The Tailevu Provincial Youth Coun­cil hopes to create awareness to the 141 villages within the province.

This was after Vodafone ATH Fiji Foun­dation awarded the youth council a grant of $5000.

As part of the foundation’s initiatives in the Central Division, the foundation handed over $46,000 in support as grants to its charity partners and to the World of Difference candidates on Thursday.

Youth Council vice-president Vasiti Tabucakau said the grant would be put to good use.

“One of the things we face around Tai­levu is that it has a lot of issues. Nausori is our pub area and the issues include increase in crimes, HIV (human immu­nodeficiency virus) and AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) and that is why we do a lot of awareness of our youths,” Ms Tabucakau said.

“We also try to get spaces for youths who need to use computers and the internet. We have two locations and that is in Nau­sori and Korovou.

“Anyone from Tailevu or who shares ma­ternal links to Korovou can become part of the volunteers. We look after youth clubs in Tailevu whether they are regis­tered or not with the Ministry of Youth.”

This is line with the council’s objective to develop youths of its province.

“For us in Tailevu, vanua is important because it is our identity and so we must give our time as volunteers to look after our youths,” she said.

“This is the first time our committee is receiving from Vodafone ATH Fiji Foun­dation. We had applied for the grants and we are grateful.”

Vodafone Fiji Board chairperson Kalpa­na Lal said as part of the social invest­ment, the foundation focused on multiple community initiatives including Mobile for Good, World of Difference, Disaster Relief and Community Development pro­jects.

“Passion for the vanua, our country, and its people, is something we keep close to our heart. We are proud of their contin­ued efforts in our communities and join hands in making a world of difference in the lives of Fijians,” Ms Lal said.

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