From The Crowd

Separate ethnic boxes

Two African-American women gathered together a group of other African-Americans and raised enough money to purchase 97 acres of land in the state of Georgia in US. A new city will be built on this...

21st September

In search for peace

International Day of Peace is observed on September 21. The International Day of Peace was established in 1981 by the UN General Assembly to recognise and strengthen the ideals of peace. What is peace? That is the question disturbing so many as the mind is bombarded with multiple thoughts and questions every moment, unsettling the...

20th September

Unity and faith – Part 8

The view of the scaffolding that surrounds the Vunisei Methodist Church will only be around for another month or so. The goal of the $100,000 plus project is to ensure one of the oldest Methodist Church in Toga District remains viable, said Aminiasi Driu, Vunisei Church consultant. Mr Driu said the nearly 200 families that...

19th September

NCDs Club … We don’t want your membership; no more a silent killer

IT is called the ‘silent killer’ but for crying out loud, this name for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) leaves me speechless. NCDs are no more silent than O’Rielley’s Bar on a quiet night. The disease is everywhere: in advertising and the media, in fast food restaurants, at parties, on the beach, in bars, in hospitals and...

Talanoa: Fiji’s role models – 20 biggest influencers

BULA readers, this week I thought I would give you a little insight into some of our local and very much loved influencers located in our beloved Fiji. These individuals are not your run of the mill people who are pushed by a certain brand product or political party to try and gain popularity, rather...

The dilemma our educators face

IT is indeed true that if a learner is immersed in his/her learning environment and is creatively involved, then real learning occurs. Today’s language educators in our primary and secondary classrooms are often faced with the dilemma to make or not to make noise in their classrooms. It reminds one of Shakespeare’s philosophical dilemma in...

Cybersecurity challenges

This year has been a tumultuous year of paradigm shifts and changes on a global scale affecting all nations and people regardless of race, creed or religion. The COVID-19 pandemic brought out vulnerabilities in a lot of areas and governments, organisations, businesses and individuals have been forced to refocus and reprioritise where they spend their...

Market forces: Is this why council elections are, er, stalled?

A small article in Monday’s The Fiji Times caught my attention. It was headlined Stall approvals to come from CEOs, says Mrs Kumar. Local Government Minister Premila Kumar was in Lautoka speaking to its special administrators and the chief executive officer. This seems to have been a media event. Perhaps, it was Mrs Kumar’s turn...

$10b debt liability – A precarious financial position

Many people know that the national debt is fast approaching $8 billion. But do you know that the debt liability of this Government is already over $10 billion? Our GDP is about $9 billion. This means that we are wallowing in debt. What do I mean by debt liability? Debt liability includes the government debt plus...

Vaccines — myths and facts

We have all experienced it in our childhood, receiving vaccinations at school from a young age, leaving a small mark or scar on our upper arm or deltoid. We have the benefit from the Public Health Immunisation program that provides immunity from most diseases, but ensuring security from diseases such as smallpox that have plagued...

18th September

OPINION: Why there’s a need for COVID-19 tests

Only about 20 per cent of new Australian coronavirus cases are presenting with signs of fever. That’s according to the latest epidemiological data from the COVID-19 National Incident Room Surveillance Team, looking at cases up until August 30. A spokesperson for the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services said: “A cough, sore throat, and...

17th September

‘Pacific aid effectiveness is by no means a new concern’

Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it — George Santayana Pacific aid effectiveness is by no means a new concern. As the Asian Development Bank (ADB) recorded more than 20 years ago, ‘the ADB project failure rate is twice as high in the Pacific islands as in the Bank’s overall...

16th September

Lives of kids at stake

COVID-19 threatens to undo decades of hard-fought progress in reducing deaths of children under the age of five, UN agencies have warned, calling on countries to ensure vital health services for children and women do not falter amid the global crisis. The number of global under-five deaths dropped to its lowest point on record in...