IWA Charity Ball : Compain says if you visited CWM, it would bring even the bravest of us to tears

More than 470 guests gathered for the International Women’s Association (IWA) Charity Ball at the Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva with one clear purpose: to raise critical funds to improve care for women and children at the CWM Hospital by upgrading the Children’s and Maternity Hospital.

Addressing the packed ballroom, IWA President Judy Compain says the evening was about far more than elegance and celebration; it was a shared commitment to protect life at its most vulnerable.

She says all funds raised during the evening would go directly into the IWA fund to support ongoing and future projects at CWM, including the long-awaited renovation and upgrade of the Children’s Hospital.

She adds that this work is about safety at a time of maximum vulnerability and fear, creating spaces where women can give birth in dignity, and where children can heal protected from infection.

Compain says that funds raised at the event would also support the provision of safe sleeping cots or bassinets for maternity hospitals across Fiji and ensure that the IWA can respond immediately when essential equipment or supplies are urgently needed.

She says every newborn deserves a safe place to sleep, and every mother deserves peace of mind.

Compain says the IWA received approval in May last year to proceed with a full renovation of the CWM Children’s Hospital and has already begun critical improvements, including screening windows in children’s wards, improving ventilation, upgrading safety, and enhancing comfort for patients and families.

She says the project is currently awaiting final approval from the Minister for Health to continue, following a pause order issued after ceiling leaks were discovered at the CWM Antenatal Clinic.

She adds that independent engineers and consultants had confirmed the leaks were unrelated to any IWA work, reaffirming the Association’s confidence in the integrity of its projects and partners.

INSERT: Compain on press pause 7th Feb

Compain also highlighted the challenges the Association has faced in continuing its advocacy, saying that hospital conditions continue to deteriorate.

She says that if you visited CWM tomorrow, it would bring even the bravest of us to tears.

She says two years ago, many supporters helped raise $250,000 to replace the Children’s Hospital lift, which is essential for transporting sick children safely between floors and wards.

The IWA president says that the previous lift had been out of service for quite some time, and that the Ministry of Health advised the IWA a week after the funds were raised that the Ministry would replace the lift.

She says that two years later, the Children’s Hospital still does not have a functioning lift.

She says that over the past months, it had felt as though there had been an attempt to keep her and the IWA out of the CWM Children’s Hospital altogether.

She questioned why an organisation willing to assist, advocate for, and mobilise resources in support of the CWM Hospital is being treated as if it were the cause of so many of the hospital’s problems.

The evening also honoured the organisations and partners whose generosity has made life-saving improvements possible.

Compain expressed her heartfelt gratitude to all who support the IWA, saying that, because of their generosity, commitment, and belief in the IWA’s work, they continue to build something that truly matters: a safer, healthier future for Fiji’s women and children.