WFP Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific - 2016 SPRs RBB 2016 SPRs by country | Page 294

Standard Project Report 2016
Stories from the Field
In 2010, Senimini, a farmer from Koro Island in Fiji's Eastern Division, had a stroke which permanently affected his
ability to walk. Senimini's family relied on intensive subsistence farming to survive. After the incident, his wife Sera
started working the land, leaving the care of her husband to her 9- and 12- year-old grandchildren. Meanwhile
Senimini was registered in the national cash and food voucher programme administered under the Poverty Benefit
Scheme, one of the social protection programmes introduced by the Government of Fiji to combat poverty in the
country.
When Tropical Cyclone Winston hit Koro, Sera held Senimini for hours: “If we die, we die together,” she told him as
he pleaded for her to leave him behind and seek shelter somewhere safe. Their house turned into rubble but they
survived, pinned against debris that protected them from the full force of the cyclone. Senimini and Sera said the
Government response and the additional food assistance provided by WFP were a “blessing”. The complementary
support they received from WFP to purchase essential food supplies locally has helped give them peace of mind as
they slowly recover from the disaster and rebuild their lives.
Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands (FJ)
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Single Country IR-EMOP - 200952