A Meal A Day For Mother And Daughter

A 56 -year-old market vendor at Savusavu market survives on one meal per day with her daughter during this COVID-19 pandemic.

Maria Campbell, sells seafood at the market to help her and her daughter’s basic needs after her divorce 18 years ago.

Ms Campbell said when her daughter who worked at a hotel lost her job due to the hotel’s temporary closure, they began to face a lot of difficulties in financially managing their home.

She said two weeks ago, she made a weekly income of $30 which was the lowest she had ever earned.

“With an earning like $30, it’s very hard to pay electricity, water and stall fees every month,” she said.

This led to a situation where both mother and daughter survived on one cup of tea for breakfast and lunch.

“We only had dinner when there was enough food, that was it”.

She said on most occasions she would walk to the market from her residence in Nakama to save money.

Ms Campbell mentioned that poor weather was another factor that disturbed her supply chain and because of this her sales suffered major blows.

“If possible the government could provide us with some assistance so that we could sustain our daily livelihood,” she said.

Ms Campbell said: “If you get an opportunity to do some ordinary job, do it as no job is small during this time,” she said.

Edited by Losirene Lacanivalu

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