37-year-old Janifa Bibi who is a single mother looking after her two daughters aged 17 and 6 years is calling on fellow Fijians to come to her assistance to provide better living standards for her two children.
Bibi who lives in Kalekana Settlement just past Lami says life has been really tough for her and her two children, and she remains strong to ensure that they get the best however she feels it is time to make a plea for assistance.
She says they lack the basic needs in life.
They lack proper shelter and having roast chicken and fries for Christmas lunch will be a dream come true for her two daughters.
Through the trying circumstances, her 17-year-old daughter has just completed Year 8 and will go to Year 9 at the age of 18.
The three live in a one-room house that has holes in the roof, on the walls, and on the floor.
When there is torrential rain, Bibi and her two daughters only have a small area on the floor in the room to sleep as rainwater keeps gushing through the holes in the roof onto the mattress where the three normally sleep. Water also goes into the house through the holes on the floor.
An emotional Bibi says when it rains in the middle of the night, the daughters get a rude awakening as she quickly tries to put them in a dry area.
She says she feels sorry for her children and if a few people assist her in fixing their home, they will help her make life better for her two daughters.
They also have to turn off all the lights and power points and this affects her sewing business and studies of the two daughters at night.
Bibi also has psoriasis which is a skin disorder that causes skin cells to multiply up to 10 times faster than normal.
This makes the skin build up into bumpy red patches.
She mainly gets this on her legs and hands and cannot sew or even walk when she gets the red patches.
Bibi says she has tried to make ends meet and do things herself.
Through her struggling sewing business and $80 monthly allowance from the Social Welfare Ministry, she says she tries to provide for her children to go to school and look after household expenses.
She has tried to build another room on her own and has even mixed cement and built steps leading to her house but her financial struggles are hindering her to provide good shelter to her children.
Bibi is calling for people to assist.
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