Page 18 - Islands Business September 2023

USAID Cover

Samantha Power joins the Lilian Amazon Rugby Club in a training run in Nadi. Photo: Boss Communication Agency for USAID
POWER IN THE PACIFIC

By Samantha Magick to have someone of your calibre and how excited they were
to be able to hear that you’re coming to join them today.
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) And you are just such an inspiration not only to our girls, but
Administrator, Samantha Power’s final engagement for her women all across Fiji, the Pacific, and of course, the world.”
August Pacific visit saw her don shorts and trainers to join
some of Fiji’s most promising women players for a rugby US re-engagement
clinic. Power’s announcements in PNG included an additional
She had come from Nabila village, where she sat on a mat US$1.2 million commitment to establish a solar mini grid,
under a stand of coconut trees, sharing nama (sea grapes), extra funding for health, and $5.2 million in new humanitarian
cassava and stories with members of the Women in Fisheries assistance related to volcanic activity. PNG Prime Minister,
network, who told her of the threats that climate change James Marape said he had also asked Power to consider
poses to their livelihoods. assisting PNG to conserve and manage its forests, which are
While Power’s program was packed—she opened a USAID important global carbon sinks.
country representative office in Port Moresby and a USAID Power stated that the Fiji mission and PNG office “are the
Mission for the Pacific Islands in Suva, addressed the U.S. next step in the United States’ reinvigorated commitment to
Indo-Pacific Command Chiefs of Defense Conference the Pacific Islands – in the past decade alone, our country has
and students at the University of the South Pacific, and invested $1.5 billion in the region.”
visited several USAID projects and partners—the visit was There has been some scepticism about the depth of the
distinguished by the amount of time she spent with Pacific US commitment to the region, and suggestions that this re-
women leaders of different types. engagement is about geopolitics, specifically China’s activities
She said the theme of her final day in Fiji was ‘go girls.’ in the region, rather than pure altruism.
Speaking after the training run, Power noted the Power notes that “how one partners matters a great deal.
importance of rugby to Fiji and said in playing: “I really Some partnerships are cooperative, born of mutual respect
wanted to show my respect. Show, as well, my vulnerability, in pursuit of mutual benefits—and some are coercive, seeking
my weakness…and to send the message…when we unleash individual gain. Some seek to respect the dignity of everyday
women and girls who have mentors, like the mentors that citizens, to ensure that they are able to raise their voices
they have here today and that they play with elsewhere, they and exercise agency to chart their own course, to decide on
will be off to the races. It is just the job of government, of their own future—some are more inclined to respect only the
family, of teachers, of coaches, and of development partners, authority of the state. Some are forged in the light of day,
to support that journey.” some partnerships relish the light of day—others are hashed
It was a message that resonated with the players. Just a out in backrooms, away from accountability, away from prying
few years ago, Fiji’s women rugby players struggled to be eyes.
taken seriously or treated with respect by either rugby fans “So, as we increase our investments here in the Pacific,
or the national governing body. Coach Lailanie Burnes said of
Power’s visit: “The girls were telling me how important it is Continued on page 40

18 Islands Business, September 2023