It takes passion and a lot of patience to be a good volunteer says one of our very own who deserves to be acknowledged for his self-less work with people living with physical disabilities in the community. Filimone Namana (a youth of Newton Church, Suva) was last year awarded the Volunteer of the Year National Category Award. There were a number of nominees for the award but Filimone’s nomination stood out because of his passion and commitment to volunteering. Fili is a Community Rehabilitation Assistant (CRA) at the Tamavua National Rehabilitation Hospital under the Fiji Volunteer Service. He is a graduate of the Fiji National University with a Certificate in Community Disability and Rehabilitation. He said the opportunity for him to volunteer for the past two years as a CRA was something that he really enjoyed doing and it was his way of giving back to the community. He is not only responsible for providing support to individuals who are living with disabilities both in the Hospital and in the community but also educating care givers, family members and community members on ways of caring and interacting with people living with disabilities that should assist with the individual’s recovery. His community visits cover the greater Suva area, Naboro, the Suva to Nausori corridor, Rewa and Waimaro.The CRA co-ordinator, Maraia Matakibau admires Filimoni’s passion and commitment stating that during each community visit he must carry with him all that is necessary for the conducting the exercise. This means that he has to take such items as; sand bags, dun bells and push up blocks and if there is no transport available than Filimoni would have to take the Public bus to go as far as Waimaro. Mrs Matakibau added that Fili sometimes goes out in the rain with his required tools for his home visits. Filis work has seen the decrease in the length of time needed to get prosthesis from 6 to 3 months and this has made a huge benefit for the hospital. Additionally, discharged patients are well cared for now in the community instead of being left alone and neglected. May God bless you Fili as you continue your Ministry in the community. You are indeed a World Changer!
Posted on: Mon, 28 Jul 2014 23:43:59 +0000