KIDS BEAT DRUMS TO SUPPORT FRONTLINERS
Children wants everyone to follow rules to contain the coronavirus so they can see loved ones again
Please follow the rules so our father can come home. This is a simple and humble request from Ella Margaret, 8, and Talia, 4, made to the people of Fiji and the rest of the world, as they hope their father, Tevita Koto, is able to return home from Sinai.
Mr Koto is a Fijian soldier on peacekeeping duties. He was due back in March, but the troops that were to replace his contingent were not allowed through Egypt because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The siblings, including their and one-year-old brother Israel, and their four cousins who live with them in Cunningham, have started to beat drums every Wednesday evening to support health frontliners as a reminder the world about what needs to be done to rid the world of the pandemic.
Mr Koto’s wife, Caroline is a nurse at the Colonial War Memorial Hospital in Suva, and of late has been working 12 hour shifts. “We want to say thank you to all health workers. Especially to our mother and one of our aunts, Asenaca Navuta, who is based at the Navua Hospital isolation unit,” said Ella. “We miss our dad and we want him back home, so please follow the rules.”
Mrs Koto’s sister, Vika Tuibau, is also abroad. She is a caregiver to the elderly in the United States. Her daughter, Bernadette, and three other children live in Cunningham.
“It was my mum who asked us to join the Facebook Group – Fiji Coronavirus Awareness – and we started beating drums for a little while,” she said.
“We speak to our mother daily (via phone) and pray that she stays safe.”
Tevita and Vika’s mother Makereta Koto, 70, said she prayed for her children.
The Koto and Tuibau children are like many others in Fiji who are away from one or both parents as a result of COVID-19 crisi. All they want is for people to follow the directives given by the Government, so the pandemic can be contained so they can see their loved ones again.