Mothers should be given the invaluable gift of time and attention today - Vuniwaqa

It is when we don't need our mothers anymore that they need us the most.

This is the message from the Minister for Women Mereseini Vuniwaqa as the country celebrates Mothers Day.

She says it is heartbreaking to see a growing number of mothers in the care of the State in our old‑age care facilities and also on the streets of our cities and towns.

Vuniwaqa says their stories bear the heartache of a bond lost when the child becomes materially independent or merely indifferent to the challenges of looking after their own mothers.

She says mothers should be given the invaluable gift of time and attention today and every day in tune with the endless gift of motherhood.

The Minister says today marks a special day for families around the world, a day to officially recognise the contribution of our Mothers in our lives and to society as a whole.

Vuniwaqa says we should let today be an awakening call for all Fijian children, both young and adult, to respect mothers and to give them that care and protection that they nurtured us with.

She says in celebrating this occasion we must also pay regard to those Mothers who may have lost their children and also to those Mothers who may have left us.

Vuniwaqa says we must also pay regard to the continuous call to make this world a better society for our mothers.