VOICES of the Athletes Sports Training and Outreach Programme (STOP) Champion and Team Fiji Football women’s representative Matelita Vuakoso is part of a three member Fiji delegation that will undergo a Young Leaders Training Program in Japan for two weeks.
She was nominated by FASANOC’s STOP program to participate in the two-week JICA Young Leaders Training Program that will focus on youth development and empowerment.
The 24-year-old Wailevu, Cakaudrove athlete said she was looking forward to the challenges in Japan.
“This trip is about learning something new and how to transfer what I will learn back here at home,” she said.
Vuakoso said she was excited more about the learning than the travelling to Japan.
“This is not my first trip overseas because I have been given that opportunity to travel through the Fiji Football Association, but it is my first trip to attend something I know will have a lasting impression on my future,” she said.
“During this training, we will focus on various courses in different fields which will help in nation building and this excites me.”
She said while they would be given training in different fields of specialisation, it was also an opportunity to learn from a different culture.
“We were told we would be travelling to some farming communities and this will be exciting to see how Japanese people do farming,” she said.
“I’ve heard that Japanese people are disciplined, focused, polite and very hard working, so it will be good to bring back these traits to Fiji.”
The training program is part of JICA’s technical co-operation assistance approach, which focuses on the promotion of nation-building in developing countries through human resource development.
Various training courses in diverse fields are offered in Japan for participants to obtain practical knowledge and technical skills relevant to the development needs of the country.
According to JICA, it is expected that upon return to their home country, trainees would apply what they have learned for strengthening their respective organisations for the economic and social development of their countries.
Training courses are conducted at 17 training centres located throughout Japan, in cooperation with various universities, research centers, hospitals and other public bodies and institutions which prepare the practical and theory of the training.
