Shania Shayal Prasad 
Officer in Charge, Jeremiah Merekula.
A support network is needed in the country to enhance people-to-people communication and problem-sharing.
This comes as Lifeline Fiji confirms receiving an increasing number of people requesting counselling for various personal problems.
Officer in Charge, Jeremiah Merekula says that some issues that people have shared with call agents include financial constraints, relationship problems and other social issues.
Merekula says another avenue could be to have community leaders and faith-based organizations play a more influential role in helping people who need support.
“And we don’t have in Fiji; I would say that we don’t have support networks that are there that people can reach out to and just go through those things. And I would encourage churches, faith-based organizations, other communities, and faith-based communities in the villages to set up support nets where Fijians could reach out to and talk about these things.”
Empower Pacific Counselor Inosi Kinikini has also shared similar sentiments.
“We still have the stigma of not being able to share. I think that’s the main concern. We tend to keep issues and problems to ourselves. But we want people to know that there’s always help. There are people willing to listen.”
Kinikini says the small act of asking a person about their well-being can make a difference.
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