Koroipita, a community just outside Lautoka towards Ba, houses some of the country’s poorest families. The residents include former squatters, single mothers, the elderly and low-income owners.
The settlement is located in an area that gained notoriety recently, recording a high number of crime-related activities and two murder cases.
However, despite all the negative connotations associated with the community, a group of youths have decided to rise above the challenges and form a group aimed at keeping children out of trouble and at the same time ensure the young are connected to their culture and traditions.
The Koroipita Entertainment Group was established from this idea and now has more than 100 children from the ages of six to 19.
The dancers are further divided into groups which perform traditional dances, representing the many different cultures of those who live on the property.
Enterprise supervisor Epeli Lui said the dance group was formed six months ago to keep the children engaged, have a positive mind-set and motivate them to tap into their talent and potential.
“We have seen the talent they have in them so our group is firstly trying to tell our youths and also those around here in the West that no matter what happens, you always have the potential to be the best you can be and achieve the best for yourself,” he said.
“We have at Koroipita families with origins in Rabi, Tuvalu, and Rotumans. We also have Fijians from the two major communities. The dance group allows us to show other communities here in Fiji that we can live together despite the cultural differences,” Lui said.
“When the Tuvaluans and Banabans come into Koroipita, although they fit in with the others here, we always tell them just because you have left your countries to be here does not mean you have to leave your culture and traditions behind, you must keep it alive.”
Events supervisor Vika Senitirau said the children were passionate about performing because they knew they were representing their whole country while dancing.
“When we go out to perform our children are always reminded that we are not just going to dance and then sit around in our own corners, but rather we are representing all our traditional cultures so we must realise that while performing we are the very ambassadors of Fiji to the people watching,” she said.
She added the children’s enthusiasm and passion made it easy for her to arrange practice and performance sessions.
“Everyone shows up,” she said.
“I make sure that the children are ready for their performances and while we have a choreographer who teaches the children the dance moves, most times the children themselves collectively come up with actions.
“This shows their commitment and determination to keeping their culture and traditions alive within them.”
A lot of positive changes have been seen in the children and youths of Koroipita since the formation of the group.
Senitirau said there were a lot of cases in the past where children were caught smoking and drinking and there was also the prevalence of teenage pregnancy.
“We had small kids trying to smoke and some teenage pregnancy but now we do training in our dance group and these issues are decreasing.
“Dancing has instilled a lot of discipline in the community because the youths and children are learning to listen their elders.
“Overall the children are better now than before. There was so many issues that we had to deal with in the past but ever since the group began there has been a lot of positive changes in our community.”
The group has performed at events such as the Lautoka Sugar City Festival and at the recent Spirit of Sharing Cultural Exchange Program that was held in Nadi which involved more than 300 Australian out of high school youths. It has also performed at the InterContinental Fiji Golf Resort & Spa.
“We are just trying to expose the children to as many public shows as we can to build their self-confidence so that they can perform better in front of people,” Senitirau said.
“But from the time we started until now I can say without a doubt that all our dancers are now confident of themselves and are very proud of what they are doing.”
Adi Litia Molikoro, 19, said, being a part of the group helped her personally, contributing to her knowledge and experiences.
“I have been to so many places that I have never been to before and that is fun as I get to travel and perform at the same time,” she said excitedly.
The St Thomas High School student, who is part of the Fijian meke group, said she had also learnt about discipline and how to manage her time wisely and this has helped in her schoolwork as well.
“We also have concerts in school so I join in the class performances because I already know dances by being part of the Koroipita Entertainment Group,” she said.
Lui said most young people looked down on themselves and this led to them having low self-esteem and their being disinterested in involving themselves in extra-curricular activities.
“Most of the time these young people go to their peers, their Facebook friends and share what they are going through,” he said.
“They hardly ever go to their parents so they go out and learn from others and this is where the group comes in.”
Koroipita Entertainment Group is therefore not just a dance group. It provides the space for the children to express whatever personal, economical or social issues they face.
“Our dance group also addresses the issues youths and children face today through the dramas and skits that we perform so we highlight issues such as teenage pregnancy, suicide, and drug abuse, among others.
“We also draw on the challenges people may face in their own culture and show it in our dance.”
Another message that the group hopes to portray to other communities is that cultural performances and tradition should not be preserved and displayed only for tourists or visitors to our shores.
“We can always hold an event with youths from other communities where we meet up for a day and have turns showcasing our culture through songs, dances, and other performances,” Lui said. “If we are proud to show-off our dances to the tourists, we should also be proud to also show it off to each other.”
“The children’s parents have shown their support by travelling with the dancers and singing the traditional meke songs while the children perform.”
He said participation also kept the whole family engaged during the holidays.
“The bottom line is we want other communities to follow what we have done because as we approach the festive season most parents usually leave their children alone at home and go out and enjoy themselves.
“This is a good way to keep children occupied and out of trouble.”
