Page 23 - IB AUG 2017

Markets

Dreams born out of a family’s struggle

By Simione Bula

“RENOVATE and extend our home to
be bigger and better than what we have
now.”
That’s the aspirations of a market ven-
dor at the Nadi Market.
Akeneta moved to her mother-in-law’s
village with her husband a few years ago
to better support her family.
She has one child in year 11 in high
school and a daughter attending the
Nadi Special School Vocation Centre and
five sons looking after the family farm
in Navosa, which is about 4 hours away
from Nadi Town. Akeneta put her children through school with what she earned at the market. Photo: Supplied
Nawaka, her mother-in-law’s village,
is just a few minutes away from Nadi business.” husband died in 2016.
town, which made selling vegetables at Akeneta’s market stall began to grow “I am also able to support my family,
the market a viable option for Akeneta after the program. She expanded her especially my two children in school and
and her husband, and a way to support market stall and started employing two my sons back in the village”, she said
their family in the long term. more women to help her sell the produce. The Markets for Change initiative is a
They started by selling their farm pro- “Through the savings I was able to six-year project aimed at ensuring that
duce outside the Nadi Market. expand my market stall and employ marketplaces in rural and urban areas
Every week their sons at the village people from my village to help me sell my in Fiji, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu are
would send produce in a carrier for them produce,” said Akeneta. safe, inclusive and non-discriminatory
to sell. The couple would wake up at The market stall has also enabled her environments, promoting gender equality
five o’clock every morning, prepare their to continue to support her family after her and women’s empowerment.
family’s breakfast and get their children
ready for school before they travel to the ‘
market to sell their produce. They did
this together as a couple until Akeneta’s ... the PVC & PE PIPELINE PRODUCTS
husband passed away in February 2016. program
“My sons told me I have to continue the Manufacturers
market stall and they will continue to send assisted Of Watermark
produce to be sold at the market,” she said certified AS/NZ
Her sons’ reassurance helped her me to save standard
through this period, and they have contin- money,
ued to send her produce from their family
farm in the village, while she looks after compared • UPVC Pipes
the market stall (Pressure,
Waste, Electrical
She in turn buys their groceries with the to the time Conduits,
money she earns from the market. we were in Telecom Ducts)
At her stall in Nadi in 2014, she was • MPVC Pipes
invited to be part of the Market for Change the village, (Series 1 & 11)
program at the Nadi Market Centre.
A UN Women program, in partnership savings • Polyethlene
Pipes (Rural &
with the United Nations Development Pro- was never Metric Pipes for
gram (UNDP) with funding from the Aus- Water and Gas
tralian Department of Foreign Affairs and part of the Applications)
Trade (DFAT). The program assisted her
to better manage her finances, market her conversation,
produce and further grow her business. all the money
“The program assisted me to save
money, compared to the time we were in TUBEMAKERS & ROOFMART (SOUTH PACIFIC) LIMITED
the village, savings was never part of the
conversation, all the money earned was spent ... 98B Navutu Industrial Subdivision, Lautoka
P: +679 666 9655 M: +679 990 7593
spent,” she said. earned was ‘ E: sales@tubemakersfiji.com W: www.tubemakersfiji.com
“After joining the program, it enabled
me to save money and better plan my

Islands Business, August 2017 23