$900 Government Help A Blessing For Mother Of 6

A Lautoka mother of six chil­dren collected a total of $900 on Wednesday as part of the Government’s inflation mit­igation measures.

Makelesi Drau collected $180 each for five of her six children. She is yet to apply for the $180 cash assis­tance for her four-year-old child, Kelera Verevou.

Her five children are Wanni Val­entine, a Year Seven student of Jasper Williams Primary School, Mereseini Marama, a Year Five student of Lautoka Delana Pri­mary School, Epeli Drau, a Year Three student, Sereima Daveta­matia a Year Two student of Lau­toka Primary School and Temalesi Tavasere a kindergarten student at the Vunato Settlement Kinder­garten.

Receiving the cash assistance was a relief for 31-year-old Ms Drau, Vil­lage, and her family.

Her husband, Viliame Vuniivi, a farmer has been planting yaqona for the past couple of years at his home on the island of Koro.

The family previously resided on Koro Island, but Tropical Cyclone Winston damaged the family home in 2016 causing them to shift to Vu­nato Settlement.

Ms Drau said she felt happy when she went to collect the money last Wednesday.

She runs her own canteen at Vu­nato Settlement in Lautoka, where her family resides.

“I feel so elated being assisted by Government,” she said.

“With my canteen and my hus­band’s income I know that the funds are enough to help with my family’s needs, but with this extra assistance from Government, I can now buy for my children things they need.”

According to Education Minis­ter Rosy Akbar: “This Inflation Mitigation Measures will shield our vulnerable families, children, persons living with disability and our senior citizens from the rapid price increases in food and other essentials.”

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