Caption: Hon. Minister for Youth and Sports Laisenia Tuitubou with villagers of Waikete after the official handing over of their rural sporting field.Photo:SUPPLIED.
The Minister of Youth and Sports Hon. Laisenia Tuitubou recently handed over three rural sporting fields to a school and two villages in the Central Division.
Minister Tuitubou handed over an upgraded ground to villagers of Lokia in Rewa and newly built grounds to villagers of Waikete and school management of Gram Sangathan Primary School in Verata, Tailevu.
Minister Tuitubou said that the new sporting fields represents Government’s commitment to the development of sports in the country. “The handing over of these rural sporting fields signifies the commitment the ministry has placed on developing sports at the grass roots level,” the Minister said.
He also encouraged the members of these three communities to fully utilise the rural sporting fields. “On most of our visits to rural communities around the country, one of the main requests that we often receive is for a sports ground and today we are here to hand over this sporting field to you and I urge you to utilise it well because it is now yours,” said Minister Tuitubou.
He emphasised the importance of sports in the country and that people who excelled at sport could make a living out of it. “Sports is now a profession and can provide a living for those talented individuals who are committed to achieving their goals in the sporting arena. Engaging in sports imparts values such as teamwork, adherence to rules, discipline and the will to succeed and it also promotes physical fitness and overall wellbeing,” he added.
He also reiterated the need to regularly maintain these rural sporting fields as it was Government’s investment in their communities. “Please maintain and look after your sporting ground because it is now yours to keep so you now need to maintain it.”
Waikete villager Leone Rabosea was grateful that the rural sporting field was now a reality in their village. “Our village has been requesting for a sports ground to be built here for a very long time and since it is now being handed over to us today we are very grateful to the ministry for this assistance,” Rabosea said.
Gram Sangathan School Head Teacher Rom Dutt echoed the same sentiments stating that the sporting ground would go a long way in the development of the school’s students.
“We are very happy to see that our ground has finally been upgraded and being a rural school this ground will help us in the long term development of students here in Gram Sangathan Primary School and we are thankful to the ministry for this assistance,” said Mr Dutt.
The Minister and leaders of the three communities signed Memoranda of Understanding to formally hand over the sporting grounds and also ensure regular maintenance of the rural sporting fields.
DEPTFO