Hard work and determination have been the greatest strength for 50-year-old Fane Cirimaitoga of Naselai village in Tailevu.
Ms Cirimaitoga said facing up to the challenge of raising her three children as a widow since 2008 has not been an easy battle.
Being unemployed at one stage of her life, today Ms Fane operates a tailoring business from her home and is able to send her two children for higher education at Fiji National University.
Sitting behind her singer sewing machine, with a wide smile on her face, Ms Fane recalls those days when she solely relied on the allowances from the Department of Social Welfare but now she has set herself free by simply turning her passion into a source of income generating for her family.
Ms Cirimaitoga is one of the 191 social welfare recipients, whose lives have been transformed through Government’s Welfare Graduation Programme. Coordinated by the Department of Social Welfare and National Centre for Small and Micro Enterprises Development (NCSMED), the programme provides skills training and startup capital to social welfare recipients, who are challenged to move from handed-out mentality to hands-up mentality.
“In 2008 when my husband passed away, I was unemployed and then social welfare department assisted me with $80 monthly allowances and $30 food voucher. This assistance helped me to send my children to school, today I am glad to see my eldest son working as an engineer, while the other two have progressed to higher education at the Fiji National University (FNU),” Ms Cirimaitoga said.
“In 2013, I had the opportunity to participate in the “Competency-based Economies through Formation of Entrepreneurs (CEFE) business training”, following which the social welfare assisted me with $2000 in buying a sewing machine and materials to setup a tailoring business. And since November last year, I am running this tailoring business which is proving to be a profitable venture for me and my family.”
While learning to sew her school uniforms at the age of 15, little did Ms Cirimaitoga know then that one day her passion will become the pathway for her independent livelihood.
“I only sew mosquito nets, pillow cases and kitchen wears most of the orders come from nearby villages. Each mosquito net is sold at $80 and just this week I have sold 5 of those nets and have got 6 new orders to sew the new ones. Through, my business I am able to folk in more than $250 a month that amounts to more than what I received as a welfare recipient.
“The decision to run my own business has worked in my favour. It has enabled me to use my skills and time wisely to earn income for my family. Currently, I am negotiating with a retailer in Nausori to buy my mosquito nets in wholesale.”
“I am thankful to the Department of Social Welfare and NCSMED for this great opportunity for my family to move out of poverty. The biggest lesson I have learnt as a widow is that if we have the determination and will to work hard, nothing will stand in our way to achieve success. I am proud that just like me, my children will also value determination and hardwork above everything else in life,” Ms Cirimaitoga added.
The Minister for Social Welfare, Women and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Jiko Luveni said that welfare to workfare strategy was essential in achieving Government’s overarching vision of “Reducing Poverty to a Negligible Level by 2014.”
“When people move from welfare to work, they begin to realize their capabilities to break free from dependency syndrome. They regain their self-esteem, confidence and they inspire others to step into pathways to become economically independent,” Dr Luveni said.
The total budgetary allocation for this programme is $500,000 and the recipients once assisted under the Welfare Graduation Programme are monitored for a period of six months before they are graduated or weaned off from the welfare safety net.
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