NCTC - Fiji Islands - Provision

We had approached all the relevant authorities asking for exemption of duty. We all thought it would not take long to release our things, but this was not to be. On arrival at the Customs department they told us they were wanting to charge us between $10,000 and $15,000 in duty and VAT [Value added Tax]. What a shock!! We did not know what to do. Just prayed.

Our principal came back to the house she was staying at and prayed 'Lord you will have to work this one out, ', then she began to tell the story to the people she was staying with. Just as she began to speak, a car pulled up and a lady came into the house, who was introduced as Aunty Emi. Aunty EMI was very interested in hearing about the NCTC vision and what the equipment would be used for.

It turned out Aunty EMI was the Permanent Secretary for Education in Fiji - Wow !!!!!!! Thank You Lord!!!!!!

This lady never comes visiting on Friday night, and never at that time and never speaks shop outside work. She is a lovely Christian lady, and what an angel she turned out to be. The next day she had rung all the relevant authorities, Customs, VAT, Inland Revenue, and on Monday morning Marion had a meeting with all the heads of these departments in one place (Can you imagine how hard that would be to get all these people in one place?) God is Great. They talked and talked, they could not do much, the only one with the power to exempt us from duty was the Minister of Finance which was Mr. Chaudry the Prime Minister.

So we approached the Ministry of Finance and saw a lovely lady who was also a Christian. In those few weeks we worked non stop compiling letters from relevant ministries, Youth and Sport and Education. We kept putting different summations to the Customs Department; still they could not give us a favourable reply.

Our only option was to approach the PM, so EMI rang the Permanent Secretary for the PM and Marion went to see him. Such a lovely man, who was also an AOG pastor, [the interesting thing about all these people we went to see over the weeks was almost all of these people where ‘acting’ in their positions - God is Great. He was so helpful. So after weeks of doing our homework and the support of the people in the Ministry of Finance, the PM was approached, and approval for exemption was given, for all our goods excepting the tools and building materials, but VAT still had to be paid. A great result. No one could believe it. Hardly ever is exemption given to organisations.

Our thanks to Mr. Chaudry for his progressive vision to help the youth of this nation through the NCTC. We still had to find almost $2,000, but it sure beats $10,000 to $15,000.

Donated Goods Safely in Labasa

Our Much needed Truck and Refrigerated Container, full of Equipment arrived safely in Labasa. Thanks to the kindness of Beachcomber Cruises’ RoRo Ferry – Adi Savusavu, who heavily discounted the costs of Shipping to Labasa.

It was amazing how well the goods travelled - there was very little damage to the consignment.. The consignment of goods has been a great witness to all the people of Labasa town, and indeed Fiji. Many people have expressed how touched they were by the generosity of so many people from another country who gave so willingly for the youth of Fiji. The truck especially turns heads where ever it goes, with it’s small crane standing out above the cab of the truck.

The equipment is essential for the development of the training centre. The shipment will save thousands of dollars in building costs. In the future the Refrigerated container will be a great asset for the NCTC, in storage of food stuff and also for money making projects and business ventures such as, marketing root crops, fishing etc..

Once again our sincere thanks to all of you who gave so generously to the NCTC consignment from Australia. It has truly inspired us to great things in the area of believing God to meet all our needs.

How to Support NCTC or A Students