James Bolabiu (centre) and Kenneth ZInck (right) at Vunivesi Village.

Over the past month the FRU Lottery Crew - made up of lottery director Kenneth Zinck, FRU senior operations oficer Aporosa Tuqovu and referee James Bolabiu -  have undertaken two important promotional trips to Savusavu and New Zealand. The following reports on these trips are from lottery director, Kenneth Zinck.

SAVUSAVU – 25-27 October, 2010

We started on Monday this week in Savusavu then on to Labasa and returned Wednesday. We sold tickets at Savusavu Town, Namale Resort, Daku Resort and Cousteau Resort.

We visited Wailevu East District School, All Saints Secondary School, Labasa College, Holy Family Secondary School and the Rugby Academy at All Saints Secondary School.

James Bolabiu is a star in the making and was a popular hit wherever we went. Girls, women and men all came out to greet him and have him autograph their wares including one ladies undies! One lady even offered her breast to James for him to sign on but ethics and modesty got the better of James and his entourage.

We forgot to buy grog (sevusevu) for presentation to the Tui Wailevu on our way from Savusavu so I asked the driver (Jo) if we could stop and buy grog at a village prior to the Tui Wailevu's village.

He said no problems and rang ahead to the village called Vunivesi. Lo and behold when we arrived there were women, children, young men, grandfathers, dogs, cats and everyone waiting to meet us and the tanoa already mixed.

This was not part of our program but sneakily organised by our driver. Such was the fame that James carried with us. We sat there and drank grog with this unscheduled village for another hour.

James Bolabiu stands between two fans from Holy Family Secondary School in Labasa.

The tour was very successful with a good number of tickets sold.

Description of trip - full of laughter, fun and joy.

NEW ZEALAND – 14-16 November, 2010

On Saturday 13th November 2010 the three FRU Lottery reps James Bolabiu, Aporosa Tuqovu and myself was hosted live on radio 531 PI in Auckland NZ.

Our host was Nemai Vucago and the radio program commenced at 7pm concluding at midnight. Program was in Fijian with a talkback show and listeners calling for songs as well as requesting FRU Lottery tickets.

The listenership of this radio station is 15,000 Fijians (this excludes Indo – Fijians) and the lines were jammed throughout the show with requests to talk to the lottery crew from Fiji.

We then went on to Wellington and were hosted by the Fijian Community there led by Save Daugunu and the First Secretary to the Fiji High Commission, Mere Tora.

The Fijian community there ordered another 100 books which were dispatched to them yesterday.

One thing I must say is the radio talkback show woke people up to our plight as a lottery project and created renewed vigour for our tickets.

Thanks to the Flying Fijians team manager Talemo Waqa for speaking live to the NZ audience from France.

Lottery Committees have been formed in Auckland and Wellington with a lottery account opened in Auckland. 

TO HELP FIJI RUGBY PREPARE FOR THE 2011 RUGBY WORLD CUP PURCHASE A LOTTERY TICKET ONLINE BY CLICKING HERE.

Earlier stories on FRU Lottery:

25 Oct, 2010 - Fiji Rugby lottery tickets online.