1. WAYALEVU
2016
[Typethedocument
title]WAYALEVUYOUTHCLUB
We are the youth member of Waya Levu,
in the Yasawa Island. We empower our
youth member to invest in the future of
young people to be able to have a good
wealth and healthy life style.

2. In Fiji and the Yasawa islandRegion, young people make up a
significant proportionof each country’s population.They are
also major contributors to the labourforce and thus form the
backboneof each country economy. The abilityof young
people to contribute to community and family’s productivity
and prosperity, however, dependsto a great extent on how
well they can avoid social risk, especially those with low income
earners.

3. Since in the past our parents and family have come with the
idea to invest in the future developmentof our villageand the
wealth and health need of our young people,and significant
progress have been made in understandingthose need.
However, major health and social threats persist, most notably;
school dropout and unemployment,often arising from unmet
need for contraception;uneducatedand unemployedlead
young people all mean of violence and exploitation.
The benefits of combating those threats and promoting the
wealth and reproductive health of young people are far
reaching. For instance, positive investment in young peoplecan
reduce the likelihoodof school dropout and unemployment
and its social and economic cost. We can encourage parents
and family to invest in their children’sfuture, increase
householdsaving, and investment, and facilitatehigher
productivityin their children’seducation.Delaying marriage
and parenthoodcan allow for greater educationalachievement
and improve career and employment opportunities.
The preventionof teen school dropout also reduce social
stigma and help young people remain in school, enabling them
to better care for and invest in their families, communities and
country.
Moreover one of the important commitments a family can
make for the future economic, social and progress and stability

4. is to invest in the wealth and health needs of its youth. It
sounds investment for the future.
The framework that will be discussed in this meeting will
provide a set concrete interventionor action for parents and
family to undertake in scaling up their responses to meet the
wealth and reproductive health needs of young people.
The framework will have four major components that are based
on the commonly accepted premise that, to practice positive
lifestyles that lead to optimalwealth and health that young
people need;
1. life-skillsbased informationand education
2. access to reproductive wealth and healthservices
3. supportive and enablingenvironment
4. Support from family and community.
The importance of providing young people with accurate
and up to date information and supportive about their
wealth and reproductive health was endorse in Waya Levu
village in 1997.
Although progress has been made since that time, there
are still major concerns and shortcomings. The first
component of the framework therefore highlightsmajor
strategies to effectively provide young people with life

5. skill information and educationthrough in school, out of
school, community, work place and family.
The wealth and health of young peoplecannot be fully
addressed without the support of family, particularly
those that are youth friendly.
THE VALUE OF INVESTING IN YOUNG PEOPLE
The term “young people ’’ includes girls and boys aged
between 10 and 24 years, many of this young people is
vulnerableto social threats. Without the support of
family, the young people will get into most of violenceand
exploitation,with drugs, alcohol,and kava. Because of
changing environment our young people are at risk. For
instance earlier school dropout and substance abuse, the
decreasing of family support and community and rapid
urbanizationand migration to the main land for work-
especiallyamong young peoplemarried by poverty
inadequateeducationand lack of work opportunities
extend the risk of our future children.
Such unfavorableoutcome arise when young people are
not equippedwith the means to make sound and
responsible decisions, especially in terms of educationand
employment, this is to prevent young peoplefrom school
dropout. However, to invest in the future of our children
and their healthy psychosocialdevelopmentof young

6. people within an actively supportive societal environment
and through their use of appropriatelife skill is vital to
ensuring that they develop into healthy and wealthy
adults. Young people are not homogenousgroups but are
comprised of various vulnerablegroups such as young
married, culture and social adolescents. These vulnerable
groups require special programmes to ensure basic
human right are promoted and addressed. The education
and health problems and needs surrounding the following
issues are more typicalof and more important for young
people than adults, and therefore merit special attention.
THEARTS
The three factors contribute to increasing rates of
school dropout among young people;
1. Lack of support from family
2. Peer pressure
3. Lack of communication
The infantsof young boys and girls are also at grave
risk. In 1997 Youth have taken a great chance to invest
in the wellbeingof our community or village. The Waya
Levu Youth back in 1997 has invested $15,000.00 to
THE UNIT TRUST OF FIJI for the care of the community;
this investment hasserved its purpose in buildingthe

7. Waya Levu community Hall and other development.But
the risk of being uneducated and unemploymentis still
a threat to the young peopleof Waya Levu today. While
the socioeconomic consequences of uneducatedin
young people of Waya Levu, it is important to recognize
the need to educate our young peoplewe must put all
differences aside and support in investing in their
future.
So I call upon this gathering of Waya Levu Youth living
and working in the mainlandof vitilevuto be a part of
this quest, in INVESTINGIN OUR FUTRE
Thank you!