Bula vinaka everyone, Last weekend I drove to the carwash in Nadawa, only to find it closed. The place has recently become a target for police attention because of alleged illegal activities in the vicinity.
I was told by the operators that when the electricity bill went up, the carwash had little choice but to increase their prices. A general wash that previously cost $15 went up by another $10 to $25.
For many customers, that was simply too much, and the business lost a good number of them. So, I headed to another carwash at the back of a service station in Laucala Beach Estate. I was told that what used to cost $15 had also gone up to $25.
As I waited, a well-known architect arrived with a stockbroker, and the two men chatted while their cars were being washed. I joined them in conversation.
Our discussion soon drifted from how Fiji faces a severe non-communicable disease (NCD) crisis, with cardiovascular disease (including heart attacks) remaining the country’s biggest killer and diabetes driving an alarming rate of 3 to 5 lower-limb amputations daily (roughly one every 8 to 12 hours), to the rising cost of living and the growing pressure families are facing as they try to make ends meet.
The conversation was a reminder that behind every increase in the price of fuel, electricity, food, transport or services is a family trying to stretch an already tight household budget.
While for some, an extra $10 may seem manageable, for others, it could mean a loaf of bread, a few vegetables, bus fare, school expenses or something needed at home. When the gentlemen left, I turned my attention to the two women who were busy washing cars.
Their conversation brought home another side of the economic struggle — the importance of women earning an income to keep their families going. As they worked, they shared their personal stories with me. Both women said their husbands had left home, leaving them to fend for their children.
Car washing is hard work at the best of times, but it is particularly difficult for women during this cold season and more so for young mothers. One of the women had only recently recovered from illness. The other has a six-month-old baby at home, being looked after by her mother while she works.
Both women were working because they had families to support and even though it was tough they still had to turn up. And that, for me, was an eye opener from my visit to the carwash. We often talk about the cost of living in terms of statistics, inflation rates and household spending.
But the real story is found in places like this where people work hard to earn $5.30 an hour for their children. It is in the mother leaving her six-month-old baby with her own mother so she can earn a day’s income.
It is in the woman returning to work after recovering from illness because her children still need food and school expenses paid. It is in the family deciding whether to spend $25 washing the car or use that money for something more important.
These are the everyday calculations many Fijian families are making today. For households already struggling, every price increase adds another layer of pressure.
And while some people can absorb a $10 increase without much thought, there are families for whom $10 matters enormously. The two women at the carwash show that behind every price tag is a human story.
It is usually a story of pain, hard work, struggles and sacrifice. Sometimes, it is a story of survival. And often, it is a story of mothers doing whatever work they can find to put food on the table and keep their families moving forward during these hard times.
So, the next time we complain, spare a thought for those who have no room left in their budgets to absorb another increase. For many families, there is simply nowhere else to cut. That is the reality of the cost-of-living struggle in Fiji today.
Food for thought everyone and spend wisely this weekend, but even better help someone you can!
