Supervisor Central Eastern division Superintendent Sairusi Gauna and ICRC Head of
Regional delegation Linh Schroeder after the handover on Friday.

The donation of four massive cooking pots to the Suva Corrections Centre by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is expected to streamline the flow of cooking and eating for inmates.

ICRC Head of Regional Delegation Linh Schroeder was present to hand over the donation on Friday.

“I came on a visit to the Corrections Centre in October this year, carried out an inspection and saw that cooking pots were the basics that were lacking,” Ms Schroeder said.

Following that inspection, she held talks with the Supervisor Central Eastern division (SCED), Superintendent Sairusi Gauna where the possibilities of assistance to the Centre were explored.

“Worldwide, we normally visit inmates and we started with Fiji in 2000. We want to ensure that the treatment and living conditions of inmates meet international standards.

“The assistance we provide normally depends on the situation at hand after we carry out our own inspection and for the Suva Corrections Centre, this was identified as a central genuine need,” Ms Schroeder said.

She added they were happy to support the Fiji Corrections Service and looked forward to further partnership in future.

SP Gauna thanked Ms Schroeder on behalf of the Corrections Commissioner Lt. Col Vasu, saying the items were a great help in terms of reducing the cooking time.

“Only one pot was used for cooking and this was insufficient because there are so many inmates housed here, including convicts and those on remand.

“Previously we used that one pot and once food is cooked, this is dished out into plates so the pot can be used again to cook for the remaining inmates who have not eaten,” SP Gauna said.

Some of the work undertaken by the ICRC includes visiting detainees, protecting civilians, reuniting families, ensuring economic security, water, habitat and health.

The ICRC operates in the Asia Pacific region, America, Africa, Middle East and Europe and Central Asia. 

www.corrections.org.fj