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On 17 March, 2020, I received an email from the Assistant of Director Social (Ms. Ela Tukutukulevu) and on the 18 March I received a call and text message from Senior Welfare Officer Residential Laisa Namela, requesting all Home Managers around Fiji to attend on the next day (20 March) an urgent meeting conducted by the Madam Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation, the Honorable Mereseini Vuniwaqa. The meeting was held at Level 5 of the Civic Towers in Suva.
She addressed us about the need and importance of preparing the entire residential homes to this deadly disease, the Coronavirus or COVID-19. We have had a good discussion in that meeting, and we were able to prepare rules and regulations to be followed in all the residential homes around Fiji. Here are some of the things we discuss:
No visitors – local and overseas;
Treat flu as Corona Virus and isolate the children who present signs of flu in the Isolation Room;
Use Janola as disinfectant;
Practice good personal health habits - sanitation and hygiene at all times;
and Have a staff station – staff to take off clothes worn from their home, change and practice 20 seconds hand washing before coming inside the Children’s Home.
Even though it was a tough decision to make, especially where we will not allow any visitor or donor to visit the home, life is more important than anything else.
On 20 March, 2020, I called all the boys and key workers and their family members for a meeting and relayed to them all that were discussed in the meeting in Suva. They all agreed and supported the directives, we then collectively able to prepare our own rules to follow in the home. We also prepared a program for all to follow during this lockdown period and I can see that the boys understood all that is going on and everyone in the home took head of the rules and stayed home. On the next day, I led a team to town to buy all the groceries, detergents that are needed during this lockdown period and bought a chain to hang across our main gate to stop all the vehicles coming to the home.
Now that boys are healthy, nobody is sick and we are using all the resources we still have to survive through this crucial time.
Last page is our daily program during this Lockdown period:
Daily Program During this Lockdown Period
Holiday (Monday – Friday)
6.00am - Wakeup 6.30am - Devotion
6.45am - Special Duties 7.30am - Breakfast
8.00am - Devotion: Rev. Wame Boselawa share God’s word
8.30am - Community work
1. Green House
2. Gardening /Cleaning
3. Bee Farming
10.30am - Leisure time 12.30pm -Bath
1.00pm - Lunch 1.30pm - Sleep
2.30pm - Leisure time (PS/Laptops)
4.00pm - Special Duties/Community work
1. Green House
2. Gardening /Cleaning
3. Bee Farming
5.00pm - Bath/ Washing of Cloths. 6.00pm - Devotion
6.30pm - Dinner
7.00pm - Prep Time (Monday, Tuesday & Thursday)
Movies (Wednesday)
Social Night (Friday)
10.30pm- Lights off – Bedtime
