By TAGIMEUCIA KOROIVUKI
International volunteer organization Projects Abroad Fiji staff and volunteers visited Dratabu village to dig and plant a total of 11 gardens for village residents, as part of their Project day for June.
Projects Abroad Medical & Health Consultant Mr Rosan Lal believes this project is a need for the local villagers.
“Projects Abroad Nutrition Project volunteers conducted a survey in Dratabu village and we found out that majority of the people are unhealthy and their major challenge was to easily find nutritious food to eat,” he shared.
“Empowering them about the importance of nutritional food is one of our main objectives. By planting these gardens we are able to give them the opportunity to access nutrient dense foods (super foods) because they are eating food containing more carbohydrates and less macro-nutrients,” he added.
Dratabu Village resident Mrs Salanieta Viriviri expresses how grateful she is to Projects Abroad for making her aware of her health.
“I feel it is a big help because Projects Abroad went from door to door to take health check-ups which is a great need for us villagers who do not take our health seriously,” she enthused.
“When the Projects Abroad volunteer first came to my home and tested my sugar level, it was too high for the machine to read. So they advised me on what types of food to eat and how to control my sugar intake,” she added.
Dratabu Playgroup Supervisor Mrs Lavenia Kuracake notices the change in the children’s lunch at school.
“I have noticed the changes made by the parents particularly the mothers. The children at the playgroup are bringing sandwiches with brown bread and water to school every day,” she remarked.
A total of 32 volunteers participated in the Project day at Dratabu Village.