People without jobs in Vatukoula are unable to feed their families and finding difficulty in sending their children to school.
It has also been revealed that children as young as two are going to bed hungry as parents watch them suffering.
Fijivillage spoke to mother of three, Ana Suraki of Vatukoula, who said they do not have any money to buy food and send their children to school.
Suraki said some parents have to watch their children crying for food.
“Sometimes the children don't have meals in the afternoon and we have to go to beg hungry for food. Clearly, we’re having difficulties nowadays because we can’t find money and with all the things going up nowadays – it’s very hard for us in Vatukoula.” Ana Suraki.
According to her, children have to walk as far as three kilometres to school without lunch. She said the only lunch they can afford is cassava and tea.
“Sometimes they walk to school in the morning and afternoon – no busfares and some with no lunch. Cassava with bele or tea with cassava because we plant cassava at home.” Ana Suraki.
Needy Vatukoula Students Provided With Meals
More than 60 students of Balata High School in Vatukoula are unable to attend classes daily and cannot bring lunch to school because their parents who are now unemployed cannot afford to send them to school.
School Vice Principal, Pusp Sharma said out of the 250 students, close to sixty students are not bringing lunch and are attending classes only once or twice a week.
Sharma said some of these students urgently need assistance.
The Vice Principal has also confirmed that they are talking with other students to help the needy students by sharing lunch and other items with them.
"Some students did not come to our school for one or two weeks. They were saying that they had a busfare problem and lunch. And this year we haven’t been so harsh on the fees. We have asked them to pay fees like $2 or $5 per week. Whatever they cannot afford because some of their parents are still not working but some students haven’t paid their fees. So we are still not that hard on the fees.The busfares are also a problem. Most of the time the students complain about the busfares." Pusp Sharma.
Another Secondary school in Vatukoula, Nielson High School has also confirmed that bus fares and bringing lunch to school is a major problem.
Vice Principal, Sera Lockington said students' parents who do not have jobs are facing a lot of difficulties.
"There really is a problem in Nielsen. Parents of students are still unemployed and many of them are still facing financial difficulty.Its very true sometimes some students come to school without lunch." Sera Lockington.
Meanwhile, about 30 students from Vatukoula Convent Primary are given breakfast and lunch every morning by the school teachers in an effort to encourage them to come to school everyday.
School headteacher, Ledua Niubalavu said many of these students come from families that do not even have money to put food on the table and the school gathers donation from other families and people abroad. He said with the money collected that buy the cheapest food like noodles, tuna and biscuits.
"Those who come without any lunch or breakfast – we don’t have a number. Sometimes we have more than ten. Sometimes we have less than that. In the past year we have assisted more than 20. I bought some stuff from the shops in Tavua – noodles, tuna and biscuits. So at lunch one of the teachers go and prepare lunch for the students – that’ll be tuna, noodles and it’ll go with biscuits. Not balanced, but that is what we’re trying to do to encourage the children to come instead of staying home with these excuses of no lunch." Ledua Niubalavu.
Save The Children Assists
Save the Children Fiji officials will be in Vatukoula on Monday to finalize the agreements with the schools so that they could disburse the money for the five week bus fare and lunch expense program.
Speaking to Fijivillage, chief executive officer Chandra Shekhar confirmed that this Vatukoula Assistance Program will be handled in two phases and the first phase of the project will cost $52,700 which will be shared among seven schools.
The 732 needy students who were identified will get their bus fares and lunch expenses for the next 25 days.
“On Monday, Save The Children officers will be in Vatukoula liaising with the schools to enter into some of the formal agreements which are required in such cases. When we dispense money. And we are very hopeful that before Friday the 13th $52,700 will be shared amongst seven schools for the first five-week busfare and lunch programme. This means 25 school days and this project, we would like to start on the 17th of June, whereby the children will start getting their busfares and lunch from the 17th of June for the next 25 school days.” Chandra Shekhar
Shekhar has assured students and parents that they are providing assistance and have asked the parents to contact the schools to find out if their children are part of the program.
“We are now right on the eve of starting the program and I’d like to assure the parents who have been suffering and the students that we are now getting to a stage where you will now directly get assistance. I am encouraging parents who are really in difficulty to go to the schools where your children are to liaise with the headteacher to ensure that the names of your children are in that listing. The names of the students who will be beneficiaries were left at the discretion of the head-teachers and principals. I hope that this little contribution through this Save The Children networking is able to bring some ease.” Chandra Shekhar
He added that the second phase of the project will be for another 25 school days which will cost around $60,000 and the money has been made available through the partnership of Save the Children New Zealand and New Zealand Aid. The seven schools that will be assisted are Toko Bhartiya School, Vatukoula Convent Primary School, Vatukoula Primary, Vatukoula Arya Samaj Primary School, Balata Primary School, Balata High School and Nilsen High School.
