NZ High Commissioner officially opens Rain Water Harvesting System Project and Village Cooperative Store

It was a historic moment for the People of Yacata Island when the New Zealand High Commissioner Jonathan Curr visited their village yesterday to officially open the Rain Water Harvesting System Project and the Village Cooperative Store.

Yacata was one of the many places that suffered major devastation from Cyclone Winston in 2016 and the New Zealand government committed around $50,000 for both projects.

The New Zealand High Commissioner says that he was stunned to see how people lived on everyday following Winston and has heard about stories from New Zealand soldiers of the boldness of the Yacata natives.

Matai Vulakoro, the shopkeeper at the Cooperative Store says that the shop was destroyed along with around $45,000 worth of goods during Winston.

He says they have never come across such terror in their history and they are thankful to people, organisations and the government who helped them rebuild their lives from scratch.

The project was implemented by Habitat for Humanity Fiji.