Wahiawā Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Office Hangs Tough Despite Tragedy
Posted on Mar 31, 2023 in Featured, MainJust as the pandemic was beginning in March 2020, the Wahiawā WIC Program team experienced another blow to its ability to provide much-needed services for women, infants, and children when its offices burned down. It was a critical time for the clients who needed services. Led by supervisor Laura Morihara, the crew at the Wahiawā WIC was determined to figure out how to keep working.
Picture of first Christmas together since the fire and pandemic. Front row, L to R: Miriam Hernando-Ocampo, Debbie Passmore, Laura Morihara. Center row: L to R: Obdulia Abalos, Sally Green, Wendy Baker, Joann Gomez. Back row (Santa hat): Veronica Matutino.
Supported by the WIC main office, they managed to get laptops enabling them to work remotely and even used personal cell phones to ensure the clinic could operate. Eventually the supervisor was able to find another office in Wahiawā and get a work cell phone that could be used while arranging for replacement landlines. Team members worked hard to keep each other safe during the challenging times of the pandemic while having to modify how and where they worked. The team has been in its new office for a year now and celebrated its reunion in December 2022.
WIC is the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children. It is a federal assistance program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service to support healthcare and nutrition for low-income pregnant women, breastfeeding women, and children under the age of five.