The wellbeing of women in our villages is often forgotten.
This was the message of Nacula district spokeswoman Lavenia Naivalu during a celebration held over two days.
She said through the support of Oarsman Bay Lodge, the community was able to hold its first ever Pinktober event.
“We’ve had a number of deaths from breast cancer and it was sad to realise that we had no awareness on the disease despite losing our women to it,” she said.
“And this is a prime example of the wellbeing of our women being often overlooked.
“So this year, we decided to hold a small celebration first with a church service on Sunday and then with an awareness workshop with our medical officer.
“From the workshop alone, it was clear that our women had a lot of questions about their health and they wanted to learn more about this disease.
“We were very happy with the reception and it was encouraging their learning spilled over to other diseases that affected women.”
She said it was important that women, especially in rural communities, had access to this important life-saving information that was readily available to their urban counterparts.
“With more awareness and education, I believe, we can save our rural women’s lives.
“We can make their livelihoods better and most importantly, keep them healthy.
“They are an integral part of our households so their needs and health should never be ignored or put aside.”
Ms Naivalu added she hoped to expand their awareness workshops to the six villages and two settlements within the Nacula district.
