The Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre (FWCC) spent over $450,000 to help members of the community and Government during the COVID pandemic.
While appearing as a guest on The Fiji Times online portal The Lens @177, FWCC co-ordinator Shamima Ali said at a time when the world was at a standstill, they as an organisation still had a job to do as violence against women increased greatly during this period.
She also said as an organisation which received international funding, they had gotten funding and received a request from founder and then CEO of the Foundation for Rural Integrated Enterprises and Development (FRIEND) Sashi Kiran. “She reached out to us and we formed the COVID Alliance,” she said.
This alliance was made of the Fiji Women’s Rights Movement, Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre (FWCC), Citizen’s Constitutional Forum (CCF), Social Empowerment and Education Program (SEEP) and also DIVA for Equality Fiji, and organisations like Sangam Fiji.
Ms Ali said Ms Kiran had identified that there was a great need for assistance, particularly in the health sector where it was most needed.
“People were dying, and people were isolated, there were borders and all things that people could not get food.
“We were given money from overseas, from some of our partners, for COVID response. And so, we had to use that money. We had about half a million dollars at the time. And we spent most of that, about $450,000, on providing things for the health sector.”
At the time, the money was used to provide about five maternity beds to Lautoka Hospital, oxygen cylinders, converting mini buses as hearses for the deceased, kidney dialysis and cancer treatment among others.
“And the other thing that we did was the telehealth line. Some of our staff from Labasa were stuck here. They couldn’t go back, so they were staying at one of our residences here.
“They ran the telehealth line with training from Sashi and another medical personnel, so they were running 17 lines,” Ms Ali said.
“We had to get 17 lap-top (computers) and 17 lines. So even that, we got involved with so there’s a whole lot of stuff and we rise up anytime, even with disasters and so on.”
