Caption: Minister for Rural and Maritime Development and Disaster Management Hon. Sakiasi Ditoka speaks with Mr. Vimlesh Kumar at their Naikabula, Lautoka home on Monday.
SUVA – Minister for Rural and Maritime Development and Disaster Management Hon. Sakiasi Ditoka visited a family of Naikabula, Lautoka on Monday, whose four-bedroom home was damaged by a terrible incident last Saturday afternoon.
Father-of-two Mr. Vimlesh Kumar is still counting his lucky stars after his two children, Krishan, 16, and Sakshi, 7, survived a near-miss incident when a tree fell on their home, and caused partial damages.
“We have been living in this house for more than 40 years and this is the first time such an incident has ever happened to us. It was around 3.30pm last Saturday, I left home to go do some shopping in town, while my wife was also away at work. My two children were playing in one of the rooms in the house. At around 4pm, a strong wind came so my son ran to close all the windows, while my daughter followed him to the passage of our living room. It was during this time that the incident happened,” Mr Kumar recalled.
“They were so lucky they went out of that room. When I came home, I was relieved when I saw them standing outside. I hope Government will help us. I am very thankful nothing happened to my kids. Our house can be replaced but my kids only have one life,” added the 43-year-old.
Yesterday, Hon. Ditoka visited the family to see how the Ministry could assist the family in whatever way possible.
“We will be working with other government agencies and departments to help the Kumar family back on their feet,” Hon. Ditoka said.
The Ministry’s team also assisted the Kumar family with food ration and tarpaulin to help them as they recover from this unfortunate incident.
Caption: Minister for Rural and Maritime Development and Disaster Management Hon. Sakiasi Ditoka inspects the four-bedroom residence of the Kumar family which was damaged by a fallen tree over the weekend.
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The Ministry of Rural and Maritime Development and Disaster Management is responsible for implementing and coordinating development strategies that bring Fijians living in rural and maritime regions the same level of access to essential services and economic opportunities as anywhere else in the country. We coordinate and implement the Fiji Government’s rural and maritime development initiatives with a mission to empower Fiji’s rural sector. We also spearhead disaster risk reduction initiatives at national and sub-national level including disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. We have offices for each of Fiji’s 14 provinces including Rotuma, leading the Fiji Government’s rural development and disaster risk management operations.
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