News

More families in need for food assistance

February 6, 2021 12:05 pm

Sashi Kiran

Non-government organization FRIEND Fiji says they’ve received several cases whereby parents are claiming they can only feed their children one meal per day.

Chief Executive, Sashi Kiran, says the majority of these Fijians are struggling to make ends meet due to the impacts of COVID-19 and the recent cyclones.

Kiran says their food bank which was established in May, last year has been providing food and other supplies to these affected families within the Lautoka/Nadi corridor.

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“A woman had called us, she had fallen sick. She called me on Sunday wanting food and it took us a while. We went to her house on Monday because she was ill. She was in an informal settlement and there was no food in the house. I walked in and there was actually no food in the house but a neighbor had given her a loaf of bread.”

Kiran adds their email is filled with messages from families still in need of assistance.

“I had visited a woman who had a grandmother, who used to sell sweets before. The daughter had to go to the hospital admitted carrying a small baby. For four days she did not feed the child. They do have a garden which they have mostly used. These are real stories that we’re seeing.”

As a member of the Fiji CSO Alliance, the NGO together with eight other organizations is working with different sectors to address these challenges.