Visitation and Awareness - Ba, Christ The King Parish
Thursday 30 Sep – 1st Oct 2021
Foreshore/Black Sand Mining
My first objective as JPIC Coordinator is to revitalize the JPIC Ministry in Fiji beginning with our Columban parishes before sharing with the whole Archdiocese of Suva.
After 2 weeks of PowerPoint presentation preparation, Christ the King Parish in Ba responds to my request to spearhead this Ecological Conversion process with the support and leadership of its Parish Priest Fr Pat Colgan.
The aim of this awareness is to bring more understanding and knowledge of what JPIC is and what it is like from the Columban Missionary perspective.
This awareness is supposed to provide a platform where the Vision and Mission of the Columban Missionary is shared through their work of spreading the Gospel through Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation in their parish, community, region and to the whole universe.
This is also part of our Session of Creation program that aims to respond to the Cry of the Earth and listen to the Voices of the most Vulnerable which is why Votua in Ba has been chosen since it is the location of the destructive Black Sand mining.
This is the first awareness and visitation to the Western of Fiji and to Ba after a 5-month lockdown due to Covid 19 and clearly the effects and impacts to the people, communities, the economy and of course the parishioners are a reality that we must accept and respond to.
Stress and trauma, physically, mentally, socially, economically, and spiritually throughout communities in Fiji is a challenge but also opportunity to assist our people and be the hands and heart of God during this difficult time.
After all, this awareness is meant to inform and empower while at the same time a Psychosocial tool for the affected community from the abuse of the environment and to provide some strategies forward.
Votua Village Meeting
After four years of working with the Votua people on their issues about Black Sand mining, I have been fortunate to have some background on the context of this ecological challenge and all the impacts it brings such as Social, Cultural, Economic, Health, Environmental, and Spiritual impacts.
This is felt deep within the Vanua and communities and this challenge is also shared by Fr Pat as he tried to help the Votua people on these issues. Anyway, we took the risk to revisit and talk about this sensitive issue to the people and try to bring confidence and unity for them to be able to think critically and speak for themselves, their children, and their future.
This was the purpose of this meeting in Votua village which in my view achieved its objective as the core group people willing to be agents of Justice, Peace for Creation in their own community have volunteered to step up to the task and take on the next step.
Tradition and Protocol is important as it respects and acknowledge the Values and Beliefs of Indigenous people as shown here with the presentation of our Sevusevu………the doorway to the Vanua.
Our next step is to have a full day awareness and presentation which they have gladly welcomed and will inform me on the set day once they have confirmed the date in 2 – 3 weeks’ time.
Tevita Naikasowalu, Columban JPIC Coordinator.
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