Community programmes strengthened through Vaka Pride

By
Cook Islands Tourism
Photography By
Cook Islands Tourism

The winners for the 18th round of the Vaka Pride programme was announced during a special event held at the Punanga Nui markets on the 8th of March 2021.  

“The Vaka Pride programme seeks to address the social, environmental and cultural issues that impact our people including our tourism industry” said Destination Development Coordinator, Sieni Tiraa from Cook Islands Tourism.

The winners under the three categories for the Vaka Pride programme, Akono I te Ao Rangi, Tupuranga Tangata and Peu Maori each highlight areas that impact the tourism industry.

Akono I te Ao Rangi category awards community groups who continue to keep public areas around the island clean. These results are taken from the monthly clean up reports provided by the Ministry of Internal Affairs beautification project within the ten villages on Rarotonga.

Tupapa/Maraerenga and Takuvaine village both placed first and were awarded $2,000 each to contribute towards their future community programmes. Tupapa/Maraerenga scored well for their extra cleaning efforts around the clinics and the roads that are not part of their cleaning contracts. Takuvaine also scored well for their continuous cleaning efforts around dengue breeding sites. Murienua who placed second was awarded $1,000 for their efforts towards cleaning the Kavera cemetery, Atupare meeting house and One Maru road.

Tupuranga Tangata category focuses on individuals or groups that address social issues in the community.  For this round, the Vaka Pride committee focused on health & well-being and fitness groups who contribute to improving the lifestyle of Cook Islands people. Three nominations were identified which included Boxing Beauties, Flex Plus and Johnsons.  All nominees were equally placed and each received $1,000 to help strengthen their fitness programmes to provide quality fitness services for our community.

The final category, Peu Maori focuses on areas that impact our culture and way of living. The Vaka Pride committee looked at historical sites lead by the Ministry of Cultural Development and identified the need to develop plaques to provide information on the wooden art displayed at the National Auditorium. This project will help inform locals and visitors to understand the significance of these cultural artifacts and add to the cultural value of the National Auditorium.

Round 19 of the Vaka Pride programme is underway with judging scheduled to take place in June of this year. To nominate a group or individual(s) who are Mana Tiaki Champions or are actively finding solutions to keep our culture alive and our island safe & clean, please contact Sieni Tiraa at Cook Islands Tourism.