evening newspaper. This was reported in the regional tourism promotion agency, South Pacific Travel. Second and third were the Maldives and an African safari.

Flood Appeal : Go Direct to the Victims

As I had suggested earlier, to assist the victims of the recent flood either go through the Fiji Red Cross, which has a more fairer and just way of identifying and taking assistance to victims, or go to the victims directly yourself. I went around to some villages in the Rewa Delta on Monday, 19 January 2009, and asked Fijians along the road as to which villages were affected the most. I went around a few villages and asked the villagers themselves whether they were adversely affected. I found that the villagers were quite frank as to whether they were affected or not and openly volunteered information on what other villages may have been more severely affected than their village. Three villages that were most affected were :

• Drekena, just down the waterway from Lomanikoro, the chiefly village of the Rewa Province,
• the Daurewa family's village, just on the other side of the waterway from Lomanikoro, and
• Waivou, the village of former Minister in the Rabuka Government, Mr Berenado Vunibobo.

After doing my own analysis, I decided that I would give my monetary assistance to Drekena village. I met with the turaga-ni-koro and gave him my monetary donation with a request that it be shared equally to all villagers at Drekena.

It felt really satisfying to be of a little assistance to the villagers directly. I am on a week off work to enjoy some free time before I start some further studies and move on with major plans for my business. I had an option of going to a hotel to have a few days off but the thought of living-it-up whilst people suffered was something that I could not come to terms with. Thus, the idea of offering some assistance to victims of the recent flood.

If you wish to assist the victims, try finding out from your Provincial Administrator's office or the Ministry of Rural Development as to which ones really suffered and then direct your assistance to them.

Just before you go, I just noted that Fiji TV has been quite biased in reporting on those suffering. Most of the stories covered have been of Indo-Fijians suffering. Well, the flood affected everyone, regardless of race, gender or age. That fact needs to be made clear! I have been quite happy with the Fiji Times. The newspaper has been carrying an extensive and unbiased coverage of those suffering, both Fijians and Indo-Fijians. Kudos to the Fiji Times on that!

Anyway, the victims are still out there. Pls offer something from your heart to them. If you do not have anything, your prayers will do.

India Day Flag Raising

Indian nationals and well wishers of India are invited to attend the Flag Raising Ceremony to be held on the occasion of the 60th Republic Day of India on Monday, 26 January 2009, 8am, at India House, 72 Princes Road, Tamavua, Suva.

2009 IRB Sevens Rugby Dates

The upcoming 2009 IRB 7s Rugby Tournament Dates are as follows :

• 6-7 February 2009, Wellington, New Zealand;
• 14-15 February 2009, San Diego, USA;
• 5-7 March 2009, IRB Rugby World Cup Sevens, Dubai;
• 27-29 March 2009, Hong Kong;
• 4-5 April 2009, Adelaide, Australia;
• 23-24 May 2009, London, England;
• 30-31 May 2009, Edinburgh, Scotland.

Note : Pls post your events on this blog. Email them to info@gilbert.com.fj.

Flagstaff Rugby 7s

The Marist Rugby Club will be hosting four mini competitions called the Flagstaff 7s on Saturday, 24 January 2009, at the Marist Grounds, Flagstaff, Suva. Registration fee is F$25.00 for the first 16 teams and closes on Thursday, 22 January 2009. For more information, pls call (679) 9953067.

New Laqere Bridge to be completed early February

The newly widened Laqere Bridge will be completed early February 2009. The 4-lane bridge will now ease traffic flow to and from Suva/Nausori and will help commuters get to work and home early.

Flood Appeal

There are a number of different organisations organising appeals for flood victims. As a matter of interest, this appears to be one disaster where there has been a large increase in appeals being organised by all and sundry to assist the victims. Whether the organisers are after some type of recognition or are assisting out of their own good heart is something that be left to one's guess. I do hope that they are all done with good intentions. The most trustworthy one that I would recommend though is the one organised by the Fiji Red Cross. The Fiji Red Cross has a better system of identifying victims and delivering assistance direct to them. The other trusted option is for you to identify victims that you want to help and take your assistance directly to them. If you need names/places affected by the floods, your Provincial Administrator's Office or Ministry for Rural Development's office can help identify them for you.

Flood Benefit Concert

A free open air concert will be held on Saturday, 24 January 2009, from 12pm to 8pm at Albert Park, Suva, where members of the public can contribute to the Flood Appeal while enjoying the best bands in Fiji.

2009 Fiji Sports Awards

The 2009 Fiji Sports Awards will be held on Friday, 13 February 2009, from 6pm to 1am at the Tattersalls Leisure Centre, Laucala Bay, Suva. Tickets are F$30.00 per person and will include a 11-course meal, happy hour drinks with a live band and floor show for entertainment. For more information, pls call Della Shaw on telephone (679) 3312177.

Fiji National Rugby League Awards 2009

The 2009 Fiji National Rugby League Awards Night has been moved to Friday, 23 January 2009, starting 6pm at the Tattersalls Leisure Centre, Laucala Bay, Suva. Tickets are F$40.00 per person. For more information, pls call Rusiate Ratakele on telephones (679) 3343844 or (679) 9921017.

Pacific Conference on Growth and Development

The Fiji Institute of Technology will be hosting this conference from Wednesday, 25 March to Friday, 27 March 2009 at the Fiji Institute of Technology Samabula Campus, Suva. The Conference is supported by the Oceania Development Network, a network of Pacific Island researchers and aims to deal with issues of Growth and Development in Pacific. For more information, pls call the Fiji Institute of Technology on telephone (679) 3381044.

2009 Suva Soccer League Competition

The Suva Soccer League Competition will be held on Saturday, 31 January 2009 and Sunday, 1 February 2009. Members of the Suva Soccer Association are encouraged to register their players and pay the affiliation fees of F$500.00 by Friday, 23 January 2009.