Rapi Ieremia and Friend
This
week’s Samoalive Personality of the Week
is Niuava Rapi Ieremia. Rapi was born
on the 4th of August in 1953. He is from the village of Vaisala and
Fogasavaii.
Niuava
Rapi Ieremia is presently the General Manager for M-C Pacific (Samoa) Limited;
an American Company with branches throughout the Pacific.
History
of School Days:
“I
was educated at Vaisala Primary School then at Leiififi Intermediate”. “I
spent two years at Samoa College then I went to Wellington College in New
Zealand”. Niuava Rapi Ieremia attended University of Auckland and gained an
MBA.
Main
highlights of your career:
“The
most enjoyable and but high pressure environment was during my MBA studies”.
“I also enjoyed teaching at the National University of Samoa and Polytechnic
and joining M-C Pacific to put theory into practice”.
Where
to from here:
“To
nurture, develop and build a successful company in wholesaling, distribution and
exporting and get my sons involved in it”. “To successfully grow and export
taro and other primary produce”.
Comments as Captain of Samoa cricket team:
CAPTAIN, Samoa National English Cricket Team for the Pacifica Cup to be
held in Auckland NZ from 1st to 10th February 2001.
This tournament is the FIRST for Pacific and developing countries
and is sponsored, coordinated and run by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
ICC is the controlling body of world cricket.
Other teams participating are… Tonga, Fiji, Cook Islands, Vanuatu,
Papua New Guinea, NZ Maoris, Solomon Islands.
The tournament is a prelude to the World Cup Cricket tournament in
2003 and will be used by the ICC as a guide to the strength of these developing
countries when the draw for the world cup in 2003 is finalised.
Eligibility rules for the tournament are very strict so that most of the
squad are from Samoa.
Our team is well prepared and we have a mix of experienced and
young players who should represent our country with pride. The team management are Seb Kolhase (ICC rep, President of
Samoa Cricket, Coach of the squad); Paul Meyer, Manager; Bob Barlow, Assistant
Manager.
My prediction is that Samoa has a better chance of winning a World Cup, or getting into the final of a World Cup in this sport than any other team sport we currently participate in (and that includes rugby)! So watch this space and support our English Cricket Team.