I am very thankful to the Sangam students for doing such a great job: Resident

It was an unusual morning for residents of Wailevu in Labasa when they witnessed a group of student nurses conducting a cleanup campaign in their community earlier this week.

The students started collecting rubbish along the main road before attending to the blocked drains in the area which comprised of 90 homes.

Resident, Kharul Nisha, 52, said she came out with her knife and helped the students in what she had termed as a “much needed action”.

“I am very happy that these students have taken the initiative to help us out because many times we have approached the authorities but no steps have been taken to address the issue,” Ms Nisha said.

The Year Three students of the Then India Sanmarga Ikya (TISI) Sangam College of Nursing and Healthcare Education in Labasa said this was a part of a unit (of study programme) they were doing this semester.

Decked in their tee shirts, pants, safety shoes and gloves, the 14 students ploughed through the blocked drains, picked up rubbish and even cut grass along the streets.

Their group leader, Ashleen Lata, said this was a part of their community profiling and they had identified that there were a lot of mosquitoes in the area.

“This is one of the major issues identified in the area and we found that this was because of the blocked drains, long grass and improper rubbish disposals,” Ms Lata said.

Another resident, Unaisi Disobua said: “I am very thankful to the Sangam students for doing such a great job and for not only advising us, but showing us how it is
done.”

Edited by Rusiate Mataika

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