CHANDRA Watis old and dilapidated home echoes the frustrations and struggle she has endured over the decades. The 69-year-old widow has been looking after her mentally-challenged son, Ramendra Kumar, for about 30 years, and with advancing age she has run out of energy and needs help. They live alone at Etatoko settlement, less than two kilometres from Ba Town, in a home that does not have toilet facilities. According to Mrs Wati, they survive on the $30 monthly food voucher provided by the Social Welfare Department. She claims her son, 45, gets beaten up by neighbours for soiling their compound. My husband died more than 20 years ago and we do not have money to repair our home, she said. We survive on what Social Welfare gives us. That has kept us alive until today. My son is mentally-challenged and most times he doesnt want to wear clothes and its difficult to control him. Social Welfare permanent secretary Dr Josefa Koroivueta they were liaising with the Housing and Health ministries for their assistance on the matter Other needs such as housing and health will have to be referred to the relevant stakeholders and our officers are working on it. The family is also entitled to monthly allowance of $60, he added. At the moment they have not yet taken out the allowance of $60 for this month as it is still in the bank. Our officers have been advised to look at this case and assist in preparing their application. fijitimes/story.aspx?id=251316
Posted on: Fri, 15 Nov 2013 00:12:59 +0000
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