THE inaugural Vanua o Ba Festival organised by the Bose ni Momo ni Yasana ko Ba Trust ended on a high note in Lautoka yesterday.

Organising committee chairman Isimeli Bose said the three-day event had the support of all 24 districts in the Ba Province.

“It was a really good turnout and a lot of people from all the districts came and gave their contributions,” Mr Bose said.

“We will know the actual amount we raised on Monday but from what I understand we raised about $50,000 during the festival.”

Mr Bose said the trust was formed to look after the welfare of the people of Ba and its chiefs.

“A secretariat has also been formed which is an arm of the trust and we have begun organising workshops that will inform and educate our chiefs.

“We also held our first ever annual general meeting where we discussed our budget allocations and our plans for the coming years.

“We also held a seminar where we invited experts in the field of iTaukei rights and the Constitution to speak to the chiefs.”

Mr Bose said more activities would be organised to raise awareness and funds for the operations of the trust.