Samoan students currently studying at the University of the South Pacific (USP) and the
Fiji National University (FNU) were hosted to a dinner reception by the High
Commissioner of Samoa to Fiji, H.E. Ali’ioaiga Feturi Elisaia on Saturday 17 April 2021 at
the Central Cuisine Damodar, Suva. The reception was also the first official ‘Feiloaiga’
between the students and the High Commissioner since he presented his credentials to
the President of Fiji on 5 March, 2021.
The reception was to provide an opportunity for the High Commissioner to meet with
the Samoan students studying in Fiji and also to encourage them to make use of the
services provided by the newly established Samoa High Commission to Fiji.
Rev. Dr. Fatilua Fatilua, a Samoan lecturer at the Pacific Theological College in Suva
commenced the programme with a Bible reading, a spiritual message and said the
opening prayer.
The High Commissioner, a USP alumnus, in his remarks, reminded the students that
educational opportunities are rare to come by – hence the need to utilise them
optimally to build a solid foundation for a future career. University education provides a
level playing field and an environment dedicated to a student’s success where the
student is in charge of shaping his/her own future, no one else. Being on scholarship is
a privilege and should therefore not be squandered. He encouraged the students to
think of the High Commission as their home away from home and their first place of call
to share both the highs and lows of their educational journeys, mindful of the
challenges associated in being away from home.
Taito Louis Lene, Student Counsellor provided an update on Samoan students in Fiji. A
total of 84 Samoan students are registered at USP Laucala Campus and FNU
respectively for Semester 1, 2021. Students at USP totalled 74, of which 54 of are
sponsored and 20 are private students. The other 10 students attend the FNU College
of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences (CMNHS) in Suva.
A key component of the ‘Feiloaiga’ was the introductions by each of over 60 students
who were able to attend the event, then followed by a lively ‘Fa’afiafiaga Fa’asamoa’ by
the USP Samoa 4 th Year cohort.

To cap off the evening, the President of the FNU Samoa Students Association Mr. Jarred
Lameko spoke on behalf of Samoan students in Fiji to thank the High Commissioner and
the High Commission Office for the ‘Feiloaiga’ and for hosting them to the dinner
reception.
The event was timely and a welcoming opportunity for many of the students who were
not able to visit families in Samoa since they arrived in 2020 due to the Covid-19
lockdown. And for the USP students in particular, it was a fitting way to start their one-
week mid-semester break.

Samoa High Commission,
Suva, FIJI,
17 April 2021