Positive Lifestyle Programme Comes to the Pacific by Major Beth Campkin
Since 2021, it has been envisioned that The Salvation Army Positive Lifestyle Programme (PLP) would be available to our Pacific nations. As part of the Community Ministries work in Fiji, Major Beth Campkin, divisional Community Ministries secretary, Fiji Division and Carolyn Smith, the New Zealand programme facilitation coordinator, have been working together to bring this dream to fruition.
In 2023, a group of six Fijian, Rotuman and Fijian of Indian heritage officers and staff attended the first-ever group PLP sessions, once a week for eight weeks. During their time together, the participants learnt valuable, life-changing lessons about themselves and helped shape the tone, flavour and context that being Pacific brings to the material.
Emotions such as anger, low self-esteem, loneliness, grief and loss affect everybody to varying degrees. People who attend the programme can bring positive change by working on these issues and looking at areas such as assertiveness, self-esteem, resilience, stress management and goal setting. The daily change in attendees, and anyone else who chooses to complete the course, is and will be astounding.
A longer part of this vision is that Beth will become the PLP trainer of facilitators in the Pacific. To that end, Carolyn will attend the first cohorts of training in Fiji to support Beth and authorise her as a PLP trainer.
In April 2024, 13 officers and staff who represented the different ethnicities of Fijian, Rabian, Fijian of Indian heritage, Rotuman and Tongan came together in Suva at the School for Officer Training to train as the Pacific’s first accredited PLP individual facilitators. The attendees have a vast range of experiences and ministries, as they connect with their communities, resource the division and work in corps, court and Corrections, Family Care Centres, drug and alcohol units and chaplaincy in schools and airports across Fiji and Tonga.
In July, after each spending time taking a client through the individual programme, they will return to Suva and train as the first accredited Pacific PLP group facilitators.
In 2025, there are plans to expand the trainings further and have more facilitators across the Pacific with its various countries and expressions joining the accredited facilitation team, so that the reach of PLP becomes embedded across The Salvation Army in Fiji, Tonga and Samoa as a life-changing journey for anyone and everyone.
The team of Pacific facilitators firmly believe that PLP is inspired by God and that PLP will change many lives as individuals, families, churches and communities come together to discover that they can make positive changes in their personal lives that impact everyone around them for the better.
The first ever Pacific Group PLP graduates
(Back row L-R) Majors Beth Campkin, Limaina Turaga, Louisa Raico and Litiana Cola
(Front row L-R) Suwan Jit, Lieutenant Maritina Yavala, Captain Varea Rika
The first Pacific PLP Individual Facilitators Training Cohort 2024
(Standing L – R)
Major Limaina Turaga, Major Tauan Cheer, Captain Varea Rika, Major Beth Campkin, Major Asena Sifa, Carolyn Smith, Captain Seru Napolioni, Major Jeremaia Naviko and Major Salesi Temo
(Seated L – R)
Suwan Jit, Lieutenant Maritina Yavala, Major Litiana Cola, Major Taina Temo, Tamari Curubula and Major Louisa Raico
