When one chapter ends, another begins.
This was the mantra behind a special occasion which took place at the village of Fatuvalu Safune yesterday.
The event was the conclusion of a partnership between the village of Fatuvalu Safune and the United Nation Development Programme (U.N.D.P) through the U.N.D.P GEF small grants, which aimed at increasing level of understanding and building community resilience to combat the effects of climate change.
Moreover, the momentous occasion also marked the beginning of another partnership between the village of Fatuvalu Safune and the Samoa Civil Society Support Programme (C.S.S.P).
The special occasion started with a short sermon conducted by Reverend Mani Nepo.
The Program Manager for the U.N.D.P GEF project in Samoa, Tapuai Ofusina Toamua spoke on behalf of the U.N.D.P to congratulate Fatuvalu on their commitment.
She also used the opportunity to express how vital the partnership was between U.N.D.P and the village of Fatuvalu.
"This village may be small in size,"said Tapua'i.
"But they have achieved so much in the short time we've worked together with this project. Fatuvalu project is one of the outstanding projects we've worked with and has produced some really great results and good outcomes."
On the other hand, the women of Fatuvalu Safune will spearhead leadership trainings within the district and village, thanks to their partnership with C.S.S.P
Taupa'u Tu'umatavai Joseph Mulipola of the C.S.S.P spoke on the significance of the new project by the village of Fatuvalu.
"The project that has been launched this morning is part of the initiative by the government, which is administered by the Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development and is currently implemented by C.S.S.P," said Taupa'u.
"For the Fatuvalu project, funding are provided by the Australian Government.
"The programme is part Samoa women chambering programme which is dedicated to empowering women in the villages; especially their roles in governance."
Moreover, Taupa'u articulated that the programme also looks at the economic empowerment of women and also provide trainings to address some of the social issues faced by women in the communities.
"Fatuvalu was one of the successful applicants among the eight community based organisations who were selected and granted funding to implement the projects.
"This was after the proposals were submitted and gone through an assessment process.
"The project looks at delivering leadership trainings for women in the village and the district level.
"The notion behind the project is that through building their capacity in terms of leadership, it will empower them to be more involved in the governance of not only in the village but also in the district level.
"It also aims at empowering women to take lead in most of the development initiatives in the village and also in the national level.
"It was a really good initiative proposed by Fatuvalu and they are granted the amount of $40,800WST from the Australian government to fund their trainings."