A HOME away from home — this is what the group of Gilbertese people have called their small community on a hilltop at Naboro.
Started more than half a century ago, the Naboro Gilbertese community as it is known, is now home to almost 20 families originally from Kiribati.
The name of the community originated from what Kiribati was formerly known as — the Gilbert Islands. Their language was called Gilbertese.
The close knit community was started in the late 1950s by three families — the Taopas, Tavitas and the Motes.
According to the community leader, 67-year-old Kabiri Toma Teinnang, the community was initially made up of 11 families but only three families lived on the land.
How they acquired the land
Mr Teinnang said the five-acre land was given to their ancestors during the colonial days and later by the then Alliance Government.
Ever since then, they have been developing it to what it is today.
“They were living here as one community. And later on in the early 1980s they subdivided the land with 11 lots and there are now almost 16 houses,” Mr Teinnang said.
“This was a cooperative land which was given by the Government to the Kiribati community.”
Structure of community
The community does not have a specific structure to look after the welfare of its people. They however have a committee that looks after the development within their small community.
“We don’t have a chief register or anything of that nature. We were just living as a community and they form themselves up like they have a committee and they were the ones running the community,” he said.
When the early settlers of the community passed on, the next generation took over the committee, Mr Teinnang said.
“Most of us are close families.”
Focus of the community
With most of their elders living in different parts of Fiji, Mr Teinnang believes that the establishment of the community was a way in which they could relive their tradition to the younger generation of today.
“To some extent, we try to preserve and promote our culture to the younger generation. Culture is dancing and fishing. These are things that we have been practising from the beginning until now,” he said.
One of the important events the community looks forward to is the Kiribati Independence Day.
“We always celebrate the Kiribati Independence Day. We have the Veisari group and other groups from Suva, Nasinu and Nausori side. We always meet and during our celebration, that’s when we have our dances and our magiti (traditional feast) and all.”
Community then and now
When the small Gilbertese community was established more than 50 years ago, there were no roads, electricity and water for the early settlers.
Mr Teinnang said it was through their hard work that the community slowly developed from what it was then to what it is now.
“Before we did not have any road, electricity and water here. That was undertaken by our elders and later on by our next generation,” he said.
“It was not completed by the first settlers but the second generation were the ones who managed to get the roads done and get the water and electricity.
“It was very difficult at that time because they did not have a proper road, electricity and water, whereas now we have all these facilities and we are more comfortable. They are building better houses now.
“Most of our people here are working so besides that, we try and develop the place. We used to have soli like, the community gets together and we do fundraising to get the roads fixed.”
The community now is home to almost 100 people with the five-acre land initially given to their ancestors, developed and utilised also for farming.
Assistance needed
The community currently receives some assistance from the agriculture ministry. However, Mr Teinnang said it was not on a large scale as they wanted.
“We need more of the Government’s assistance with regards to the development to help the people here,” he said.
Apart from this, Mr Teinnang said the four generations of Gilbertese residing in the community were still working towards further developing what they have now called their home for the past 50 years from the little things they have.
What took three people to establish is now eventually growing and developing slowly for the betterment of the Gilbertese descendants in Fiji.
Not only is it a home to the local descendants of the formerly known Gilbert Islands, the small community is likely to also look at the option of accommodating their families from Kiribati who are currently exposed to the rising impacts of climate change in their homeland.
The beginning of this can be seen with the accommodation of some of their family members from Kiribati to live in their community while studying here in Fiji.
“Originally most of these people are from Kiribati not from Rabi,” Mr Teinnang said.
However Mr Teinnang confirmed none of their relatives in Kiribati has ever approached them about relocating to their community because of the effects of climate change.
