The REACH Project aims to intensify awareness in rural communities and in doing so, 73 officers from the Legal Aid Commission and Ministry of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation have been equipped with skills on awareness raising and delivering services to the communities in Fiji.

The key objectives of Rights, Empowerment and Cohesion for Rural and Urban Fijians (REACH) Project, is  to promote peace-building, social cohesion and inclusiveness through awareness of rights, access to services, provision of legal advice and institutional capacity building in Fiji.

This partnership was formalised in April last year, through signing of a joint agreement by the Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama, Japan Ambassador Takuji Hanatani and UNDP resident representative Osnat Lubrani.

REACH project manager Christine Fowler reported that between September and December 2015, mobile teams comprising officers from the Ministry of Women and Legal Aid Commission conducted 17 days of awareness and service delivery programmes in 48 villages, 10 settlements of the 37 districts in all three provinces of Bua, Cakaudrove and Macuata in Northern Division. This enabled the REACH team to reach out to 1127 people including 464 women, 507 men and 156 children.

Source: Ministry of Women Children and Poverty Alleviation

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