‘ REACH Mobile Service Delivery Buses’ to deliver government’ s services to people across Fiji
April 2017
Suva, Fiji – Three new custom built buses were commissioned today in Suva that will allow the Government of Fiji to deliver social, economic and legal services to remote communities and raise awareness of Fijians of the rights enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Fiji.
The Ministry of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation, the Legal Aid Commission, the Government of Japan and the United Nations Development Programme( UNDP) commissioned three REACH Mobile Service Delivery Buses as part of the Rights, Empowerment and Cohesion( REACH) for Rural and Urban Fijians Project that aims to promote peace building, social cohesion and inclusiveness.
The buses are custom designed and equipped to support the Government to undertake effective service delivery to rural and urban communities in Fiji, leaving no one behind – be it a child, an elderly person or a person living with disabilities.
Hon. Mereseini Vuniwaqa, Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation said in her Welcoming Address,“ Geography and challenges faced by our clients limit their ability. Some live with disabilities, some have no access to affordable or timely transportation and some have absolutely no idea what kind of services are available for them. It is in this realization of the challenge in front of us that the REACH Project was born. Where people could not come to us, we decided to take our services to them.”
“ Today’ s occasion is very symbolic – through the Government of Japan’ s financial assistance and the facilitation of the UNDP towards the REACH initiative we now have a strong platform to boost Government service delivery. Partnerships such as these go a long way in not only realizing our Ministerial mandate, they also forge our national efforts towards the realization of the sustainable development goals,” the Minister emphasized.
Shahin Rafique Ali, Acting Director, Legal Aid Commission said,“ The Legal Aid Commission is fully committed to creating awareness on the rights of Fijians in order to help them understand their legal rights and to also access the free legal services funded by the Fijian Government through the Legal Aid Commission.”
“ It is imperative that all Fijians have access to information on their rights, have access to government services, but more importantly, they must have access to these services, regardless of where they live. If they cannot come to us, we must go to them. We shall leave no one behind,” he added.
The Project conducts awareness raising of the social, economic and legal rights enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Fiji, provides access to the services associated with these rights, and strengthens institutional capacity to deliver these services.
A mobile awareness raising and service delivery approach is undertaken to reach communities throughout all of Fiji with the focus to reach the furthest behind first. The mobile awareness raising and service
28 IMPACT STORIES Rights, Empowerment and Cohesion( REACH) for Rural and Urban Fijians Project