Fresh juice, fresh hope

A young Fijian family is turning their passion for health into action through a simple but powerful juicing initiative.

By preparing fresh juices and sharing them withing their community, they hope to inspire healthier lifestyle choices and raise awareness about the growing challenge of non-communicable diseases.

Aisea Tuidraki, his wife Milika, and their daughter Melania are behind the initiative, which began in their home village.

“My village is Narewa, it consists of more than 1000 people,” Mr Tuidraki said. “When Fiji was exporting sugar, that was what my village was committed [to], but then tourism came in. Many people who have passed on have died from non-communicable diseases, something that inspired us to do something about it.”

Community members have already begun to see the benefits. One recipient of the juices shared a personal testimony: “After taking your juice program, everything changed. I was eating and sleeping better. My blood pressure reduced.”

Mr Tuidraki said the family hopes their small initiative can contribute to a larger shift in health outcomes.

“Fiji per capita was leading diabetes all over the world,” he said. “We want to tackle that. We are going to start small now, start in my village, the whole of Nadi town. We may not save everyone but at least the contribution that we make will help people become aware and eventually change their lifestyle and change Fiji.