Sisters in caregiving venture
“There are only four kinds of people in the world. Those who have been caregivers. Those who are currently caregivers. Those who will be caregivers, and those who will need a caregiver.”
Attributed to former U.S. First Lady Rosalyn Carter, those words were again shared by Permanent Secretary for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation Eseta Nadakuitavuki when she officially opened Mauri Professional Caregiving Institute in Suva.
“To the three directors of the business, through this venture, you have not only accomplished a milestone achievement in the successful setting up of the institution, but you are partnering with government in the empowerment of women by providing them with training opportunities which can open career pathways, especially for those who wish to pursue employment as caregivers in the local and international job market,” Ms Nadakuitavuki said.
Mauri Professional Caregiving Institute is Suva’s latest offering for Fijians interested in learning the caregiving trade.
Founded by three sisters Annie Gukisuva, Lisa Francis and Agatha Furivai, Mauri the institute is still in the process of getting the necessary approvals from the Higher Education Commission – Fiji, the oversight authority for higher education institutions.
Mauri’s establishment is indicative of the growing demand for caregivers in Fiji and overseas.
“One of us is a professional caregiver and she’s seen the need for more caregivers. And because she’s overseas, she’s always challenging us here in Fiji to organise ourselves to help more people to get that professional caregiving and what we are trying to do now is to reach out to those who don’t have access to this kind of learning centers for them to come forward for us to help them regardless of where they live across Fiji,” said Ms Furivai, who has been designated spokesperson for the sisters in her capacity as the eldest of the three.
“So we decided that this will be our way of helping the community and we hope that it will inspire more people who have left school early and have been sitting on the fence trying to figure out whether they will do and especially those who would like to make a living out of caregiving,” she said.
Unlike its peers in the market, Mauri has stringent rules for intakes.
“Our intention is not only to train them but to help them move out of the training into the work environment. So we’re also looking to economic sustainability, economic independence of those we train. And that’s one of the reasons our criteria is not easy to meet because we are community family-based,” said Ms Furivai.
“So you don’t apply like any other institution that you can just come in because you have the money. We need community leaders’ consent, we need cultural leaders’ consent, we need spousal consent, because our processes are not just to stay in the learning classroom. So that is why we feel this is very important and also for our Rotuman community to encourage them to help their families here as well. So regardless where they go, we need them to always reach back to our communities.”
The sisters have in place strategic alliances with local and overseas parties who will be part of the machinery of their service delivery – from other local caregiving institutions, who will take on their students while Mauri awaits HECF validation and, through Ms Francis who is a professional caregiver in Australia, access to the industry in Australia.
In its effort to reach out mostly to women, Mauri Caregiving Institute has been seen as another milestone achievement for the promotion of gender equality in Fiji’s economic landscape.
“In Fiji women’s participation in the formal economy remains significantly lower than men. Fijian women make up only 34 per cent of the labour force in Fiji’s economy. Although preferences to join the workforce and to advance within a career may vary, according to Fijian women, traditional cultural and gender norms pertaining to women’s roles and responsibilities for domestic and unpaid care work are generally the source of their limited engagement in the labour force,” Ms Nadakuitavuki said.
“The Fijian economy has also evolved over the years, with government implementing support mechanisms to encourage small and medium enterprises or SME, but not forgetting the micro, small and medium enterprise or MSME. A testament of this commitment we are witnessing today- the launching of Mauri Professional Caregiving Institute.”
By DIONISIA TABUREGUCI
17 October, 2023, 5:00 pm
