Mereoni Tuvoululu, 79, was one of the happiest people at Keiyasi, Navosa, yesterday.

For more than 50 years she dreamed of a fully-fledged hospital which could treat them, instead of travelling to the Sigatoka Hospital.

Yesterday she watched Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama perform the groundbreaking ceremony for the new $30 million state-of-the-art sub-divisional hospital at Keiyasi.

“Today I just want to thank God for this day and also this Government. It has always

been my dream to see this day before I am called to rest. Pregnant women of our village are blessed once the construction of this hospital is completed,” she added.

“This is a dream come true for me because it has been decades now that we women in this province have been crying for the construction of a new hospital that will ease the access of maternity services to us, we are so blessed,” she added.

Originally from Keiyasi Village, Ms Tuvoululu then shared her challenging experiences she had to endure when she gave birth to her six children.

“It was really hard during my early days as a mother, we had to travel more than an hour on a bumpy and gravel road to access the nearest hospital which was in Sigatoka, sometimes days before our due dates we had to go and wait at a village near to the hospital,” she added.

Ms Tuvoululu said past governments had been promising a new hospital in Keiyasi for decades but nothing was done.

“Now I have 10 grandchildren and I am happy to see that my grandchildren and the generation to come will have access to standard medical services,” she added.

Her sister in law, an emotional 71-year-old Vivisila Nayani said she had accompanied Ms Tuvoululu to witness the starting of a new era for the people of Navosa.

“Today I just want to thank God for this day and also this Government, it has always been my dream to see this day before I am called to rest, pregnant women of our village are blessed once the construction of this hospital is completed,” she added.

Mr Bainimarama said it was expected to be constructed within 18 months and would accommodate 40 staff and service close to 10,000 people living within the Nadroga/Navosa Province.

He said the new hospital was expected to provide specialiSed treatments, X-rays, ultrasounds, maternity services, pharmacy services and laboratory testing.

Edited by Naisa Koroi

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