OUR STORY

The Inspiring Story of Grace Trifam Ministry (GTM)

Grace Trifam Ministry (GTM) is the manifestation of one woman’s unwavering commitment to empowering and uplifting local communities. Through sheer dedication, sacrifice, and focus, Mrs. Safaira Tagivuni transformed her vision into a reality, creating an enduring legacy of empowerment, particularly for women and environmental stewardship. Over the past decade, GTM has emerged as a catalyst for positive socio-cultural transformation, touching lives and addressing the needs of disadvantaged and often unheard voices in society.

As co-founder, Safaira’s journey with GTM is not only a walk down memory lane but also a testament to her passion, resilience, and ability to inspire change. Her story is one of unlocking potential and fostering tangible impacts in peri-urban and rural communities, where her leadership has made a profound difference.

GTM’s beginnings trace back to 2002, when it started as a Community Women’s Group in the North Western region of Viti Levu, Fiji’s largest island. As the wife of the CEO of Yaqara Pastoral Company Limited—a government-owned cattle ranch—Safaira was entrusted with establishing a women’s group that brought together the wives, partners, daughters, and female family members of the company’s employees.

Formally registered a year later as the Yaqara Community Women’s Group, the organization initially focused on urgent environmental projects and addressing the needs of nearby communities, including six i-Taukei villages and three Indo-Fijian cane settlements. One of their notable early initiatives was the planting of 20,000 trees in a nursery to support the planned Yaqara Studio City Project. Although unforeseen delays halted the project’s completion, the group pivoted, selling the nursery trees to Natadola and Momi development projects, generating economic benefits for its members.

Beyond environmental efforts, Safaira led her team in empowering local communities through initiatives such as:

Development project funding for schools.
Scholarship programs for rural students.
Community outreach and empowerment sessions.

Under Safaira’s leadership, the Yaqara Community Women’s Group achieved remarkable success, leaving a lasting impact before its official dissolution in 2008. Members received financial settlements, marking the end of one chapter and the beginning of a new one for Safaira.

Fueled by her experiences and a renewed determination, Safaira envisioned expanding her work to a national level. She recognized the pressing social issues of the time—ranging from domestic violence to environmental degradation—and understood the need for holistic solutions to preserve the fabric of community life. Her foresight and passion led to the formal registration of Grace Trifam Ministry (GTM) in November 2011.

From its humble beginnings as a local women’s group, GTM evolved into a national faith-based community organization, embodying Safaira’s vision of empowerment, resilience, and sustainable development. By 2015, her tireless efforts were recognized with the UNDP and Fiji Volunteer Organization National Award in the Sustainable Livelihood Category for her outstanding volunteer work.

Today, GTM stands as a beacon of hope, reflecting Safaira’s unwavering dedication to her cause. Her vision and determination continue to drive the organization’s mission, leaving an indelible mark on the lives of individuals and communities across Fiji. Safaira remains the heart and soul of GTM, embodying the spirit of selfless service and transformative leadership.

OUR DONOR PARTNERS:

Enhancing Livelihoods by Improving Existing Methodologies of Women’s Economic Viability for Sustainable Production: GTM Fiji through this collaboration will deliver the following goals: Support the women’s group in the 2 maritime island communities and the 2 highland communities with the introduction of proven and established methods of organic paper production that is also World Bank accredited. This introductory phase will include capacity building training and on-the-ground training procurement and utilizing mechanical machines for production line. This support will also involve GTM Fiji’s collaboration with World Bank ANSAB partners based in Kathmandu, Nepal from which these mechanical machines have proven use in the traditional communities. These will include virtual trainings delivered to these women in support of GTM Fiji’s capacity in delivering on-the-ground support Empower the business structures of these women’s group with organizational development training and exposure to existing business markets featuring utilization of their products from raw materials to finished products. This involves the development of business models for the women’s group to follow and increases their capacities to transact with businesses today. This goal fulfills the Drua’s desire to leave no man behind in the delivery of this project as we have witnessed from time and time again that many of Fiji’s rural women’s group have a basic entrepreneurial set up from inception and lack the support mechanisms or the basic capability to go for the long haul in their business set ups. In addition, this empowerment will help train the leaders in these women’s group in business risk management and possible diversification to ensure that the women remain relevant in the times they live in and that they do not invest all their “eggs in one basket”. Our rural women are creative and innovative and given the right condition and training they can develop parallel business diversification models utilizing raw materials and resources available to them. Deliver a community-wide environment resource management plan that is designed together with the women’s group and their respective community and which the entire community endorses for the sustainable practice and management of environment risks. Delivering this goal will be a multi-level collaboration between GTM Fiji, its World Bank partners, Fiji Government Ministry of Forests, Department of Environment and other stakeholders in this area including Conservation International Fiji.

GTM Fiji has been operating in fiji for over a decade and throughout this time we have travelled the length and breadth of the country delivering empowerment and capacity building to community-based women and youth groups. Our most recent engagements specifically on this regard was funded by World Bank through the ANSAB grant which saw us visiting women’s group in the rural highlands of Viti Levu and the maritime islands in the eastern Lau province. These visits allowed us to support the women in their entrepreneurial capacities and endeavors and also afforded us an insight into their daily struggles to keep things running, the various existing threats to their livelihoods and in turn their business ventures as well as to the opportunities that exist which we can support them fully.

GTM received funding to roll out the Capacity Building on Reducing Emission on Deforestation & Degradation (REDD+) for Local Communities (LCs) implemented by Asian Network For Sustainable Agriculture And Bio-resources (ANSAB). The beneficiaries of the project are the civil society organizations and local communities in fourteen (14) identified districts (“Tikinas”). GTM worked closely with the Ministry of Forests through the Divisional Forestry officers as well as with the Ministry of I-Taukei (indigenous) Affairs through the respective “Roko Tuis”of in the outlaying provinces. To see more information on GTM's collaboration with ANSAB, please click on the following link: http://redd.ansab.org.np/sub-projects/fiji/ For additional information on the work of ANSAB please click the following link: https://ansab.org.np/

Tebtebba is an indigenous peoples' organization and a research, education, policy advocacy and resource center from Philippines, working with indigenous peoples at all levels and areas. They seek the recognition, promotion and protection of indigenous peoples' rights and aspirations while building unions to uphold social and environmental justice and sustainability. Through Tebtebba, GTM was given a Sub Grant in mid 2019 to carry out Carbon Accounting Basic Awareness and Empowerment of indigenous peoples in six (6) selected rural communities that also includes field practical exercises with regards to the management of carbon emissions measurement and generally, learning the importance of their forest resources roles. This is a vital REDD+ project for Fiji as the country heads into implementing its REDD+ national program in the next 5 years. GTM foresee that this is a strength of theirs , which they can be further engaged in to teach and inspire rural communities youths to champion Participatory Community Based Carbon Accounting & Monitoring. GTM had also successfully translated the Training Manuals for this technical aspect of REDD+ in the indigenous (“I Taukei”) language for further requisite accreditation. For more information on the work of Tebtebba Foundation, please click on the following link: http://www.tebtebba.org/

IBSA is a coordinating mechanism among the three countries of India, Brazil and South Africa. Their multi ethnic and multicultural democracies, which are determined to contribute to the construction of a new international architecture, bring their voice together on global issues and deepen their ties in various areas IBSA is the funding body for the “Rocket Stove” program that seeks to assist in the control and reduction of carbon emissions in rural areas via the empowerment of rural women to utilize a sustainable method for fuel wood consumption. GTM, with few other local agencies, received funding through the United Nations Development Program - UNDP, as the Implementing Agency, to roll out this Rocket Stove Project in 14 Districts around Fiji. This IBSA Rocket Stove, is a perfect fit in the current Fiji REDD+ Readiness Programme, which has a positive roll out future during the actual ERP Programme in the next 5 years of REDD+ implementations. GTM is thus grateful to UNDP SGP for its trust to involve us as an executing agency for this very special women empowerment project, which had been turning heads at district (‘Tikina”) level, with extra orders from interested individuals. For More Information on the work of IBSA, please click on the following link: http://www.ibsa-trilateral.org