Parents and caregivers of seriously ill or injured chil­dren can now stay without any charge at the Labasa Hospi­tal through the Ronald McDonald House programme.

But this is only eligible for those parents and caregivers who do not reside within the Labasa District zone. This comes after the Ron­ald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) Fiji opened its first Ronald McDonald House programme in Labasa on Tuesday, March 15.

The 11 bedroom fully furnished house provides communal space for guest families including a kitchen, dining area, children’s play area, bathrooms with hot wa­ter shower and laundry facilities.

The construction of the home be­gan at the beginning of last year but completion had been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

One of the first guest families to receive accommodation was Mere Disomini of Lagi, Dogotuki, Macu­ata who gave birth to her first child just a week ago. She was happy to be part of the opening of the house.

“I was being referred to Labasa hospital from the Lagi Health Cen­tre,” Ms Disomini said.

She said the facility allowed her to be close to her son.

RMHC Fiji chairman, Marc McEl­rath was grateful to the Ministry of Health and Medical Services for the partnership.