Instil love and respect for elders in children, parents and guardians urged.

There are currently 139 children in homes under State care and 124 elderly persons in old age homes in Fiji as of now.

This was revealed by Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation Mereseini Vuniwaqa during the International Day of Families celebration at St. Teresa College in Bemana in Nadroga yesterday.

She said: “These numbers are very large for a country like ours, and it poses a question on whether we are conserving the value of families enough to be there for the vulnerable members of our family at all times.

“As we speak, there are 139 children in homes under the state and 124 elderly persons in old age homes.”

The minister encouraged parents to embed good morals to their children.

“Instil in your children the respect the love and respect for elders, it is too important that you keep your children free from abuse and violence and give them a memorable childhood to look back at when they grow older and treat you with the same love that you treated them with.

Other Government departments like the Immigration, Police, REACH and Legal Aid were present to offer services to the community of Bemana.

The International Day of Families is observed on May 15 annually.

Services

Meanwhile, Villagers of Bemana in Nadroga have applauded government for bringing government services to their doorstep.

Ana Bosi of Tonuve village in Bemana said she was grateful to the government for this initiative.

“This is the first time for us to also have this International Day of Families celebrated here, and we are honoured to be part of this and especially bring the nearby villages together.

“This is also a chance for us to take advantage of the government department and the services they are offering, since it is hard for us to get excess to them because of our geographical location,” said Ms Bosi.

Ratu Apenisa Navunisalevu, 53, said: “This a good opportunity for everyone here, especially the children and the importance of this celebration in our different families.

“The importance of upbringing of children, the importance of how a family plays in a child’s life, it has indeed been very encouraging and looking at the way we have turn in numbers today, this has been a success and hopefully most families have benefitted from this.”

Edited by Naisa Koroi

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