Changing the Culture of Violence in Fiji

Since our last report a lot of work has been going on in Fiji to raise the awareness of the positive impact on dealing with abuse when using the strategies of The Virtues Project™. At a recent meeting with UNDP it was recognized that The Virtues Project™ addresses Human Rights, the Rights of the Child and produced a society of peacefulness and prosperity.

A workshop for youth was held in the May School holidays and was attended by six youth working with The Virtues Project who shared with the other youth how it worked for them. Then there have been more meetings with women’s groups to explain to them how important parenting is to giving their children the skills they need to be responsible adults.

The master facilitator of Virtues project Fiji has been able to attend meetings called by the UN agencies and donors to address the increasing problems of drug abuse, youth committing crimes, rape and abuse of children and women. At a recent meeting the Virtues Project representative explained how The Virtues Project was working to change the way people behaved, improve parenting skills and made a big difference in the communities. It was clearly recognized that The Virtues Project promotes Human Rights and the Rights of the Child.

In light of the failure of all other NGOs and government departments to achieve any lasting result The Virtues Project™ is being considered for greater support to assist in dealing with these issues. It is the aim of Virtues Project Fiji to train facilitators in other agencies and to have the training in the strategies of the Virtues Project incorporated into their own programs.

This is a work in progress and the support that has been provided by our donors is making a big difference to the capacity of the Virtues Project Fiji to meet this demand

• YOUTH_AT_VIRTUES_TRAINING.docx (DOCX)