As we live, work and go about our normal daily routines, there are families who battle to secure positions, shelter, provide food on the table and pay for general living expenses. This hardship has been particularly challenging during this COVID-19 pandemic. The families which make up the Wainibuku Hart Community situated in Wanibuku Road, Nakasi, is one such group who are experiencing extreme hardship.
The Wainibuku Hart Community consists predominantly of single parents and widows. Our social committee deliberated and agreed that we would assist the community in the best way we could. Through our initial visitation to meet with the Nakasi community, the Erasito Team learnt that two of their main hardships was payment of rent arrears and over due accounts and, provision of materials required for their primary source of revenue.
Through discussions with the residents, we discovered that the majority of the families are headed by mothers and women who are breadwinners and providers of the family. With the COVID-19 pandemic, the community has struggled to maintain their livelihood. However, the hardship they experienced didn’t dampen their spirits as they turned to their skillful abilities for creating handicraft such as jewelry making, sewing, mats weaving and sulu design. The handicrafts have become a primary source of revenue.
Team Erasito decided that we would provide assistance through diversion of savings from the Company’s Late Fines Kitty (which the Staff generally used for the purchase of food for our monthly morning teas).
Upon our final visitation, we were welcomed with big, warm, Bula smiles and the children raced up to us as they welcomed us to their residences once again. The families had prepared a scrumptious morning tea with a variety of delicacies and we shared in the feast with laughter and a number of stories from the community. As we presented our monetary assistance to the pioneers of the Hart. The event was overwhelming but it was an extremely happy occasion for us all. We felt very fortunate to have been part of this gathering and witness such happiness and experience the heart filling occasion.
As the visitation was coming to an end, we took a final tour around the community. We bid our farewell promising to return with further support. And return we did, we personal contributions from the Team Erasito Staff which went towards the purchase of materials for their handicraft projects.
Author: Eroni Aisake
December 2020