The Prime Minister says 68 missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints left their bags and possessions behind in Kiribati, to get 11 Fijians back home.
Voreqe Bainimarama says our national carrier Fiji Airways organised a charter flight on board an A350 which safely carried 300 missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from Nadi to Utah in the United States over the weekend.
Bainimarama says before departing for the U.S Fiji Airways organised regional flights from across the Pacific to bring these missionaries to Nadi ahead of their trans-Pacific flight to Salt Lake City.
On the flight from Kiribati to Nadi 11 Fijians were able to fly back home to Fiji.
To cut the weight of cargo and allow these 11 Fijians to make it aboard 68 missionaries left their bags and possessions behind in Kiribati.
Bainimarama says thanks to their sacrifice, these Fijians are all safely back in Fiji where they will be reunited with their families after a mandatory two-week quarantine. He says this is a profound demonstration of what it means to put humanity first and what it means to have love and compassion for your fellow human beings.
Bainimarama says vinaka to all who helped bring these 11 Fijians home.
He says in the weeks and months to come, serious sacrifices may be demanded from all of us as long as we use compassion as our guiding principle, there is no challenge we the Fijian people cannot overcome.
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