LATEST NEWS Friday, 09 May 2003

CYCLONE AMI
The New Year was a quiet one here in Levuka with most people celebrating in their homes and in the villages. The usual wetting of people though carried on for the first couple of weeks of January. No one was safe and the town echoed to the screams and the laughter as people were surprised by others throwing water on them.

The happiness was dampened somewhat with the advent of Cyclone Ami in the middle of the month. In Levuka we had some rain and strong wind gusts. There was no real damage to buildings but a few trees were blown down and some of the gardens suffered. On the whole we were very lucky.

Not so lucky though were the people of Vanua Levu (Labasa in particular), Taveuni (especially the Matei area) and some islands in the Lau group. Sadly about sixteen people lost their lives and some others are still missing. The damage to homes and crops was heartbreaking. It is going to take a long time before these areas return to normal. The cyclone came and went very quickly, but some of the older people have said it is the worst cyclone they can remember.

LATEST SINGING SENSATIONS
The 24th January saw one of the country's leading singing groups "Voqa ni Delai Dokidoki" come to Levuka and perform at Nasau Park. The persistent light rain did not dampen the spirits of those who attended this fundraising concert. We rarely get the chance to see the top groups in Levuka, and our thanks must go to the Natubari Rugby Club here in Levuka for being enterprising enough to bring them over.

One of our employees, Epeli, is the uncle of the three brothers who make up the group. After the concert, the proud uncle brought the youngest brother, Vilimone, to our home to relax and have a chat. It was a pleasure and a privilege to have this fine young man here.

"BACK TO LEVUKA" FUN RUN

Saturday, 22 February saw the first "Back to Levuka" Fun Run, an event organised to draw people to Levuka and more importantly, to raise funds for the Levuka School for the Handicapped. Several hundred people took part - some ran as individuals, some formed teams, some ran, some walked, some were serious competitors, some were there for the fun. The weather was overcast and not too hot. All in all, everyone had a good time.

A few competitors made the trip from Suva. Among them were the Yoshiara family (pictured below), who all took part. Shumon works for the Japanese International Cooperation Agency in Suva and he brought his family to Levuka to join the Fun Run and also spend some time relaxing, away from the fast life of Suva. Shumon, Akiko and Shudo - thanks for coming and thanks for supporting the Levuka School for the Handicapped.

ARBOR WEEK 2003

The Staff