AN emotionally-scarred father is struggling to make a living and meet the demands of solo parenting four children, his family life story as fragile as the shelter his children call home.
Eremasi Kunikoro, 32, is an out-of-work young man faced with the daunting daily challenge of providing for his children on scant income and at the same time tending to a bedridden son who requires almost round-the clock-attention.
At Nadelei Koro Naba Dua, Vatukoula, Mr Kunikoro and his children live in little makeshift shelters made of tarpaulin roof and grass reed walls.
The father of seven said he settled in the area because he had nowhere to go after losing his job late last year.
The precariousness of his family situation is shared in the loss of a son in 2011 to blood sepsis and the separation from his wife and two children in 2010 because she was diagnosed with brain tumor and had to relocate to Lautoka for treatment.
An aspiring beekeeper, he said the floods last year and damage caused by Cyclone Evan destroyed the farm he was working on.
Looking at the continuous onslaught of bad luck, the Lomaiviti man maintains his spirits and looks at his life as a test of faith.
"Maybe God is trying to teach me something," he offered.
"All I can do right now is pray for help. I have to be resilient. I have to keep believing that one day things will get better."