'Big Story': The Tale of Young Street Dwellwers in Capital City

Lack of family support is one of the contributing factors that causes many young people to live on the streets.

This was revealed by the director of Aruka Fiji, Inoke Drauna, the founder of the organisation that had set out a platform to assist all needy widows and abandoned teens in the country.

Mr Drauna said many were driven to the streets for a lot of reasons, such as financial gain, lack of family support, or dealing with a personal phase of maybe mental health instability.

“But, at the end of the day, some do it not to continue burdening others or find a solution to survive on their own,” Mr Drauna said.

“It’s not ideal, but given that many of these young women are at ease doing so, they hang out mostly with their peers, and however, they need support.”

A boy stops a vehicle and begs for money in Suva. Photo: Ronald Kumar

Approaches

Mr Drauna said Aruka’s vision was “to empower and improve the livelihoods of homeless children, sex workers, and the destitute through appropriate and alternative assistance.

“We had not only been doing profiles but also hearing the cries and concerns of our brothers and sisters, hence journeying with them through their dark times and personal struggles with mental health or addiction, hence always being ready to provide empathetic services.

This is whether it is the provision of sanitary packs for women, warm clothing, or warm meals during those cold and rainy seasons,” he said.

Future plans

Mr Drauna said they planned to continue to work with collaborative partners for remote or community project-based work.

He dreams to set up a centre for our operations and continue the technical support for other organisations.

That will enhance peace work and formulate a declaration of peace and sensation of war (DPCW) a document for Fiji.

The organisations hope to expand to other regions where many are for our mission, which is “to restore hope to the homeless children, sex workers, and the destitute that have been affected by poverty, abuse, and violence.”

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