The financial difficulties brought on by COVID-19 in 2020 made Viniana Tinai so fearful she started to save so she would have enough to send her daughter to school this year.
The 40-year-old woman of Dakuivula, Tailevu, said the pandemic was accompanied by so many uncertainties, she knew she had to save because nothing was predictable.
“I left my job in April because of COVID-19 and started farming and a small business to support myself and my daughter,” Ms Tinai said.
“Before I used to do school shopping before December, but this year since I have very little savings, I decided to do last-minute shopping because I thought the prices would drop.”
She said the income from her small business and savings allowed her to provide her daughter with all the necessary school supplies.
“My small bean selling business was enough to cater for our food and other expenses and from last year, my village created a single mother’s club where every week we had to give part of our income for savings to use during Christmas.”
She said using the Christmas party money for back to school shopping was worth it.