For two months, single mother Seruwaia Tagilolo, 33, has had to stay away from her 12-year-old son due to the second wave of COVID-19.

Ensuring that his safety from the COVID-19 virus was paramount, Ms Tagilolo, a primary school teacher made the sacrifice by staying at her school quarters at Waimari Primary School in Rakiraki.

She described this as one of the hardest decisions she had to make during her voluntary work with the Ministry of Health and Medical Services.

Even though the distance from her school quarters was only a ten-minute walk from her parent’s home at Vatusekiyasawa Village, she would still not be able to physically be with her son Eremasi Dokonivalu.

Ms Tagilolo said the voluntary work dealt with the lives of human beings and that was what encouraged her to continue her work from April.

Commitment

She was based at the Ra Education Office.

She said she remained committed as she always had her son and her family at the back of her mind.

“I carried on with my voluntary work because what if this happened to my family, to my son, someone there would be assisting him and my family.

“People told me that I was risking my life, but I always kept in my mind that with God, everything is possible, I can fight this battle when I help someone and at the end of the day I am satisfied when I help people, I never once thought of giving up.

“Even when we did screening, Naria was a red zone, it was where the first case from Ra came from.”

Feedback:  nicolette.chambers@fijisun.com.fj