At the Western Commission Meeting

This morning Hugo and I accompanied Semiti to a meeting of the heads of department of the Western Commission of Fiji (the Western Commision includes Lautoka, Nadi, Ba, Sigatoka).  Semiti made a presentation about the PCN to the Commision.  He spoke strongly and clearly about the PCN; how they work, who they are, what they're doing in Fiji and the specifically the western area, and what they've achieved so far.  As Semiti spoke about the situation of squatters in Fiji to the Commision he said "...they don't need your sympathy, they need opportunity...". 

The local government members present seemed interested in Semiti's presentation, and it was timed very relevantly as the previous presentation had been about Poverty Alleviation in Fiji, and had discussed how effective government money spent on 'pro-poor' policies actually is.  As the speaker about Policy Alleviation told the Commission, every year money is spent on 'pro-poor' policies, but the number of people below the poverty line is consistently growing.

Following Semiti talking about the PCN, Hugo and I also presented a few examples of upgrading projects done in Asia - a Case Studio project in Ayuttaya where after working on a path upgrading a community continued to spontaneously upgrade their houses and area, as well as gain leverage in dealings with the government, and a small upgrading project in the Philippines in which a seaside community built a riprap (presented by Carl from PACSII at the recent Community Architects Meeting in Chiang Mai).  Some of the communities in Fiji are in similar situation with land being eroded by the ocean.

For the next few nights we'll be staying with the Navutu community near to Lautoka town, and getting to know them, as well as starting to work with them on mapping.