National leaders have placed a century-old legacy of care at the centre of this year’s Girmit commemorations, visiting Dilkusha Home in Nausori today to mark its role in Fiji’s Girmit history and ongoing protection of vulnerable children. The visit by Minister for Public Enterprises, Multi‑Ethnic Affairs, Culture, Heritage and Arts Charan Jeath Singh — accompanied by Permanent Secretary Dr Vinesh Kumar — formed part of events for the 147th Girmit Commemoration.
Singh told staff and visitors that Dilkusha’s origins are rooted directly in the hardships of the Girmit period, recalling how the Indian Division of the Methodist Church established the home in 1904 after two abandoned infants were found in a basket at the Indian Christian Mission. That discovery, he said, compelled early missionaries to create a refuge that evolved into Dilkusha Home, which has provided care and shelter for more than 120 years.
The minister paid tribute to the missionary figures associated with Dilkusha’s beginnings, naming Pastor John Williams, Hannah Dudley, Reverend John Burton and Mary Austen for their work with the Girmitiya community. He noted that the institution’s early actions of compassion and service during one of Fiji’s most difficult historical periods helped shape a nascent framework of structured care for children separated from families by poverty and migration.
Officials described Dilkusha today as an institution that has adapted over generations while remaining anchored to its founding mission of care, dignity and protection. The home now serves children from diverse backgrounds, reflecting both continuity with its Girmit-era purpose and change as Fiji’s social services developed across the 20th and 21st centuries.
Singh framed the Dilkusha visit as more than a local engagement: “The story of Dilkusha is inseparable from the broader Girmit experience,” he said, urging that commemoration should highlight not only suffering and struggle but also resilience, unity and the foundational values that helped build modern Fiji. His comments come amid wider government efforts to preserve and interpret Girmit history, including a recent initiative to establish a national Girmit Museum in Lautoka.
By spotlighting Dilkusha during the 147th commemoration, the minister and Permanent Secretary signalled an emphasis on tangible heritage sites and institutions as part of national memory work. The visit reinforces the government’s dual focus on honouring indenture-era experiences and promoting projects — from museums to local heritage sites — that translate those histories into public education and policy responses to current social needs.
Today's engagement at Dilkusha adds fresh detail to this year’s Girmit events by tying a long-serving child‑care institution directly to the indenture narrative and by underscoring ministerial attention to heritage as integral to multi‑ethnic affairs and social cohesion.