For Fiji, ever Fiji,

Last weekend in Fiji I noted how regularly the national anthem played on television. At dinner last night we were discussing recent events in this beautiful island nation and someone wondered about life expectancy. So I've just looked it up - 68 years in 2007. Well below Australia and New Zealand.

Some of the other indicators are very concerning. While primary school enrollment is at 91 per cent, I learned last week that the growing economic climate has resulted in some children, especially from rural areas, being withdrawn from secondary education because the parent's cash crops were washed away in the January floods. Even in urban areas more than half the population are without improved drinking water facilities (maybe why a fellow traveller had to leave our aircraft on the way home due to apparent gastroenteritis).

In 2007 other indicators like vaccination rates were positive, equalling many developed countries in the Pacific. The challenge will be to maintain these rates in the face of serious cuts in government agency budgets.

From this far away perspective it is hard to know the best response to recent events. For us in the Uniting Church in Australia, we need to look to our partner church the Methodist church in Fiji and to support them in theior important role. And to keep watch with them.

Amen

Day out

A pleasant drive yesterday to the Penrith Regional Gallery. I now know where the community of Emu Plains is (just below Emu Heights). The Emu Plains train leaves from the same platform as mine but I was never sure exactly where it was. But a highlight of the afternoon was the Strictly Samoan exhibitions. Followed by takeaway lunch on the banks of the Nepean river. Aussie Aiga consisted of multiple family portraits in all sorts of settings from very formal to very informal. Another collection of people all tattooed by the same traditional artist (with a video of the tattooing process playing in the gallery). Just the day before I had commented that I was rather homesick for Pacific culture, which is much more evident in NZ than here across the Tasman. So a delight to see an article in Saturday's newspaper about the excellent showcase of Samoan art that Penrith is hosting. Well worth a visit: actual or virtual :-)