DAY 6: MEASLES OUTREACH AT MANONO

The SVSG Measles Outreach was greeted by one of the elderly village represetatives of Faleū Manono, Leiataua Lesā Setefano, and 15 other village leaders who are representatives of SVSG.  
 
It was a positive sign of community resilience and support during this difficult time for our people; and a reassurance that together, we can face any storm.
 
And such support is very much needed by our people at Manono, who continue to struggle physically and mentally not only in caring for the children been affected by the measles, but also in dealing with the grief from the loss of our precious children taken way too soon.
 
The mothers held on to their sick children with so much anxiety while the little ones reached out to them in their moments of pain.  It leaves an aching feeling in the heart just to witness such moments as we visited 6 affected families comprised of 16 households at Faleū and Salua Manono-uta.  SVSG assisted a total of 39 children and 47 adults during the Outreach at Manono-uta.
 
One of the grieving mothers is 25 year old Enite Lefeau, who is 5 months pregnant, and had just buried her 9 months old daughter. She has 2 surviving children ages 6 and 2 years old.  Enite shared with the SVSG Counselling Team on her anger and bitterness towards the whole situation.  “I don’t know who to blame, so I just vented out at my parents, my husband, even my surviving children.”  This is because when Enite’s 9 month old daughter was infected by the measles, Enite could not take care of her due to her pregnancy.  It was Enite’s mother that was tasked with the caring up to her daughter’s death.  “I only got to spend 2 hours with my daughter before she was buried, and I felt like I have been robbed of my right as a mother to care and to say goodbye to my daughter.”
 
And as the Outreach team visited the other families affected by the measles, we have to remain positive for the surviving children, as they too seemed all so lost.  As such, it was a relief to see the smiles on the young girls faces upon putting on their beautiful dresses courtesy of the Dress a Girl Around the World of NZ.
 
SVSG believes in hope; and that despite the catastrophe that our country is in at the moment, the sun will always shine.
 
Today, SVSG acknowledges the kind donation of $2,000 from Laulu Henry & Moana Westerlund of the Blue Bird Construction. Thank you also to Mrs. Georgina Lui, the Chair of the SVSG Board for the Hyundai van allocated to assist SVSG in reaching many more families affected by the measles.
 
To our Givealittle donors from all over the world, we pray for God’s blessings upon you and your families for your generous support.