THE villages of Harmara and Rampura in Ajmer have never been visited by any high government official nor even a government minister.
These villagers in the desert state of Rajasthan have been waiting for so long.
Last Friday, they were visited by a government minister but not from their own Rajasthan government or the central government.
The gram panchayat or the village government of Harmara could not get over being visited by Fijis Minister for Women, Social Welfare and Poverty Alleviation Dr Jiko Luveni. Dr Luveni and Fijian women training to be solar engineers at Barefoot College visited these two villages as part of their program organised by the college.
Harmara Village council member Ram Karan told Dr Luveni they were touched by her humble behaviour, taking her time out to meet them.
Mr Karan, a former soldier who had visited Fiji only for a night, said the ministers in India were too busy to come to their villages.
Speaking in Hindi, he told Dr Luveni they could not believe that a minister who flew half way across the globe had visited and heard them.
He said it was very easy interacting with Dr Luveni, something they do not enjoy with their very own.
During the visit, the panchas or the members of the village government asked Dr Luveni how they coped with water problems and what kind of country Fiji was.
Dr Luveni told them that despite being surrounded by water, Fiji had its own share of water problems.
At Rampura Village, the villagers gathered at the night school supported by Barefoot College.
They shared sentiments, saying they could not believe that Dr Luveni had visited them.