Single Mothers Venture Into Self Employment Amid Covid Crisis

Three single mothers of Lauto­ka have forged ahead in life despite challenges they face because of the COVID-19 situation in Fiji.

Bernadine Wye, Rebecca Kubu­navanua and Morica Young were the creators of Petite Grande Tre­sor (PGT), a platform they used to sell food for income to cater for the needs of their children and family members.

Rebecca Kubunavanua (right) with her mother, Akeneta Kubunavanua

Ms Wye now handles all dealings with PGT and also began a side business, called Grace and Hope (GH) Treasures which she named after her two daughters.

Ms Kubunavaua, a mother of five and Ms Young, a mother of one have also ventured into their own businesses now, Kubunavanua and Young’s (KY’s) Kitchen and Lar­icas Treats and Trends.

While selling food on a weekly basis, these women now provide catering services and also offer on­line shopping on pre-order basis.

The three have started their own business but still hold the friend­ship they began when they found­ed the PGT group.

“The business began in May of this year, not long after Lautoka suffered the consequences of COV­ID-19,” Ms Wye said.

“As single mothers, we were think­ing of ways in which we could help put food on the table, support our families and provide for our kids.

“When we started off we had our doubts because we know times are hard, but we remained positive and it kicked off well.

“We reached a point in our shared business where we were more con­fident as young entrepreneurs and decided to venture out on our own while keeping PGT as our sister business.”

Ms Young said their children were behind the struggles and de­termined to see the business pros­per.

“Our children are our lives, they are precious gifts from God and any parent will know the feeling of wanting to be able to provide food for their kids, give them a good life with clothes on their back and a roof over their heads,” she said.

“We want them to see that their mothers are strong-willed and can do anything to put a smile on their faces.”

Their advice for other single mothers: Put God first always and watch him work wonders for you like he has for us.

They can be contacted through their pages via Facebook and Ins­tagram.