Peace Corps Country Director Kury Cobham paid a courtesy visit to Permanent Secretary for Rural and Maritime Development and Disaster Management David Kolitagane this week to discuss how they can work with the ministry in helping communities in rural Fiji.
During the meeting, Mr Kolitagane was briefed about the Peace Corps operation in the country.
Under the Peace Corps programme, volunteers are trained in local dialects and spend two years living and working in Fijian villages, supporting the capacity development of community members.
The team also briefed Mr Kolitagane and members of the senior management about plans they have and some of the possible areas of collaboration between the two organisations.
In her remarks during the meeting, Ms Cobham said the focus of their organisation aligned well with the vision of the Ministry in enabling sustainable and resilient development in rural and maritime Fiji.
Peace Corps Fiji is currently working on the launch of a new initiative – the Community Economic Empowerment Project (CEEP). Volunteers who would be serving under this programme will be village-based, supporting the development of skills in project design and management, income generation and financial literacy.
Mr Kolitagane said the Ministry looked forward to working with the Peace Corps team here in Fiji especially in their work in helping Fijians with income-generating projects and in building the capacity of villagers in rural Fiji.
He said the Ministry was currently working on its 10-Year Strategic Development and this would be some of the aspects of their work that would be embedded in the Strategic Plan.
The two parties also had discussions about possible collaborations in the area of project advice and monitoring, and other areas of interest.
