Winston survivor baby meets A-G
An eight-month old baby who survived 14 hours in a cooler or ice box (Esky) during Tropical Cyclone Winston in 2016 surprised a group of ministers at Nasaisaivua Village in Kubulau, Bua yesterday. Waseroma Rasavou, now twoyears-old, caught everyone’s attention when he walked around while the Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama commissioned a borehole project at Nasaisaivua Village earlier this week.
His mother, Mereani Mailekutu, 30, said no one could believe that he survived Tropical Cyclone Winston and had grown healthy like any other normal child.
“I can still remember around 4:30pm on February 20, 2016, my husband, Waisake Bukaroro, saw the house shaking. He told me to take our two older children to a village hall where others were seeking shelter,” Mrs Mailekutu said. “While we took shelter my husband was preparing to put Waseroma in an Esky to keep him safe. “When they were on their way to join us, the hall structure fell down and we were separated throughout the night.”
“When day broke, I looked for my husband and found him carrying Waseroma in an Esky,” she said. “He told me he stood in a roofless bathroom with four people through the night and constantly opened the Esky lid to see whether his son was alive.
“Only through God’s mercy my family including Waseroma reunited and I am forever thankful.” Attorney-General Aiyaz SayedKhaiyum took a moment to shake hands with Waseroma and asked Mrs Mailekutu if everything was going well with them. During Tropical Cyclone Winston about 19 houses and two church buildings were damaged in their area, she said.