By: Jaiyah Saelua
We’ve come to the end of the year. Much has happened in the short time Rural became operational, but there is much more to look forward to in 2025. When the Alliance comes back in January, the Fa’afafine Rural Program will initiate our first Youth Outreach activity. This outreach will target high school fa’afafine and fa’atane students, allowing our program to focus on helping students address violence in various forms in school, church and at home. We will offer a brief training on the signs of violence, how to address them, and ways of coping. The informative part of this outreach will provide accessible outlets for young fa’afafine to seek aid, to include our zone advocates, government agencies, and other non-profit organizations. We’re also excited to announce that we are in the process of creating a new position for the program – Rural Community Trainer. The addition of a community trainer is essential to ensure the successful implementation of training activities under the Office of Violence Against Women (OVW) Fa’afafine Program. This role will be responsible for the planning, coordination & execution of all activities that build community awareness on the issues that impact the fa’afafine, fa’atane & SOGIE community in American Samoa. They will also be responsible for ensuring all content therein is in alignment with the program’s objectives. This position will alleviate the workload of the Program Manager, whose responsibilities are already fully dedicated to managing grant deliverables, program oversight, and stakeholder coordination. The position will be made available to the public in the beginning of January. We will also be rolling out our new Elderly Wellness Check initiative in the summer of 2025. This bi-monthly activity will allow the program to check on the wellness and safety of our elderly fa’afafine and fa’atane, therefore ensuring our program is meeting the safety needs of all age groups in our community. Lastly, our Program Manager will be attending her first trip under Rural – the OVW New Grantee Orientation Conference in Reno, NV, in January. This will give her the opportunity to better understand the work expected of our program by the grantors, and how to better manage the grant through the deliverables and activities. Although 2024 was busy for the program, we anticipate an even busier 2025. We want to ensure our community that we will continue to grow in our work. We looks forward to better serving our fa’afafine & SOGIE community in American Samoa in the coming year. Happy Holidays!
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By: Jaiyah Saelua
The 2024 Samoa Fa’afafine Association Pageant was held on December 6, 2024 at the multipurpose complex in Tuanaimato, Samoa. Every year, the Society of Fa’afafine in American Samoa takes a delegation to this event, to continue the partnership between “sister” organizations of the two Samoas. This year, the Fa’afafine Rural Program joined the SOFIAS delegation for the very first time. Aside from being the Program Coordinator for Rural, Uni Tanielu is also the Miss SOFIAS. As the Miss SOFIAS at the Miss SFA week-long events leading up to the pageant night, Uni was able to squeeze in some time to converse about the great things Rural has been doing in 2024. At the advocacy forum, Uni talked about the American Samoa Alliance, the Fa’afafine Rural Program’s activities and events, how we support the SOFIAS organization, and about the unique way Rural address anti-violence initiatives for the fa’afafine community in American Samoa. Our Program Manager, Jaiyah Saelua, also spoke about what to expect in 2025, how Rural plans on being more intentional with our support of SOFIAS, how we can work together to build capacity & community awareness, and the various opportunities Rural will be providing in the coming months. At the Prizegiving ceremony, Jaiyah was able to network with some of the lead funders of SFA, building connections and conversations around the importance of regional funding. Despite the hurdles that limit Rural’s ability to receive funding from international grantors, it is important to continue to network with like-minded individuals in the region, to share other resources and ideas about how we can collectively and effectively support one another. All in all, the SFA trip was fruitful for SOFIAS & Rural. We look forward to growing in our relationship as funded organizations, and commit to seeking ways we can tap into resources, despite our political statuses. |