THE Ship of the World Youth program has thanked Fiji for the effort put into hosting the 310 international youths during their stopover in Suva two weeks ago.
Program official Tamae Saito said from Brisbane that the Fiji port of call left a lot of good memories for participating youths, a statement from the Information Ministry said. “Feedbacks we received from them were very positive and they appreciated all the work done by the Government of Fiji, alumni members and local volunteers. Thank you very much once again,” Ms Saito said in an electronic mail after the ship’s second port of call in Australia.
“The people at the schools and institutions warmly welcomed us, and youths learned greatly from their visits.”
Ms Saito said the traditional welcome ceremony was inspiring and it was a great honour for both ship officials and participants to meet and greet both the Prime Minister and the President of Fiji. “The cultural night was very well organised and splendid, thanks to the efforts made by your Government and the local volunteers,” Ms Saito said.
“The night was a highlight of the visit. The participating youths said they felt like ‘super stars’ and were excited to perform in front of the 2000 plus spectators.”
“The village visit was another highlight, and we will never forget those big smiles of villagers and the warm hospitality we received from the people,” she said.
Fijian delegate, Fenton Lutunatabua, said participants from other countries expressed their immense appreciation for the Suva port of call program and activities. “I now take this opportunity to thank the SWY alumni as well as the Ministry of Youth and everyone else involved with the port of call activities. For putting together the best port of call ever,” Mr Lutunatabua said. “On behalf of the Fiji delegation as well as everyone else from other delegations that left a piece of their heart in Fiji, vinaka vakalevu!.”
Meanwhile, the MV Fuji Maru called into Brisbane last week where SWY delegates visited various institutions including the Queensland University of Technology Education, the United Nations Youth Association, Conservation Volunteers Australia and a Police Citizens Youth Club as part of the port of call activities.
The article appeared at http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=166281 on Feb. 17, 2011, and was written by Elenoa Baselala.
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