A 70-YEAR-OLD Delailasakau villager hopes the $90 she receives from the Social Welfare Department next month will be enough to send her grandson to school.
Roluisa Rodalau said she was facing a lot of challenges taking care of her 18-year-old grandson after his parents separated when he was born.
He is a Year 13 boarder at Namosi Secondary School.
Ms Rodalau said before COVID-19 hit the country, she earned enough from selling produce such as dalo, rourou and ota (wild ferns) at the Suva Municipal Market to support him.
She said a huge decrease in demand had forced her to slash dalo prices from $30 to $10 a bundle.
“I leave home at about 6am every Friday to sell my produce at the market.
“Before COVID-19 I would take 15 bundles of dalo to sell,” Ms Rodalau said.
“Today, I only manage to sell five bundles at $10 each because people can’t afford to buy them for $30 now.
“With school coming up, I really don’t know where to get money from because whatever little money I’ve earned is used to buy basic food items.”
Ms Rodalau said she would need close to $400 to prepare her grandson for school.
“We need to pay dorm fees of $150 and then I need to prepare his toiletries and other stuff.
“The only option I have is to wait for the $90 from Social Welfare next month, I will use that to buy some things my grandson needs for school.
“Hopefully, people will buy dalo this weekend so that I can have some money to prepare my grandson.”
Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama announced last Sunday that Year 12 and 13 students would resume classes on June 30.
Education Minister Rosy Akbar said parents who had lost their jobs or were on reduced income because of COVID-19 could apply for the bus fare subsidy.
When quizzed on whether Government would provide support in terms of meals at school during a press conference last Sunday, Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said parents who were unemployed as a result of the pandemic could access $220 a fortnight from the Fiji National Provident Fund.
