FRIEND Fiji: From one cubicle to 25 years of impact

From a small upstairs cubicle in Lautoka to helping communities across Fiji build livelihoods and become more self-reliant, FRIEND Fiji has marked 25 years of community work.

The Foundation for Rural Integrated Enterprises and Development (FRIEND) Fiji celebrated the milestone at its headquarters in Tuvu, Lautoka, on Saturday.

FRIEND Fiji Board of Directors president Talei Soqe Quminakelo said the organisation was built on the belief that people should have the opportunity to improve their lives with dignity.

“We are founded on one singular belief that every person in Fiji deserves dignity and self-reliance,” Ms Quminakelo said.

She said FRIEND measured its success through the people and communities it had supported, rather than simply through the organisation’s growth.

“We measure our success by how our mother feels, how she is able to feed her family nutritional and healthy food from our local backyard, the revival of traditional and sacred practices that add value to our local resources, our ability to access national and international markets, and the holistic strength of families who are no longer just surviving but are truly thriving through this integrated approach that we have at FRIEND.”

Humble beginnings

FRIEND Fiji trustee Pramila Devi said the organisation’s journey began in 2001 when founder Sashi Kiran moved from Suva to Lautoka and used her own income to support volunteers and its early operations.

“FRIEND's story is much more than the story of an organisation. It is a story of people; people who believed that communities facing poverty and hardship could create better lives when given opportunities, skills, support and most importantly when their own strength and knowledge were recognised,” Ms Devi said.

In 2002, FRIEND opened its first office in a small upstairs cubicle on Mana Street in Lautoka.

A year later, it launched tamarind and chilli chutneys under the FRIEND Fiji Style brand, creating opportunities for community enterprise and sustainable livelihoods.

The organisation expanded to Labasa in 2009, opened a retail shop, developed health programmes and later acquired land at Tuvu for FRIEND Village.

Its journey also included setbacks. Tropical Cyclone Evan struck in 2012, but the organisation rebuilt and established a food production centre.

Today, FRIEND’s work covers sustainable livelihoods, disaster preparedness, healthy living, renewable energy, clean water, traditional knowledge and Fijian-made products.

Its leaders said its greatest achievement remained the people it had supported — including women who had built livelihoods, young people who had gained opportunities and communities that had become more resilient.