Fiji School Children Elated to Receive Personal Hygiene Supplies

LDS Charities, a humanitarian arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has donated School WASH Kits to the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health and Medical Services in Fiji that will provide personal sanitary supplies for more than 5,100 school children.

Personal items included in the kits consist of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) items. The initiative was also undertaken in partnership with the UNICEF organization.

The kits were given at a critical time when needed hygiene items are in extremely short supply as a result of tropical storm Winston’s ferocity. The category-5 storm, the strongest ever recorded in the southern hemisphere, devastated many communities throughout Fiji.

WASH kits were sent to Bua and Savusavu, two of the hardest hit areas in Fiji.

The kits came boxed in cartons, each of which supplied the needs of 40 children. Items such as water bottles, toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, and sanitary pads for girls with accompanying hygiene posters were welcome gifts.

Working closely with Ministry of Health and Medical Services, LDS Charities representative, Susan Stanford said, “LDS Charities is grateful to be part of the WASH initiative which helped make a difference in the lives of the school children in the aftermath of TC Winston.”

She added, “We are hoping these badly damaged schools will receive their Box kits from the Ministry of Education as soon as possible—they are in such desperate need.”