Around 100 people living with disabilities in Tailevu are set to benefit from new mobility equipment in a major boost to their independence and daily lives.
The support will be provided through the Mobility Devices for Fiji initiative, a community-led partnership between Fiji and Western Australia.
The initiative will provide wheelchairs, walkers, walking frames, crutches and other assistive devices to people who need them.
The shipment was initially expected to arrive on 31st July but has been delayed in transit and is now expected to arrive later this month.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Industries, Commerce, Business Development and Public Enterprises Manoa Kamikamica joined Federal Member for O'Connor in the Australian Parliament Rick Wilson and other partners at the Ex-Servicemen Hall near Cakobau Park in Nausori to acknowledge the initiative.
Kamikamica says he is confident the assistance will make a significant difference to the lives of those who receive the equipment.
The Fiji Disabled Peoples Federation, through its Tailevu South Branch, is helping identify beneficiaries and connect them with the mobility equipment.
The initiative was led by Pastor Joseva Raikoti with support from community volunteers, churches, businesses, service organisations and Rotary partners in Western Australia, who helped collect and prepare the equipment for shipment to Fiji.
The project has grown from long-standing links between Fiji and communities in Western Australia, particularly Albany, with relationships built through agriculture, horticulture and labour mobility programmes expanding into broader cultural, faith-based and community partnerships.
The ministry says the container arrives, the mobility equipment will be distributed to beneficiaries across Tailevu.
