Fijian youth worker in N.Z.

Press, 14 November 1981, Page 23

Fijian youth worker in N.Z.

Squatters camps in Suva seem a long way at the moment for Mr Semi Meo, a Fijian youth worker, who is in New Zealand for three weeks on a study and training programme. Mr Meo, director of the

urban work programme of the Fiji Young Men’s Christian Association. is in Christchurch until Monday as part of a New Zealand tour sponsored by the Y.M.C.A.

With a total staff of four the urban work programme includes a youth opportunity project where young boy's with little hope' of a good career spend four months learning a skill while working for a company: an urban gardening scheme, providing 70 garden plots for lowincome people; sports clubs; and a boys' club and camp, which was destroyed in a hurricane last year but is now being considered for another area. A lot of the Y.M.C.A. urban workers' time is spent in the three squatters' camps in Suva, where about 7000 people are crowded into rundown shacks. “Most of them are lowincome families who can get only casual employment at best, and these are the ones we try to help, with rehousing through the Fijian Government." Mr Meo said.

“But some of the people living in the squatters’ camps are actually quite well off. working in well paid jobs.-- They have expensive cars and a lot of money, but they prefer to live in shacks to save more money,” he said. Mr Meo said that the Y.M.C.A. urban programme was aimed mainly at young people, but people of all ages were helped. The Y.M.C.A. also ran

rural work projects and vocational programmes aimed at teaching young people work skills. Funds for the work come mainly from New’ Zealand, Canada, and the United States.

“Unfortunately, the Fijian Government provides only 3 per cent of the funds, as it

budgets only a small amount a year for youth work. But we' are trying to be more self-supporting at the Y.M.C.A.,” he said. Mr Meo has worked for the Y.M.C.A. for 16 months. Before that he was an administrator on the Fiji National Training Council and was involved in voluntary youth work.

In New Zealand he has visited various youth employment projects, and has talked to people from the Maori Affairs-Department as well as studj’ing Y.M.C.A. programmes and prisoner rehabilitation.

The Fiji Y.M.C.A. was founded 10 years ago when the New Zealand national council of Y.M.C.A.s sent Mr Dennis Oliver to Suva at the request of Suva service groups.

In 1977 the Fiji Y.M.C.A. became independent and the New Zealand staff were withdrawn. Mr Oliver has since been working in Western Samoa to set up a similar Y.M.C.A. group.