Nadi carnival to fund crime prevention

Nadi communities will come together for a three-day carnival aimed at raising funds for surveillance, police post upgrades and crime prevention transport.

The Nadi District Crime Prevention Committee (CPC), in partnership with the Fiji Police Force, will host a Community Crime Prevention Fundraiser Carnival from February 27 to March 1 at Koroivolu Park, Nadi.

CPC chairman Viliame Jioji Tui Tabaloa Rokowaqa said the initiative reflected a shared responsibility to keep communities safe.

“This fundraising initiative is aimed at strengthening crime prevention efforts across the Nadi district through a united, inclusive and community-driven approach,” Mr Rokowaqa said.

He said crime prevention committees from villages, settlements and communities across Nadi would be allocated stalls to raise funds for safety initiatives in their own areas, ensuring ownership and accountability at the grassroots level.

The carnival will feature family-friendly entertainment, including food and community stalls, rides and bouncy castles, choir competitions, school oratory contests in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, car shows, Senior Citizens Day activities, cultural performances such as Gunu Sede, sporting events and a float procession led by the Fiji Police Band.

Events director Vineel Nand said the festival was a first for the committee and was driven by urgent community needs.

“This is the first time the Nadi Crime Prevention Committee will be organising a three-day festival,” Mr Nand said.

He said funds raised would be used to install surveillance cameras, purchase a crime prevention vehicle and renovate police posts.

“If cameras are installed in each community and monitored from the Nadi Police Station, it will make it easier to identify offenders and enable quicker action,” Mr Nand said.

He stressed that crime prevention was a shared responsibility.

“Police cannot be everywhere all the time. We must ask what we can do for society, not just what others can do for us,” he said.

Mr Nand said the carnival aimed to build safer, more connected communities and strengthen national crime prevention efforts through unity and action.

Nadi Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Lawrence Kumar said the business community acknowledged and supported the initiative.

“We need to support such initiatives as a way of giving back to the community,” Mr Kumar said.