Helping the underprivileged and empowering rural women are the main focuses of Fiji’s Foundation for Rural Integrated Enterprises N Development (FRIEND).
FRIEND, an NGO that started out in Western Fiji and has slowly spread throughout the country. As part of its activities, it has identified 25 influential individuals from all over the country to become ‘change agents’ to reach the wider section of communities in Fiji.
The role of a change agent is to look at the way things are currently done, identify opportunities for improvements, and help bring about change.
The Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) through its EU-funded FACT project (Facilitating Agriculture Commodity Trade) has selected FRIEND as one of 14 Pacific Island enterprises that will receive special support to develop their potential. SPC jointly sponsored the change agent training, which was held in Lautoka from 21 to 23 April.
Reducing poverty is one of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and both FRIEND and FACT are working together to make progress towards this goal.
FRIEND has identified three major areas – food security, environmental conservation and health – to work on with rural and underprivileged communities.
Change agents are expected to look at these issues closely and help improve the advisory services available to communities in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture.
For example, focus groups run by FRIEND indicate that community members are unsure what to plant and where. They also struggle to market their produce once it is ready.
FRIEND will provide marketing support for the farmers it works with, through assisting with processing or linking producers with potential markets.
Sanfred Smith of the FACT project coordinated the change agent training in Lautoka.
For further information please contact Dr Lex Thomson on lext@spc.int or Vinesh Prasad on vineshp@spc.int or visit SPC’s website (http://www.spc.int/).
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