Empowering grassroots women is at the top of Elena Turaga’s agenda. Ms Turaga, who is the women’s leader of Natovi Parish in Tailevu, believes women are a community’s under utilised resource and should be empowered so that they bring prosperity to their respective families and communities.
One of her areas of interest is developing the economic capacity of her members, most of whom are stay-at-home mums.
“We are mostly rural housewives, so taking part in income generating activities, no matter how small, can help us support our families and school age children,” explained Ms Turaga, who was part of the last Catholic Women’s League rally held in Natovi, Tailevu north.
She said some of her colleagues supported their husbands as farmers and fisherwomen while others were artisans who engaged in traditional handicraft making.
To attend the yearly church rally, each woman in the parish had to raise money for travel and other miscellaneous camping expenses, this on top of household needs and traditional village obligations.
Ms Turaga said, apart from fundraising, the rally also provided an opportunity for members to fellowship with women from other parts of Fiji and learn from them through interactive sessions.
One of those sessions featured group discussions on the prevalence of domestic violence in Fiji and Christian women’s role in working with other women, and men as partners, to address the problem.
Deliberation centred on the use of Christian principles and church beliefs.
Women also participated in health checks, from pap smears to eye tests, and general advice on how to keep fit and healthy in the face of the current progression of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Fiji.
