Love, resilience and purpose: Suva mum recognised for disability advocacy

The tireless work of a Suva mother advocating for children with disabilities has earned recognition from the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Protection through a seed grant for her catering business.

Sonia Shainaaz, 30, of Nadawa in Nasinu, received the assistance to support her patron business, which she runs alongside caring for her 10-year-old daughter Aarna Sen, who has cerebral palsy.

"This startup will help me with my business and will support me financially through my catering orders," Ms Shainaaz told this masthead today.

The seed grant provided essential catering equipment including buffet chaffers, a kitchen bin, storage containers, a fryer, stove and pots set.

The mother also received a shipment of diapers from the United States for children with disabilities, which she will distribute this week as part of her social work.

Ms Shainaaz, who runs Fiji Flower Shop, is in the process of registering an NGO to help families with children who have cerebral palsy.

She is currently registering children and aims to have at least 50 registered before officially documenting the organisation.

"First of all, I want to register the kids so that I get the right information of what all their difficulties are, what their daily struggles are so that I have proper documentation," she said.

The NGO will initially focus on providing diapers and assistive devices to families.

Ms Shainaaz has been working closely with contacts in California who will help send more adult diapers once the documentation is complete.

She encourages stay-at-home mothers with disabled, autistic, or children needing diapers or mobility devices to register with her.

"Through my videos and social appearance, I have managed to get assistance from overseas," she said.

Ms Shainaaz also hires vocational students from special schools to assist with her catering business, creating employment opportunities for young people with disabilities.

"Kids who are not fully disabled and who go to a vocational school will assist me," she said.

Her social media presence has inspired many parents, with her videos reaching hundreds of thousands of viewers.