After bartering groceries in exchange for cupcakes – 41 year old Vasenai Lauta this morning sailed for Kadavu to distribute relief supplies to families affected by TC Haorld.

Lauta who runs the Na-i-Nuinui Trust, decided she had to do something after seeing the devastation on the island.

Vasenai Lauta had made up her mind to help the people of Kadavu after her son told her of the havoc TC Harold wreaked on her island home.

Knowing my son foe who he is and how terrified he was on the phone when he managed to get through to us that drew my attention. To feel how much damage TC Harold had done for the island, and then when every time we tried contacting them, we couldn’t get through. We just couldn’t sit, every thought was always on them.

Lauta used the “Barter for Better Fiji” platform asking people to trade groceries for cupcakes.

We decided to sacrifice our cupcakes, and we posted and the response was so great that in one night we were making about 400 cupcakes so that we could give to 30 people, 30 people that would barter with us on one day.

Through the help of the Commissioner Eastern’s office the Na-i-nuinui Trust Chairman Aporosa Qomaidavetalevu says there were able to identify the 63 families in Kadavu who are in desperate need of assistance.

We will be working with the Turaga ni Koro of each village and through the Tuiraga ni koro we’ll actually get the families in need in those villages and distribute the items that they need.

The Ministry of Transport also pitched in to provide an inter-island vessel to take the relief supplies across.