Vuci Village - A Brief Community
The traditional Vanua Naivirourou also known as Vuci village in the district of Tokatoka in the Tailevu province comprises 68 households with a total of 71 families. The community’s 272 adult population include 146 women and 126 men. As of January, 2024, 59 of the villagers were formally employed and therefore retirees and 96 villagers within the work-age group are unemployed. About 29 of our village children attend primary school with an additional 28 attending secondary schools in the Suva-Nausori corridor. An additional two students attend tertiary institutions. Two of our village youths who are members of Fiji’s national youth band (one of whom is female) – a Ministry of Youth development initiative. There are two single mothers in the village. About 19 villagers are social welfare recipients with an additional eight receiving After Care Funds to support them.
The Vanua Naivirourou is made up of four yavusa (clans) – Naivirourou, Naturuturukula, Naiviviro and Nasautabu; 19 mataqali (clans) and 30 tokatoka (extended families). It is administered through the traditional leadership of the Vanua (veiliutaki vakavanua) by the Turaga na Tui Vuci. Its daily operations are managed by the Turaga ni Koro (village headman) and supported by the Nasi ni Koro (village community health worker). Executive decisions relating to the Vanua are made at the Bose Vanua (for heads of Yavusa & Mataqali only) and Bose Vakoro (for everyone). Regular village monthly meetings are held by the villagers to engage with the daily issues of life.
Google Earth Map showing Vuci Village – the middle village in this picture.
The village is served by an access road that connects all village communities located along the Rewa delta area. Health services for Vuci village are offered firstly by the community health worker (CHW) in the village in conjunction with the public health nurse, health inspector and medical officer of the area all of whom provide health service for the nearby Wainibokasi Hospital.
A few bus companies service these access roads covering distances between the main urban town, Nausori town and the villages of the delta including Vuci village. There are a few canteens selling basic food and other items in the village and at least 5 Christian denominational churches such as the Wesleyan, the Pentecostal, and the and Methodist members of the faith. Villagers are also members of the Seventh Day Adventists (SDA), and the Latter Day Saints (LDS) congregations. The villagers enjoy the use of raised concrete footpaths around the village which are illuminated by solar-powered lights in the night. The village has access to fresh, tapped, treated clean water as well as food sources such as fish, bivalves, crabs and prawns. These are also sold at Nausori market as the main source of income or to supplement family earnings. On the other hand, the village menfolk are mainly subsistence farmers who provide for their families from family food gardens.
