A joint monitoring visit this week by Women’s Fund Fiji and the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) has provided fresh evidence that targeted overseas funding is helping sustain women-led economic and leadership initiatives across Fiji’s Northern Division. The visit—carried out on the ground in and around Savusavu—brought MFAT officials face to face with grantee groups to assess how New Zealand’s support, channelled through Women’s Fund Fiji (WFF), is translating into income, skills and greater resilience for women in remote and maritime communities.
The New Zealand delegation was led by Jane Anderson, First Secretary at the New Zealand High Commission, together with Development Programme Coordinator Arti Naidu. They joined WFF staff who had already been conducting monitoring and site visits with grantee partners in Macuata and Cakaudrove. On Tuesday the combined team met with the Roko Tui Cakaudrove and held sessions with the Bia‑i‑Cake Cooperative and Soqosoqo Vakamarama Cakaudrove, where women outlined how training, small grants and market support have helped them generate income and build confidence.
Field visits on Wednesday took the team into rural village settings, including Naidi and Yaroi, and to project sites in Nagigi run by the Bia‑i‑Cake Cooperative. Teams described the terrain as rugged—one leg of the trip to Wailevu Village in Natewa involved more than two hours on interior gravel roads—and planned crossings to nearby Salia Village had to be cancelled when heavy rain and rough seas made travel unsafe. Despite the weather disruption, delegates said the visits yielded valuable first‑hand insights into the logistical and climate-related challenges women face in hard-to-reach areas.
“Through this visit, we are able to better understand the real impact of our support for gender equality and women’s empowerment in remote locations,” Ms Anderson said, reflecting on the trip. WFF officials said those on-the-ground assessments are critical for adapting future funding and capacity-building to meet local needs.
On Thursday the delegation moved to Taveuni, visiting Lovonivonu Village and Naqara, where members of the Taveuni Empowerment Women’s Support Group (TWEGS) gathered to showcase products developed through the project. The group displayed a range of locally made goods and described how new skills and income streams have improved household livelihoods and community wellbeing. One former WFF grantee, Udukacu Boots and Skirts, has now fully integrated under the TWEGS umbrella—an example WFF cited as evidence that some enterprises are achieving sustainability beyond initial grant periods.
The monitoring visit closed with a stop at a local beekeeping farm in Taveuni where a group member demonstrated honey‑harvesting techniques learned through the project. WFF noted these activities—small‑scale apiculture, handicrafts and food processing—are deliberately chosen for their potential to generate steady household income while building resilience against economic and environmental shocks.
Women’s Fund Fiji issued formal thanks to MFAT for its continued support, saying the partnership remains vital for reaching women in rural, remote and maritime communities across the Northern Division. The visit adds to ongoing monitoring work by WFF and signals that donors and implementers are focusing on scaling interventions that show tangible, locally driven outcomes in women’s economic empowerment.
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