Te Vaka O Ru awards Aitutaki Mana Tiaki’s
Te Vaka O Ru (TVOR) competition on the island of Aitutaki is mirrored on the Vaka Pride competition on Rarotonga. The TVOR committee which is made up of representatives from Internal Affairs, Ministry of Health, Aitutaki Conservation Trust, National Environment Services and the Police department, are the decision makers for the competition.
With the combined results from the TVOR committee the winners for this round of the competition have been finalised and are as follows:
The TVOR committee awarded the Akono i te Ao Rangi prize money to the value of $2500 to the Aitutaki Conservation Trust as they have been proactive with ensuring that recycle bins are stationed in areas required, be it for sports or leisure activities. The funding will be used towards a Clean Aitutaki Officer to help to maintain the compost toilets stationed at Ootu beach and Base 1, as well as maintaining recycle bins around the island.
The Tupuranga Tangata award of $1250 has been awarded to Arutanga Village as they have been proactive within their village. There has been focus within this village on working with the youth to steer them from getting into trouble and establishing cleaning groups.
The Peu Maori category was awarded petrol vouchers to the value of $350 to three deserving individuals for their efforts to beautify and maintain public access way and consideration of traffic when working on the road. Congratulations to Repaio Kiria, Tutai Anitonia and Thomas Hewett for their hard work and efforts that contribute towards the Te Vaka O Ru competition.
A special bonus prize for our Mana Tiaki champion was awarded to Papa George Henry who continuously cleans Ootu beach area from the inland to the shorelines. George Henry takes home a
$250 voucher from Aquila for his extra efforts into maintaining this public area. Ootu beach is the main launching place of the lagoon cruises in Aitutaki.
The prize giving for TVOR was on Saturday the 7th of April 2018 and all winners were announced and acknowledged on live broadcast with Aitutaki radio station.
Well done to the people on the beautiful island of Aitutaki who participated in their village clean up. The next round for TVOR is already underway with judging scheduled to take place at the end of June. So, keep up the good work Araura Enua!
For more information about the Te Vaka O Ru competition, contact Misepa Isamaela on: [email protected]
