A lesson for all parents and guardians

The woman who received a suspended sentence in relation to the death of her child, who died from drowning, is a lesson for us all. While she may have avoided time in prison, the facts of the case aren’t isolated.

Reapi Namosimalua, of Malake Island in the West, lost her two-year-old son to drowning in September 2021.

On the day of the incident, Namosimalua had asked a 12-year-old to look after her child in the house while she cleaned up the kitchen and dining area which is separate from the remaining house.

The house is just five metres away from the sea. In the event, 12-year-old was sent on an errand by her great-grandmother at the nearby canteen.

Upon her return, the accused asked the 12-year-old where her child was after not locating him at the house.

After some time, an 11-year-old informed the accused that the child was found on the beach motionless. It was later proven that the child died from drowning.

High court judge sentenced Namosimalua to two years, 11 months and 15 days for one count of manslaughter arising from breach of duty which was suspended for three years.

How many other cases, though different in nature, but still end up with the same outcome, have we had in Fiji?

How many more children are we going to lose because of our complacency?

This month, two cases of drowning so far were reported, one of them was of a 13-year-old in Ba.

Last year, 64 drowning cases were recorded compared to 53 the year before.

Of the 64 cases:

■ Eight were one years and below;

■ Two were toddlers and;

■ Seven were between the ages of four to 10 years old.

It means that 17 children who were 10 years old and below drowned last year.

“Children between two and 10 years old were becoming a vulnerable group with consistently higher rates of drowning,” the Police statement said.

“Most drownings in children ages two-10 years old occur in nearby rivers, dug-out pools, and wading pools.

“Geographically, the Western Division consistently ranks as the region with the highest number of drowning cases.”

The above clearly begs the questions, are we, as parents and guardians doing enough to keep our children from harm’s way?

While we can’t judge what a parent or guardian goes through on a daily basis to take care of their own, nevertheless it is our top priority to take care of our loved ones. Period.

Additionally, schools and stakeholders must come together to make it mandatory that from early childhood education, students begin swimming lessons. Further, more rain is coming and anticipated to ease on Sunday is a reminder for parents and guardians to do the needful and protect their children amid the adverse weather.