Wading in the mud to get to the next village will now be a thing of the past for women from four villages on the island of Moturiki in Lomaiviti.
This, after the Minister for Rural and Maritime Development, Inia Seruiratu, visited the four villages of Naicabecabe, Nasauvuki, Navuti and Nasesara to check on the progress and implementation of the newly constructed footpath.
Measuring more than two kilometres, the footpath project, which cost around $40,000, was funded by the ministry under its community access roads, footpaths and footbridges (CARFF) program.
Naicabecabe Village women’s group leader Eleni Duvuniyasi said the footpath project would relieve a lot of burdens carried by mothers across the four villages on Moturiki for years.
“We used to really face a lot of challenges and difficulties in the past. Sometimes we would prefer carrying our children on our backs and swim across to the next village during high tide, so they could get safely to school without being infected by the deposits of the animal waste,” she said.
“But with the construction of this footpath, we are really happy because we have felt how this has helped us a lot in many ways, especially for the mothers as well in taking lunches for our children to school daily. We now have proper and safe access to get to school.”
Youth leader Tevita Vuki said they were thankful to the Government for the assistance.
“This project will not only help children a lot in getting safely to school, but the village elders as well, as they now have a safer way of getting to and from the other villages,” he said.
While speaking with the villagers, Mr Seruiratu reiterated that the intention of the Government was clear which was to ensure that every Fijian had the same level of access to Government’s services and assistance regardless of where they live in Fiji.
He also acknowledged the villagers for their commitment towards getting the project completed, considering the challenges they faced in getting the materials to the project site.
