Youth of Vuma village in Ovalau are reaping the rewards of their hard work and sacrifice.
All twenty three of them will soon be owners of new homes, after completing a five year yaqona planting program.
In 2011, a ban on drinking yaqona was put in place in village.
Village Elder Usaia Delai says they saw that the land was lying idle and the village youth were engaged in excessive yaqona drinking.
“We saw that the land was just there, they supposed to be utilizing it but No. They are just drinking yaqona. That is why were thought that we will ban drinking yaqona in the village and make them utilise the land. We would bring in the Ministry of Agriculture to help them.”
The ban was in place for five years and a yaqona planting program for the youth was put in place through the assistance of the Ministry of Agriculture
The youth are now harvesting their yaqona and they are each paying $6,000 for their new homes under the Rural Housing Scheme.
The first three of the 23 homes are being constructed. It will be officially opened towards the end of December. The rest of the homes will be built within the next year.
