The government has provided essential services to over 950 rural communities in the last three years through its REACH project.

The project is being carried out by the Social Welfare Ministry together with the help from the UNDP.

Outgoing Permanent Secretary, Dr Josefa Koroivueta says since its inception in 2015, REACH has grown from its initial dimension, helping government reach out to the most marginalized.

“Reach is also an act of humility – where you take yourself down for the service of others. That you go through some draconian conditions to reach them, whether it’s going through foot, on boats,  going through some very difficult road access. The key to this is that the service to others matters the most.”

Dr Koroivueta says the project has touched and impacted the lives and livelihood of many people in rural communities, who otherwise would have been deprived of receiving essential services due to the isolation from the main land.