femLINKpacific recently held its Nadi convening under the theme , ‘Women, Peace and Security Shaped through Community Media During COVID-19’ in line with the International Day of Peace theme, “Shaping Peace Together”.
The convening was attended by 24 women leaders representing young women, women with disability and the LGBT community.
A key focus of the convening looked at the lack of access to proper water amenities and provision by communities in the Nadi area.
“From my group, there’s a participant [talking about] poor drainage and road conditions. Now there’s unemployment, high cost of living,” said Timaima Ralolokula, President of the Veilomani Women’s Group.
Ralolokula was summing up her group discussions during the recent Nadi district convening in an interview for femLINK’s Women’s Human Security First (WHSF) radio series.
“In the village of Bavu, [they don’t] have access to clean drinking water and...they’re only receiving water two days a week,” said Ralolokula.
“[Community media] has supported me by giving me a safe space to be the voice of my community,” said Amoe Serau of Solovi, Nadi.
“Some of the issues that we highlighted were...water. One participant shared in the community she lived in, they depend on tanks but because of growing numbers in the community, there aren’t enough tanks and water for everyone,” she shared.
This month’s convening looks at how community media supports women as peacebuilders and the women’s own journey as leaders and participants in peacebuilding.
Productions from the Nadi convening will soon be available on femLINK’s Soundcloud page.
femLINK's district convenings are supported through the #WeRise Coalition. The Coalition believes that diverse women can achieve transformative change when working together through a vibrant, coordinated and sustainable feminist movement.
The Coalition consists of the Fiji Women's Rights Movement, International Women's Development Agency - IWDA and femLINKpacific.