Following many years of struggle and hardship, the people of Soso village in Kadavu who always fear crossing the river in the village will have a proper bridge.
This has been made possible through the help of Sydney resident Lois Tanumi who comes from Soso.
64-year-old Tanumi who was born in Kadavu but has lived nearly 40 years of her life in Australia said growing up in Soso village and going through this experience motivated her to build a bridge for the people in the village.
Tanumi said she has heard a lot of stories about near tragic accidents of many children who have fallen over the tree trunk.
For many years, women and children have had to cross the river when they go to school or the medical centre.
There was one story in particular of a 2-year-old boy of Soso village which gave her a reason to look for the funding and build the new bridge.
Tanumi was able to raise a total of 39,000 Australian dollars through friends, family and work colleagues in Australia.
Tanumi said the bridge is a three sectional structure which will be completed on the 13th of this month and will then be transported by truck from Lautoka to the Suva wharf and shipped to Soso in Kadavu.
She said that she expects nothing more than happiness from her village members when she goes to witness the installment of the bridge on the 20th of this month which will be erected by the men of the village themselves.
Stay tuned for the latest news on our radio stations