Social Support

The government has a small allowance available for unemployed, elderly and people who are not able to work.  This is $50 a month paid into directly into a bank account or in cash $150 quarterly.

The uptake of those receiving monthly payments is currently only 6%. The biggest problem with this is access to a bank account. The documents required by the bank such as birth certificates and driving licence may be missing or incorrect in some circumstances. 

Families on outer islands may not register a birth or those who do register a child maybe under a different Christian name or spelling than the one they use to call the child every day. 

This happens in other cultures too. I was 5 years old and starting school when I found out my name wasn't actually Bernie, or even Bernadette it was Joanne. That was difficult to process.

I found out my neighbour and her family were stranded in Fiji during covid-19 and they were lucky to be given an allowance by the government for which they were truly grateful. 

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