Changing the Culture of Violence in Fiji

Our Peer Virtues Educators in Fiji have been continuing their service  in the communities of Lautoka, Nadi, Suva, Lami and Tailevu. Through these visits, they have been able to connect with 100 households consisting of 300 individuals ranging from 6 years old to 50 years old. The majority of these interactions were with youth.The purpose of their visits is to empower these individuals to understand and apply the Five Strategies of The Virtues Project in their daily lives. In discussions with community members, the facilitators hear how they are coping with the social issues that are currently affecting Fiji.  We honor the facilitators’ purposefulness.

The media in Fiji shows an increase in the incidence of violence against women and girls, with two women recently losing their lives to attacks made on them. The majority of the cases involve perpetrators who are close relations or partners of the victims. The Virtues Project Fiji continues to reach out to affected communities to help their members deal with these incidents by educating families about Virtues and encouraging them to listen to and truly hear one another. 

This emphasis on Virtues is making a difference, but it is a drop in the bucket of the work that needs to be undertaken. Alcohol and drugs are a major influence in these perpetrators’ backgrounds. Lately, there has been an increase in the use and distribution of drugs within primary schools. While the police and the community at large are working hard to deal with this problem, much comes back to the fact that people, particularly the youth in these communities, have no sense of purpose in their lives. Outreach work promoting The Virtues Project among youth in these communities needs to increase, as peer to peer engagement has been shown to have a great impact in reducing violence and despair. 

In addition to the problems created by violence, drugs, and alcohol, teenage pregnancies are an ongoing problem for young girls. Within one community, Lautoka, the Turaga ni Koro (head of the community)  gave permission to Virtues Project volunteers to visit with some families affected by teen pregnancies. The response from teens within these families was that a lack of quality time with the family, poor family structure, and peer pressure were major factors in their plights. Social media also plays a huge role, both positive and negative, in the lives of youth in Fiji, as most of them correspond regularly through social media.

One of our facilitators recently spent five weeks visiting a group of teen mothers and sharing the Five Strategies of The Virtues Project with them.  What she found most interesting about these visits was how these teenagers were able to map out what they want in their futures and how to go about achieving their goals.  With the help of the Five Strategies, they were able to see ways in which they can move forward to overcome the challenges of their lives as single mothers.

Fiji needs more Virtues Project facilitators to be able to address all of these issues and advocate for applying  the Five Strategies within other communities, particularly the outer islands and other parts of Fiji. To assist in this effort, one of our facilitators has designed a brooch with five crystal beads as a reminder of the light that comes from the Virtues and practicing the Five Strategies that are the foundation of all Virtues teaching. These brooches will be given out to the peer educators and to those who they assist. Each brooch is attached to a card outlining the Five Strategies so the wearer can talk about it to those interested. We will also sell these brooches to help raise funds where possible.

It’s not an easy journey for the peer educators to connect with their peers. The need for companioning is great for these young people who are going through their own challenges in their daily lives, either from work or peer pressure.  We congratulate our peer educators for their steadfastness and commitment as they continue this journey of advocating the Five Strategies.

We thank you, our donors, for your continued generosity, encouragement and support of our work to spread The Virtues Project in Fiji and beyond as we empower individuals to live by their virtues and apply the Strategies of The Virtues Project in their daily lives, thus creating safe and caring homes and communities.