The Ministry of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation and St Vincent de Paul Homes signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to provide shelter for Fijians who do not have a home due to certain circumstances today (24/11/22).
St Vincent de Paul Home has been part of this service platform for years in collaboration with the Fijian Government.
Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation, Rosy Akbar, said that the St Vincent de Paul Home has been contracted for the professional management of the home for this fiscal year with the care for these residents. In the agreement, St Vincent de Paul Homes will receive $100,000 under the new Grants to Organisations Assisting Psycho-Social and Street Dwellers for the 2022-2023 fiscal year.
Minister Akbar said the Fijian Government has taken a holistic approach and has been consistently strengthening social welfare programmes that provide preventative and responsive to vulnerable families, street beggars and street dwellers with an emphasis on the implementation of strategies and programmes to reduce poverty and vulnerability in Fiji.
"The Grant to Organisations Assisting Psycho-Social and Street Dwellers is a new initiative, targeted to ensure that every citizen of Fiji has improved access to quality social services and livelihood activities."
“It is on this premise that the Government of the Republic of Fiji, through the Ministry of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation, is securing a budget allocation for the new Grant. The Ministry will form a partnership with Saint Vincent De Paul to administer service needs for the care of the vulnerable cohort,” she added.
Minister Akbar pleaded that everyone has to take responsibility for their vulnerable family members. While the facility may be a halfway home for the immediate solution, it is committed to collaborating with the Ministry and partners such as, non - government organisations, business partners, faith-based organisations and community members in tackling this social issue in our society.