Twenty-three packages of cleaning products, gloves, masks and other housework essentials have been donated to vulnerable and persons with disabilities organisations and Family Welfare clinics on Rarotonga.

The joint initiative was led by the Cook Islands Child Welfare Association, supported by Cook Islands National Disability, and funded by an ADB-Japan Fund for Prosperous & Resilient Asia & Pacific (JFPR).

“The objective is to strengthen the public health response through community-based and led mitigation and prevention actions,” said the project’s inclusive advisor and project administration, Destiny Tara Tolevu.

“Funds were given to us and we purchased all the products for the packages on the island,” she added.

Nooroa Moeroa, the Tikioki Clinic coordinator, said: “It’s just awesome to receive these products. We are so lucky and this will be such a good help for us in keeping our clinic clean and our staff and clients safer.”

Project manager Susan Sadaraka said: “Covid is affecting everyone, including our vulnerable groups such as young children, elderly, and the disabled.”

“So we have developed a project to support them in their clinics and centres, as well as in their homes.”

Mataiti Mataiti from the Cook Islands Disability Council said he was very pleased to see the Child Welfare clinics, Disability and Pa Metua receive their packages.

“We need to protect our vulnerable from Covid; this is a great initiative and the Disability Council is pleased to be a part of it.”

The four outputs for the project team are to provide PPE (personal protective equipment) and sanitising packages to community-based clinics and centres, to improve and increase access to WASH practices, to provide mobile phones for CookSafe, and to install five community-based dispensary units stocked with cleaning products for home use.

The target groups for the packages are the elderly, persons with disability, Pa Metua, organisations, and families.

In the New Year, the island of Mangaia will receive three of the packages and Aitutaki will be donated four, soon after.

Members of the project team are project manager Susan Sadaraka, project field officer Cathy Rangi, and the inclusive advisor and project administration Destiny Tara Tolevu.