Sweeping in Fiji
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Sweeping in Fiji |
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Women: The Sweepers of Savusavu
AT 6am, while many are cozily snuggled in bed, Ulamila Rabe, is already awake. Her work demands that she hits the streets as soon as dawn breaks. And as laborious and tedious as the job seems, Ulamila is happily content and proud being one of Savusavu's street cleaners."My job pays the bills," says Ulamila. "It is an important one and I have to love it." Ulamila and two other female colleagues carry out the crucial assignment of keeping Savusavu streets devoid of trash. It is a job that many may easily overlook and find inferior, yet it is a job that someone must do. "It is not an easy job but is is satisfying, especially knowing that you are part of a beauty campaign," she said. "When I'm tired at the end of the day, I just look at the clean streets and feel good." Despite being underappreciated, Ulamila and her friends carry on undeterred, dragging their broom and dustbin along the length and breadth of the Hidden Paradise. Some three years ago, in an effort to arrest the seaside town's growing litter problem, especially when tourism was booming, authorities decided to create an all-female team of street sweepers. The thinking behind the decision was simple – if women could keep the family together and clean, they could do the same to keep the town spick and span. That notion proved to be correct and it wasn't long before people started noticing the difference. Savusavu's female sweepers work six days a work, in two distinct shifts, from 6am to 12pm and 9am to 5pm. Another diligent street sweeper is Tikoivatukoula Vuniqaikula. She hails from Qeleni, Wainikeli in the province of Cakaudrove and lives in Urata Village where she is married. Before working for STC, she was a stay-at-home mom and depended on her farmer husband for a living. Now sweeping puts money in her pocket and helps support her family. "It didn't take long before authorities found out that we did a better job than men and the streets looked cleaner at the end of the day," Tikoivatukoula said. "From then on, the job was given permanently to us three women." Sweeping in public was not a duty the women were eagerly ready to take up. In the beginning, they were easily overtaken by fear and shame. That has since changed. To overcome shame and fear, the pair reminded themselves of the gravity of their duty and treated it like a household chore. "Initially, we were a bit shy because no iTaukei women had done this job before. We were also wary of how members of the public would perceive us," said Tikoivatukoula. "Now we are proud of what we do. We see it as an important contribution to the community. Without us, Savusavu would be in a mess and our streets would be filthy." Tikoivatukoula thanked god for giving her a feeling of desperation so that she could work hard and persevere. "Sweeping rubbish on the streets dumped by others may be an unworthy job but is in a lowly place like this that god can lift up someone small and make him or her an example to the world. We want to share with Fiji and the world the great story of what women are doing to keep Savusavu clean and beautiful. Wherever we are placed, we must perform our best." Ulamila lives in Yaroi, just outside town, where she takes care of her two youngest children who attend secondary school. Her wages are to give her children the best opportunities in life, far removed from the streets of Savusavu. Ulamila and Tikoivatukoula's work, though hectic and hazardous, is not well paid and glamourous. They are exposed to the elements (sun, wind and rain), insults and harassment. But they perform their best, recognising that our communities are facing great challenges due to the rising amount of carelessly disposed waste and littering. Public waste bins are filling up causing dirty streets, bad odours and negative impacts on people's health and the environment. If sweepers are not properly outfitted and given the correct tools, work may become burdensome, unhealthy and unsafe. But Ulamila and Tikoivatukoula are not giving up. They believe the job is well suited for women and important for maintaining a beautiful, healthy and disease -free environment. "We enjoy the work we do because it is a natural progression from what we do at home. Women persevere and are enduring," Ulamila said. "All we ask is for people to be responsible for the rubbish they have and produce. Always put it in a bin and respect the environment and the right of others to enjoy living in a clean and safe place."
Ranger Kidwell-Ross is the Editor of WorldSweeper.com and Executive Director of the World Sweeping Association. If you have questions or comments you may reach him via email sent to: editor@WorldSweeper.com
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adapted by Ranger Kidwell-Ross from article in 