WHY THE CORAL COAST
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There are currently no rehabilitation or eye care provisions for adults and children within Korolevu-i-wai villages and surrounding settlements. Additionally to access any outpatient healthcare service, the person with the injury or disability must travel 1.5 to 2 hours (95 km) to Suva (where the closest vision/ophthalmic clinics can be found) or 30mins to 1 hour to Sigatoka Hospital that offers reduced services (17 km). Bus travel can cost between FJD$5-10 each way compared with the minimum Fijian wage of FJD$2.10 per hour. Subsequently a person seeking medical support sacrifices a days wage, and potentially also a carer’s wage, to travel and sit in a waiting room with the sometimes-added expense of paying for the appointment also. (Fiji Islands Bureau of Statistics, 2009).
The tragedy of this situation is that many physical, neurological, and vision related impairments that are amenable to rehabilitation, continue to impact on a person’s function and quality of life in a detrimental way. How would you see yourself in this picture, how often and how easily can you see a medical professional, and are in you a position to help someone else who is less fortunate? |
 One of the fourteen villages or settlemens in and around Korolevu-i-wai |