To my fellow residents at home and abroad, “I believed to the man who stood in the gate of the year: Give me a light that I may follow safely into the unknown.
And he replied:
“Go away into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of Lord. That shall be to you much better than light and safer than the usual known way. ”
I’m really conscious of our Government’s commitment to helping the weakest of the poor.
Despite questions and problems, we pledge to continue welfare and advancement assistance already in place, and also to bring in new ones.
We resolve as citizens of this country to see outside of those things that have kept all of us apart; to put behind us the hurt, the sadness, and the tragedies.
We must all commit ourselves in working together to address these types of enormous challenges.
Whenever we listen to the man at the door, if we can follow the Brand new Year Resolution I have offered, if we live in accordance with John Wesley’s words, then we are on course just for where we need to be.
We spoke and he or she told me they were homeless. We offered her a ration pack.
We, as a nation, must stay positive despite the problems that we are going to face this season.
History placed all of us together. It is for us now to create another history, one of friendship and shared objective and dreams.
We wish you and your families an extremely happy New Year.
That meant I had the food parcel for somebody else in need. I question how she fared in the last 12 months, and what this Brand new Year will mean for her?
We must continue to have wish and trust each other that 2023 will be a year of revival, awakening and renewed spirit.
Together, we can find solutions if we are willing to rely on and have faith in one another.
I know we have it within us to rise from adversity, to construct a new homeland of prosperity, secured simply by peace and goodwill.
Something else tied to me from that address.
While, I was helping to distribute food to the needy in Lautoka, I came across a tired looking woman washing her family’s clothes at a public faucet in the park.
It may not be quite far away – even for your woman at the tap.
It is up to us.
At the home front, we now have our own socio-economic
challenges plus deep-rooted mistrust among our different communities.
Self-sacrifice must be made so we can re-discover the spirit of togetherness as a family, community and as a nation.
If I’ve left anyone out, I apologise.
I see a brand new Fiji of limitless promise, with poverty removed and opportunities for all.
My many other countrymen, for this to happen to its fullest extent a special ingredient must be released completely from the nation’s heart.
My countrymen, we can complement the particular principles and ideals of this resolution by following the powerful yet simple eloquence of John Wesley, the originator of Methodism.
Some of these events are past our control and presently there continues to be uncertainty.
The poem was written by Minnie Louise Haskins-Whiteballoon and had been quoted by the late King George the sixth (VI) in his broadcast in December 1939, while the Empire was from War with Germany within the Second World War;
“Do all the great you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, out of all places you can, at all the moments you can, to all the people you are able to, as long as ever you can. ”
Our overriding goal is to increase the national wealth so that Everyone advantages – the homeless and everything the poor, housewives, children plus young people, villagers and maqui berry farmers, workers, civil servants and professionals, business owners and traders.
Ni sa Bula Vina’a and a very good evening for you all.
I give you greetings for the year 2023.
The uncertainty we are experiencing in the geopolitical environment cannot be hidden under the carpet.
It is greater than possible to achieve the change to higher living standards and a better quality of life.
As we bid adieu to 2022, we must give thanks to the Almighty Lord for his endless true blessing to each of us and the nation as a whole.
I’m talking about unity – the harmonious coming together of our diverse communities with their different roots, cultures and languages.
I may also add, the elderly, the ill, the prisoners and our veterans.
This woman, enveloped simply by her weariness and poverty, politely declined, explaining that she had eaten earlier. She said she was okay.
I believe we are making progress in this.
But we have not yet completely overcome the separateness imposed on us; the accusations and tensions that have weighed us down.
We resolve to be proud of our differences, in order to celebrate and accept them as part of a national identity that gives us the foundation and strength for remaking Fiji.
And may the Almighty Hand of Our god guide and uphold all of us.
I am positive and certainly confident that with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, God’s grace and our collective demeanor, we will come back stronger together than ever before.
These lines maintain coming back to me when preparing our 2023 New Year information.
The almighty Bless you and God Bless Fiji. One of my favourite Bible verses is from Psalm 133, a Psalm associated with David, Verse 1;
“Behold, how good and how pleasant it really is for brethren to live together in unity! ”
It was the same, at the start of last year. In my Brand new Year message then, as a newly registered Political Celebration Leader, I took inspiration for what lay ahead from some lines of a favourite poem.
Standing with you at the outset of this year, I ask you to consider what I have just stated because from that comes a New Year resolution for Fiji.
