A World of Possibilities

UNITED BLIND PERSONS OF FIJI

'EMPOWERING OTHERS THROUGH SHARED EXPERIENCES'

By Senimilia Seru

Funded and supported by the Australia Pacific Island Disability Support (APIDS)

CONTENTS Page

1. Acknowledgement ……………..…………………. 3

2. Introduction………………………………………... 4

The Stories of Our Lives:3. Anaseini Vakaidia……………………………….. 5

4. Angeline Chand…………………………………… 7

5. Imran Ali…………………………………………... 10

6. Inise Vuli…………………………………………... 12

7. Jolame Koronivalu Daulako……………………… 14

8. Josua Naulumatua Tokalaulevu…………………… 16

9. Krishneel Sharma………………………………… 18

10. Kulsha Nisha………………………………………. 20

11. Lanieta Tuimabu…………………………………… 21

12. Milika Roro……………………………………….. 24

13. Moushmi Narain …………………………………… 26

14. Naomi Underwood ………………………………… 28

15. Nelam Jyotika Naidu………………………… 31

16. Petaia Votu…………………………………… 33

17. Pravin Narayan………………………………. 35

18. Pushpa Karan ……………………………….. 37

19. Rakesh Chand……………………………….. 39

20. Ratu Tevita Bolakivei Susu…………………. 43

21. Ravin Lal …………………………………… 45

22. Romulo Votu…………………………………. 47

23. Ruci Senikula…………………………………. 49

24. Sairusi Tabulawaki……………………………. 51

25. Sarita Devi……………………………………. 53

26. Suresh Chand…………………………………. 55

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This booklet owes much gratitude to: –

i) The Australia Pacific Island Disability Support for their generous funding, to the United Blind Persons(UBP) of Fiji Executive Board;

ii) The Secretariat Team of Serafina Underwood, Lydia Bukarau, Louisa Underwood, Brian Lesione, Emily-Ann Underwood and Vanessa Turagakula for their tireless contribution during the write up of this booklet - Brian in particular for assistance with home visits and interview;

iii) The members of United Blind Persons (UBP) who gave their time to have their stories documented and to Anaseini Vakaidia and Semiti Matanitobua for their immense input during the interviews and gathering of stories.

For without the help of all these people and their endless support this booklet wouldn't be what it is now.

(2)INTRODUCTION

The United Blind Persons of Fiji (UBP) was established in 1992 by a group of blind individuals to lobby and advocate on behalf of blind and vision impaired persons. This was due to an obvious need for the raising of awareness to the general public on issues affecting people with vision impairment. UBP is made up of vision impaired and sighted persons and is an affiliate of Fiji Disabled Peoples Federation.

The mission of United Blind Persons of Fiji is to advocate on behalf of blind and vision impaired persons in Fiji in all areas and at all levels of society.:

The United Blind Persons of Fiji earlier this year received a funding from Australia Pacific Island Disability Support (APIDS) who have been tremendous donors over the years for UBP and through this funding The Executive Board of UBP was able to assign a 2 member team for the APIDS Project.

This booklet contains documented stories of UBP members who are currently in the education system and also those who are employed and some who are self-sufficient, from both the western and central divisions, and this booklet will be used for awareness and advocacy purposes for UBP.

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ANASEINI VAKAIDIA

Working together towards free rights and equal society for all is a passion for Anaseini Vakaidia.

Ana as she is most commonly known to most is the eldest of 3 children, hails from the village of Nawaisomo, Nagonenicolo in the province of Naitasiri.

At the early age of 18 months Ana contracted measles and as a result of this, her eyes were being affected. Attempts by doctors to operate on her eyes to improve her vision were not as successful as hoped for by her parents and family.

In 1991, Ana's parents put her through the village primary school as would any parent, to begin her academic journey. Fortunately for Ana, her teacher noticed her impairment and referred her to the Fiji School for the Blind. In 1992, at the Fiji School for the Blind Ana continued her primary school education, right up until class 8, where she and her class mates were the first batch of students to sit the Government exams at the school in Vatuwaqa.

Ana attended Cathedral Secondary School from 2001 to 2004 for her form 3 to form 6 levels of education, which was a different ball game altogether for her and she had to familiarise herself with her new surroundings, new students and new teachers.

Ana encountered many challenges throughout her schooling years, from learning independent living skills at a very young age at the hostel for the Fiji School for the Blind. Borrowing books from friends at Cathedral to keep herself up to par with the notes, was a very difficult time for her, but due to lots of patience and perseverance she was able to reap the rewards by completing both her primary and secondary education with a flourish.

2005 saw Ana associating herself with the United Blind Persons of Fiji, helping with the activities organised by the association.

Ana was also the Advocacy Co-ordinator for the Fiji Disable Peoples Federation for a year and later on she participated in a research on disability services in the Pacific, which was co-ordinated by the Pacific Disability Forum, and she says that she was very fortunate to have participated in this research because it boosted her level of confidence and it also broadened her knowledge in terms of working with Disabled Peoples organisations in the Pacific Region.

From humble beginnings as a volunteer, Ana today holds a senior position as the Project Officer at the United Blind Persons of Fiji secretariat.

Ana encourages her friends and colleagues who share her disability, whether born with or acquired that their disability is to never for once think that it is the end of the world, she also says that life is not a bed of roses and that one will face challenges in life but one needs to face and overcome those challenges in order to be successful in life.

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ANGELINE CHAND

Impairment in any shape or form is detrimental to one's looks, comfort, health and success. However, be that as it may, Angeline Chand was not phased-out with her disability. She was born with no vision in the right eye, had limited vision in her left eye and she began her education in the normal way starting with pre-school.

She is an only child, both parents deceased, and is married with one son who is currently doing a degree programme at the University of the South Pacific Bachelor of Science.

Fortunately for Angeline she had an observant teacher at pre-school who recognised her impairment and recommended that she be taken by her parents to the Eye Department at the Colonial War Memorial Hospital, where she was referred to the Fiji School for the Blind and where she was able to continue with part of her education.

The Fiji School for the Blind had just introduced their Inclusive Education Programme and Angeline with two others were the first to pilot the initiative. After taking part in the Inclusive Education Programme, Angeline attended a primary school near her home where she experienced and enjoyed a release from restraints in the company of other children. Whilst at pre-school the other children did not really notice her impairment and she felt comfortable with them. However while at the Fiji School for the Blind which operated out of the Cripple Children's School at the time, there were numerous first time experiences for her. She was actually seeing blind people for the first time, people with different types of disabilities, severely intellectually affected people and children running around trying to bite people, and for a 5 year old this was quite traumatic to say the least.

When she moved to the Fiji School for the Blind at Vatuwaqa the environment was more friendlier and teachers were able to spend more time with each child as a class consisted of only 10 children per class. Braille was being taught in whatever appropriate font.

Angeline was now reintroduced to a normal primary school where a class would comprise 40-45 pupils and where most of the notes would be written on the blackboard and she had to borrow books from friends during breaks in order to catch up with her notes.

This impairment did not limit or hamper Angeline in any way and she was able to complete both her primary and secondary education with a flourish. She took Secretarial Studies, achieved units at USP in English, Community Development and Social Work, all of which empowered her for future employment. Her versatility saw her working for and with the United Blind Persons of Fiji in administering daily activities; assisting many other

Disabled Peoples Organisations like the Fiji Disabled peoples Federation over a period` of 15-16 years.

In 2008 she joined the Pacific Disability Forum as a Gender Youth Officer, during which time she successfully applied for the position as DPO Development Officer within the Pacific

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Disability Forum which involves capacity, development of members, programmes delivered specifically to disabled peoples organisations, assisting in project proposals and arranging travel schedules for member DPO's in 16 Pacific Island countries.

Vision impairment was no obstacle for Angeline. She admits that life may be a struggle, but don't let that hinder you from giving it your best shot.

Find a blind friend, relate to them, join them, listen to them, encourage them and be yourself when you are with them.

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IMRAN ALIWhen Imran Ali was young he could only see with his right eye and when he was 17 years old he lost his sight completely, and for Imran this was very upsetting and difficult as it took a long time for him to accept his predicament.

Fortunately Imran had relatives who cared and one relative in particular, a Ms Margaret Cooper who informed Imran’s mother about the Fiji School for the Blind where Imran could further his studies.

From that moment on Imran’s environment changed. From Rakiraki Town to the Fiji School for the Blind where he learnt Braille, basic living skills, computer, agriculture and mobilisation amongst other things.

Learning these skills was not easy but once he got the hang of it he grew in confidence and experience. Imran possessed qualities which enabled him to accept criticism without allowing it to get him down.

After Imran finished primary school at the Fiji School for the Blind he attended the Fiji Vocational Technical Training Centre at Brown Street for vocational training after which he attended massage training at the Tamavua Rehabilitation Centre learning traditional Thai massage.

Imran was once employed at the centre and today he is a masseur at 15 Pender Street, Suva. He is greatly indebted to the United Blind Persons of Fiji for aiding and supporting him immensely and is a member of that organisation

If there is any advice that Imran would like to render to vision-impaired persons, it is not to lose hope or be negative about one's self because whatever able-bodied persons can do vision-impaired persons can also do.

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INISE VULIInise Vuli is originally from Mabula in the Lau Group of Island. She is the third eldest in a family of five and was born blind and her early years were spent in her mother’s village in Kadavu.

When Inise was still a baby her father had a vision that Inise’s sight would be restored, and this provided motivation for much fasting and praying with loved ones and fellow church members.

Although it took long, combined fasting and praying achieved results and Inise’s vision was partially restored. At the age of fourteen Inise started to see shadows, at the age of fifteen she could tell the difference between light and darkness. Around about this time Inise's parents were informed by the Doctor that as Inise grew up her vision would improve and become stronger but later on she would lose her vision, but before that happened she could tell the difference between people and trees when she was sixteen.

When Inise was still a teenager in Kadavu her parents made a bold move to relocate and educate all their children in Suva. Upon their first few weeks of stay in Suva her parents found out about Hilton Special School and they made another bold move to enrol her at the school and later at the School for the Blind at Vatuwaqa. Enrolling Inise at both schools and also at the Fiji Vocational Technical Training Centre at Brown Street did pay dividends Inise learnt Braille, book binding, screen painting, wood work and even assembling gas stoves.

The foregoing augured well for Inise as it led to job stints at the Fiji Vocational Technical Training Centre, at Lees Bakery and a Bean Factory. At the Fiji Vocational Technical Training Centre Inise’s job was screen painting; at Lees Bakery her job was to separate the mouldings and then pass them on to be used to pack biscuits and cookies; and at the bean factory it was frying beans.

Working in the prevailing centres of activity was quite challenging for her especially working alongside and with able-bodied people who took quite some time to understand and to accept people with disabilities.

Today, even though Inise has lost her vision as the doctors had advised and predicted, she nevertheless owns a home thanks to the Social Welfare Department and is also currently running her own massage parlour at the Suva Flea Market.

For Inise being vision impaired and owning a business is a great achievement and she is greatly indebted to many people particularly Master Kalil and Master Tahir her teachers at Hilton Special School, her parents and also to God Almighty for restoring her vision even though only partially.

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JOLAME KOROINIVALU DAULAKO

Jolame Koroinivalu Daulako during his younger years held two jobs, one as a Civil Servant Engineer with the Public Works Department and the other as a Member of the Fiji Military Territorial Force a 'disciplinary institution' which necessitates following orders, resulting in being called upon for duties both locally and abroad and even as far away as war-torn areas like the Middle East, and in 1978 Jolame was a member of the first batch of soldiers assigned to peace keeping duties in Lebanon under the then leadership of Ratu Epeli Nailatikau the current President of our Nation.

Amongst the varied duties of every soldier, one is to clean all his weaponry and during one of those cleaning sessions Jolame sustained damages to his eyes which gradually caused loss of vision leading to total blindness and all efforts to restore his vision both locally and abroad proved futile.

Jolame did not allow his disability to prevent him from living life as normal. Today, he is 78 years old, and continues to work in and around the home, on his plantation, where he is always careful not to hurt himself and at his piggery. He also attends family, church and public functions, and he believes that being a member of the Boy Scouts as a young boy played a great and important role in helping him cope with life’s challenges.

Jolame owes a great deal of debt to his lovely wife, Loata, who has stuck by him through thick and thin.

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JOSUA NAULUMATUA TOKALAULEVU

When Josua Naulumatua Tokalaulevu’s mother was six months pregnant she gave birth to Josua who was born blind and for the first three months of his life on earth his residence was the Maternity Unit Incubator.

Josua’s parents, after being informed by the doctor that Josua was blind, accepted his disability. Josua says he never felt neglected at all and was brought up in a good family.

In 1994 an Aunt of Josua’s found out about the Fiji School for the Blind and in the same year Josua’s parents with Josua set out to explore the school and the educational opportunities that existed for Josua.

Josua attended kindergarten and primary school at the Fiji School for the Blind and secondary school at DAV College Suva.

Josua was introduced to boarding life at a very early age, when he was in kindergarten. Unused to being away from home he became home sick and his mother had to stay a while with him until he settled down. In fact it took a good couple of months for Josua to settle to his new environment. Besides learning to look after himself he had, to tidy his bed, wash the dishes, wash his own clothes and move around by himself, Josua also learnt at the Fiji School for the Blind to read and write using Braille and to count using ice block sticks. When Josua sat for internal and external examinations he used Braille.

It was not all rosy for Josua as he faced obstacles along the way. Learning Braille was complicated, attending secondary school was a different ball game altogether and travelling by public transport alone was an experience but Josua persevered.

Today, Josua works as a masseur after undergoing training at the Tamavua Rehabilitation Hospital. He is also a member of the United Blind Persons of Fiji.

His advice to fellow citizens is to treat people with disabilities as equals.

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KRISHNEEL SHARMAKrishneel Sharma lost his vision when he was 10 due to the carelessness of doctors who cut a nerve in his eye while operating on him and he and his family were quite shocked at what had taken place and did not know what to do or how to react. Attempts overseas to restore his vision failed, and in the process of time Krishneel and his family have shown their resilience and have managed to adapt and cope.

For Krishneel encountering darkness and moving around were major obstacles but he was able to overcome these obstacles after enrolling at the Fiji School for the Blind in 2002 thanks to the advice of a field worker in Lautoka who advised his parents of the benefits of doing so.

Hence Krishneel went to the Fiji School for the Blind where he attended classes from 5 to 8 and where he learnt many valuable lessons, which were to auger well for him later in life, amongst which were basic living skills and mobility as well as learning to type using the Braille machine. By day Krishneel attended classes and by night he learnt to use the Braille machine and where he learnt the very important lesson that life must go on and that he needed to move on and carry on with life as any other normal child.

Krishneel attended secondary school at DAV College Suva up to form 7 where he showed that he was just as normal as any other child when it came to academic ability. He passed with flying colours even scoring the highest marks in several subjects, and his crowning glory as far as education is concerned was when he attended the Fiji National University graduating with a Diploma in Management.

Krishneel is currently looking for employment and hopes to be employed in the not too distant future.

He is currently a Board Member of the United Blind Persons of Fiji and has also represented Fiji in the Arafura Games in the 100 and 200 metres.

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KULSHA NISHA

At the tender age of eight and ten Kulsha Nisha underwent two eye operations.The first operation enabled Kulsha only to see slightly but after the second operation she lost her vision completely. And this loss of vision led to Kulsha feeling down and out but then she began to gradually cope with changes in her life and challenges that came her way.

Her first challenge was to attend the Fiji School for the Blind where she attended school for three years as a Boarder and where she learned to read and write using Braille and how to live an independent life and another challenge was taking up a job with the Southern Cross AC Food which was arranged for Kulsha while still at school.

Kulsha has worked for Southern Cross AC Food for 25 years now and along the way she has contributed immensely towards her family by way of extending their kitchen so that her mum has space to work in and move around and she has also purchased a car for the family.

Kulsha says that she is lucky to have parents who have continued to support her and she is glad that she can repay them a favour.

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LANIETA TUIMABU

For Lanieta Tuimabu, the President of the United Blind Persons of Fiji, Association (UBP), what started off as a bad headache culminated in loss of vision after contacting Meningitis.

That was way back in 1985 when Lanieta was just 12 years old. And for a period of seven years Lanieta was in and out of hospital with dreams, hope and anticipation that her vision would be restored at the earliest and to the fullest.

When Lanieta became blind, her parents were quite shocked and took a long time to come to terms with Lanieta’s situation. But that did not deter them from pursuing a cure for Lanieta.

And so, after searching and searching for help here and there, they found Fijian herbs for Lanieta to drink which helped in restoring her vision only slightly but it was better than nothing.

Subsequently, Lanieta’s parents, understood and overcame her situation and were later advised and convinced by Lanieta’s doctor, Doctor Maharaj, to enter Lanieta into the Fiji School for the Blind to continue her education.

This was a decision that they were never to regret and led to Lanieta attending classes four and five at the Fiji School for the Blind; classes six, seven and eight, as an integrated student at Marcellin Primary School; and forms three to six at Ballantine Memorial School.

For Lanieta, continuing her education was not a bed of roses as she encountered numerous challengers particularly at secondary school level when, amongst other things, the Principal of Ballantine Memorial School at the time found it hard to accept a Special Student.

But thanks to the motherly love and understanding of the then vice principal, Mrs. Margret Sotutu, -and also the encouraging support of Lanieta’s mentor, Mr. Setareki Macanawai, Lanieta was accepted as a form three student of Ballantine Memorial School.

Lanieta will never forget the challenging words of Mrs. Sotutu who challenged her that whatever she wanted to achieve she had to work hard for and to prove everyone wrong.Lanieta no doubt rose to the challenge and has proven everyone wrong particularly those who looked down on her and underestimated her – today, Lanieta works for the Fiji Commerce & Employers Federation and besides being the President of the UBP, she is a member of several disability Organisations boards which include Pacific Disability Forum and the Fiji Disable Peoples Federation, and has also attended many forums locally and abroad dealing with disability issues.

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MILIKA ROROGrowing up and entering life as a girl with vision impairment since her birth in 1978, Milika Roro from Nabudrau in the District of Noco in the Province of Rewa has lived with partial sight for the last 35 years.

She had a normal education at the Marist Convent, Lami and attended St. Joseph Secondary School, reaching Form 4, during which time she received no preferential treatment, however students would be dealt with if they ridiculed her because of her disadvantage.

Motivated by able bodied people showcasing their dreams of singing and displaying their achievements of same, ignited Milika's dreams of singing as she always visualised herself as a singer. Knowing that she had the talent she participated in various talent quests, like Kaila Star Search and Catch A Rising Star, to name a few.

Life after Form 4 saw Milika studying at the Fiji Vocational Centre for people with disabilities and through this centre, she is being employed as a Supervisor under a Goodman Fielder Contract for the last 4 years, where part of her job entails sticking on ice cream stickers on lids and counting and packing ice cream sticks accordingly.

Milika is very appreciative that the general public is being made aware of the needs of people with different disabilities and the different organisations that are their strongest advocates in creating and bringing awareness to the general public. The response is very encouraging.

Unfortunately many including a few Business houses are still in the dark and are yet to understand people with special needs as Milika had two unpleasant experiences at a Supermarket when she asked an employee to read the price tag. The employee did not oblige and walked away. After lodging a complaint, Milika was pleasantly surprised on her return to the Supermarket that the printing on the price tags had been enlarged.

Milika is of the opinion that perhaps one way to clear up misunderstandings is to inform others of one's disability and for able bodied people to change their mentality in the presence of people with disabilities, hence there is much more that must be done to advocate awareness and accessibility for people with disabilities.

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MOUSHMI NARAINDisabilities and impairments that affects our eyes comes in various inflictions and for Moushmi Narain she acquired "tunnel Vision" through lupus which caused her blood pressure to go extremely high, causing blood clots, resulting in being unable to see things from the sides of her eyes.

Despite this drawback she attended Tamavua Primary School during which time she suffered a relapse and had to spend three years at the Blind School. She then attended St. Marceline Primary School, Cathedral Secondary School, did Form Seven at Laucala Bay Secondary and proceeded to do an Advance Diploma in Management at the Fiji National University.

Having being able to reach this stage was not smooth sailing for Moushmi. She experienced difficulties as the teachers did not consider her vision to be impaired, moreover the teachers were not aware that she could only see from the sides so it was a struggle for her during computer classes. In addition Moushmi herself did not understand the reason for her disability until and after she questioned her doctors about the difference in able-bodied people being able to see out of the side of their eyes when she could not. She then discovered after having had a scan the reason for her impairment.

During this period of uncertainty she wondered why she found it difficult to locate places and things, shapes and sizes, making her reluctant to take part in school activities.In not allowing this scenario to make her feel disadvantaged Moushmi has worked in a Disabled People's Organisation for approximately five years in their different offices and she is currently employed by Femlink Pacific.

Moushmi has noticed that most of the time people consider that totally blind people need assistance and seem to forget that those with limited vision need assistance too. She advocates that people with such like conditions must understand the impairment, accept it, find out what can be done about it and move on with life. After all, it is only your vision that is impaired but you are capable of doing anything. There can be no excuse, because where there's a will there's a way.

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-NAOMI UNDERWOOD

Naomi Underwood lived a normal life until class five at Stella Marist School when her left eye got injured.

According to Naomi the incident was traumatising. Later she underwent a tumour operation and at that stage both Naomi and her parents did not know the severity of the damage to her eye.

After treatments Naomi carried on and although school became a struggle she was not overly concerned because she believed that her eye would get better and her teachers and friends constantly assured her that her eye was going to clear up and she would be back on her feet again in no time but to her disappointment this did not eventuate.

Naomi began her junior secondary school education at St. Thomas high School in Lautoka in form one, and it was during this period that she started to feel the severity of the damage to her eye. Naomi struggled with school work and found difficulty in keeping up and to make matters worse, St. Thomas High School was not a special school and sadly , in those days, people with disability had no access to technology unlike today.

One day Naomi received a visit from a Mr. Frank Hilton who heard about Naomi’s plight, and had brought with him an assistive reading device known as visual letters which was to help in aiding Naomi in reading. Despite the aid of this device Naomi’s vision started deteriorating faster and she started to slip back with school work.

By this time the tumour in Naomi’s left eye had caused her right eye to weaken and also caused internal bleeding in her head.

Naomi struggled with reading in form three and because St. Thomas School could not and did not have any technology to meet her need, to her shock and dismay, the teachers who taught there advised that if she couldn’t cope with reading that it would be best for her to leave school.This did not go down well with her parents so Naomi had to continue with her schooling up to form five level where it became more difficult for her to cope and it was at this level that Naomi gave up on education.

For a couple of years she stayed home and did nothing and then one day she heard on the radio about the United Blind Persons Association inviting people with vision impairment to their inaugural general meeting – an invitation that Naomi snapped up and one that she never regrets.

The invitation was the light at the end of the tunnel for Naomi and from then on her progress and development started to move faster than in previous years.

First Naomi was introduced to technology that came with more advanced assistive aids. Then there was exposure in terms of creating awareness that enabled her to come to terms with her disability and to overcome challenges making it possible for her where she learnt of other disabilities and specific needs as well as disability issues. All of this opened doorways

(16)for trips overseas where she was able to advocate on issues of disability.

To be able-bodied person the above is quite an achievement, however, for Naomi, her tenacity and strength equipped her to strive for more and she had been rewarded accordingly. The icing on the cake for Naomi was the opportunity to take up teacher training at the Lautoka Teachers College thanks to Mr.Kelepi Salele who has been a great source of influence in Naomi’s life.

Naomi faces many challenges undergoing teacher training but she overcame all obstacles and successfully graduated as a teacher. Today, Naomi teaches at the Lautoka Special School.

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NELAM JYOTIKA NAIDU

In 1986, Nelam Joytika Naidu, also known as Joyti Naidu, enrolled at the age of five at the Fiji School for the Blind.

Joyti was born 7 months prematurely and spent 6 weeks in an incubator. She is not too sure but she had heard that the doctors put her in the incubator for too long and as a result the lights which were strong hit her eyes damaged a nerve causing vision problems.

Joyti had a cousin of a same age, who was more active than Joyti even though Joyti was the older of the two. When the light is switched on Jyoti's cousin will look around to see where the light is coming from and see the family and smile but Joyti didn’t. That's the time when the family started realising that there was something wrong with her vision.

Joyti was brought up by her parents and when she entered the Fiji School for the Blind as a Boarder it was difficult for her mother and family to come to terms with, as they felt that at the age of five, Joyti was too young to be a Boarder. The first few days and weeks were unbearable for Joyti as she had to be put off to sleep by the Nuns and when she would wake up her relatives were nowhere to be seen but soon adapted to school and hostel life, because she had the ability to adjust to change.

Whatever she learnt at the school she applied in life.

While at the school Joyti had an interesting experience of looking after a baby which entailed the whole works, and she believes that despite her predicament she has no problems with children and can look after them.

Joyti attended primary school at the Fiji School for the Blind and secondary school at the Ahamadia Muslim College. Her education was cut short when her mother passed away. Currently she is the Treasurer of the Fiji Disable Peoples Federation of the Nadi Branch and is also a Member of the Board of the United Blind Persons of Fiji.

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PETAIA VOTU

Petaia Votu was born with vision impairment on 4th June, 1977. He is originally from the village of Nadivakarua in the province of Bua and had 4 brothers and a sister.

When he was 6 years old in 1983 he attended the school for the blind for 6 years. He then went on to do class 7 and 8 at St. Agnes and completed his secondary education at Cathedral Secondary School up to Form 5.

As a youngster he was always drawn to music and as a budding musician he was interested and very keen to know more, so the origins of his musical career began with an introduction and offer by Arthur Filtonga to join the Sneak Preview band at the Trade Winds. This was a new world for Petaia - his first time performing with a live band in a recognised Hotel and nightspot, and through the assistance of the United Blind Persons of Fiji, Petaia was able to secure a contract at the Trade Winds in 1996.

Recognised for his musical ambition and aspirations , many people in their eagerness to assist, like Reverend Father Peter Loy Chong approached Petaia in 1997 to be part of his youth band called The Good Samaritan. Petaia’s skill in music works gained him a contract with the Mocambo Hotel Nadi from 1997 to 2001 and his route or musical diary during the years of 2000 to 2001 saw him being a part of the catholic band in Solevu, Bua providing music at the Hotspring Hotel, participating with a singing group called the Vibration which included Ratu Levu and Philipe Waka and was instrumental in forming an Indian group called the Wild Orchid which was owned by Praveen Chand.

In 2003 along his musical meandering he formed a United Blind Person vision band with Akuila Rewatabua and Agnes Underwood. worked at the Beachcomber in 2004, returned to Suva in 2008 and was a member of a live band called the Eastern Brothers who did their thing at the Ranch Night Club owned by Robert Mario, after which he went back to the Beachcomber in 2011. Sometime later in 2011 he was offered employment at the Treasure Island Resort until damages caused to the Resort during a hurricane in 2012, necessitated its closure.

2013 now finds Petaia settled in Suva ,still in his passionate forte (pursuing music) at the Rectangle Night Club playing with a live band called The Black Rock.

Petaia wishes to advise and encourage people with disabilities, never feel inadequate, never be double-minded, move on and work towards your goal. Reach for the stars, first you got to have vision, reach for the stars if you can see it, you can be it, one day you'll get there.

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PRAVIN NARAYAN

To grasp the meaning of disability and to consciously understand the difficulties experienced by unfortunate persons with similar ailments and afflictions has never been really understood by individuals in our society.

Pravin Narayan's nucleus family consists of his parents, 5 brothers... 4 living and 1 deceased.

Pravin completed his primary education at Saraswati Primary and secondary education at Saraswati College up to Form 4 until his low vision became an impairment rendering him unable to pursue further education.

He stayed home for 2 years and then enrolled in the Vocational School for people with disabilities at Brown Street, Suva where he learnt printing work and book binding.

Due to the generous practice of various Business Houses to offer and implement some form of training, Pravin was able to train as a 'receptionist' at Life Insurance Corporation of India for 2 weeks and 3 months at Rewa Dairy. This limited experience did not hinder Pravin from applying for employment and when there were no positive responses, he returned to the Vocational School in Brown Street, where he met a strong advocate for the disabled, Mr. Frank Hilton who arranged employment at United Apparel. Pravin has been there for the last 20 years.

In 2005 Pravin suffered from Kidney failure and had to travel to India for an operation. He was away for 3 months and on his return was very fortunate to continue his employment with United Apparel, where he is a 'Jack of all trades and Master of None'. Nevertheless his job description is 'helper' where he takes out stickers from the garments and cuts threads.

Pravin is very appreciative of management's acceptance of his disability. He is married with 2 sons in class 7 and kindergarten. Navuso is home and now that his younger son has started school, his wife is able to travel daily with him, as his vision is deteriorating quite rapidly.

Coming to terms with his disability, being able to work and have a family is an exciting and rewarding incentive and should be a stimulant to others with similar impairments.

As a matter of fact, we who have been blessed to be able bodied should treat them as equals.

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PUSHPA KARAN

Pushpa's family consisted of 3 brothers and 4 sisters including herself, all able-bodied except for her as she was born blind. One brother passed away in 2000 and all her siblings are married with one brother living in Hawaii and the other is a farmer in Vaivai, Lautoka which is 10 kilometres from the city of Lautoka.

Pushpa's parent may have not been aware that there was a school for the Blind and Pushpa started her education very late. In 1982 she discontinued her schooling and joined Jasper vocational training centre and was accommodated at the Jasper Williams Hostel. A year later she commenced working at Punjas where she packed soap and candles amongst other things, but it was not for her.

She also worked at Westpac.

Motivated by feelings of independence she contemplated living in her own flat. This soon became a reality when two of her friends moved in with her. Eventually she decided to go solo and as she defines it, it was really good to be on one’s own. She is independent, has a housemaid who comes in twice a week to do washing and cleaning and also her weekly marketing.

Always eager to widen her horizons she attended a trainer’s workshop in Navua relating to HIV and AIDS, where she worked in close proximity with able-bodied persons, a very challenging situation for her.

Not allowing any of the above to deter, she is keen to learn and achieve more.

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RAKESH CHAND

Rakesh Chand is totally blind and married with one child and comes from an agricultural background.

Due to an accident when he was about five years old his right eye was injured and he was admitted to hospital, where being away from parents, siblings and extended family was, to say the least, quite boring. After six months no information was forthcoming regarding treatment for his eyes, so he returned home and life was perfect until he noticed differences in the light and the sunset and his continued and persistent questionings prompted his family to take him back to the Suva Hospital, approximately 100 kilometres away where he had to be readmitted and after several check-ups realised that he was rapidly losing his sight.

Being a child, he enjoyed his life at the hospital not too much aware of the loss of vision until he was sent to a unit of the Fiji Crippled Children School where he was very unhappy being apart from his parents. Despite words of encouragement that the school was just like another hospital, Rakesh found himself calling the “teachers” nurses and doctors as it still had the feel of a hospital.

It was at this time that his parents were informed by the eye specialist that they could not operate until he turned 18 as he was too young at the time. There was anticipation that he was going to be able to see after that operation and although his parents were very optimistic they were out of contact with reality as that operation would never eventuate and Rakesh became totally blind.

Nevertheless Rakesh received his primary education at the Fiji School for the blind and was put into the integrated education system at MGM High School. When he returned to vocational Training at the Fiji School for the Blind he was introduced to extension studies at the University of the South Pacific and took English and Law courses. Apart from the foregoing he also received training and job placement opportunities in different organisations, mainly in the packing industries, insurance agencies, Telecom originally known as Posts & Telecommunications, and banking industries.

Rakesh is presently employed by Westpac Banking Corporation where he underwent job placement and training after which he successfully relieved a bank officer who went on leave. Thankfully there were no complaints. Rakesh appreciated that relieving stint, and when it was over he applied for employment, following which he had a further three months of training at the Fiji School for the Blind and he graduated from the Vocational Training.

Whilst enjoying his Christmas break Westpac called him in for an interview. He commenced as a switch-board operator, not really his cup of tea, but the pay pack made a world of difference. After 10 years of loyalty to his employers and occupation he won a Silver

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Community Service award for himself which was presented in Australia and the organisation that he chose to nominate

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RATU TEVITA B0LAKIVEI SUSU

A young Ratu Tevita Bolakivei Susu had a passion for climbing trees but little did he know that it would cost him his vision through falling and knocking his head on the ground several times.

Tevita did not tell a single soul about his falls and only a visit to the doctor revealed internal injury and loss of vision.

Tevita attended Navesi Primary School from Class 1 to Class 3 and after the doctor's diagnosis he attended both the Fiji Cripple School and the Fiji School for the Blind. In fact he was a pioneering student of the Fiji School for the Blind and at that time classes was only up to class 6.

When at the Fiji School for the Blind Tevita found it hard learning Braille but there were other lessons that he learnt such as art and craft, music, and also basic living skills which came in handy throughout his life.

Tevita only spent three years at the Fiji School for the Blind and in 1980 he left to do practical training at the Rehab Centre which was at Knolly Street where he learnt to do coat hangers and belts as well as developing photos.

After his stint at the Rehab Centre job opportunities opened up for him, starting off as a Garage Worker in Lautoka in 1986 where, despite his vision problems, he did painting work, panel beating, tyre and exhaust pipe changing and welding. Tevita had a hand in welding the main gate of the Fiji School for the Blind and also the trampoline that is used at the school.

In 1989 he returned to Suva and worked for 1 year as a Telephone Boy for Lakeba Taxis. After that he worked for 17 years as a Controller for Bure Taxis. Tevita joked that if anyone needed to know road routes he would be the right person to ask.

After leaving Bure Taxis Tevita worked for Fiji Fish for 8 years where his duties were to prepare fishing equipment, counting fishing hooks, preparing snaps for fishing lines, preparing swivels and filling them in drums and cutting tangled fishing lines for re-usage.

After his stint with Fiji Fish Tevita tried his hands on learning to massage and after training in Korea, China and Fiji he now owns a massage parlour which is located at the Flea

Market in Suva. Tevita has many customers attracting clientele from as far as New Zealand, Canada and Africa and one of the highlights since opening his parlour was massaging a woman who was paralysed for 18 years. Today the woman is able to move her body and also walk.

In between jobs Tevita also played for a band which featured people with vision impairment. The painter-cum-panel beater-cum-welder-cum-telephone boy-cum-controller-cum-Fiji Fish worker-cum-musician has advice to offer and that is, nothing is impossible, and if one is doubtful nothing would be achieved.

(24)RAVIN LAL

Continued deterioration of Ravin Lal's eyes came about as a result of his being born partially blind. Ravin is from Tavua and despite this disability he attempted to begin his education by attending classes 1 to 5; however, this impairment became a hindrance so he had to drop out.

While it was difficult for him to come to terms with his situation, it made matters worse when his parents were not aware of the Fiji School for the Blind, and having no other option Ravin had to stay home. When he turned 18 he felt the urge to be like any normal person and began looking for employment which proved rather difficult, as his prospective employers did not give him an opportunity to see what he could and could not do, and turned him away.

This did not intimidate him and in 2004 he tried his hand selling produce besides other things in the market however the anticipated financial rewards were not realised. Then in 2006 he underwent 3 eye operations in India resulting in slight improvement to his vision and on his return trained to be a caregiver at the Fiji Council Services in Tavua followed by three months volunteer work at the Tavua Hospital.

At this juncture Ravin realised that attaining qualifications was very important in order to get a good job and his quest to achieve goals and accomplish same began to materialise. Presently, because of a PSC Scholarship award he is studying English at the Fiji National University Namaka Nadi Campus.

Ravin did have two other operations, part of the three mentioned earlier, and although not as successful as the first, he is still determined that one day he will have a job to go to. Giving up is not part of his mentality, resulting in his being a member of the United Blind Persons of Fiji.

His advice to anyone with disability is persevere, never give up or regard themselves as being non-achievers.

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ROMULO VOTU

Children can be cruel. Romulo Votu would know because he was a victim of child cruelty when he was a young child. In 1992, when Romulo was in Class 8 a fellow student whacked his eye with a stick causing him to be vision impaired, resulting in low vision.

Romulo attended primary school at St. Agnes Primary School and secondary school up to Form 6 at Cathedral Secondary School. where Romulo had to use assistive devices to help him see the blackboard properly from where he was sitting and he was fortunate in that he was always assisted by the Teachers of the Fiji School for the Blind.

At first Romulo found it challenging attending school with sighted students but eventually and in the process of time they became very supportive and were always helping him out with notes and studies.

After Form 6 in 1996 Romulo involved himself serving various organisations. First he joined His Church Youth Group actively participating in many activities that they were involved in. Then he joined the United Blind Persons of Fiji Organisation (UBP) from 1998 to 2004 after being introduced to the organisation by his brother where he served the UBP as a volunteer helping out the office staff when they needed assistance in various activities such as awareness campaigns, social events and fundraising drives. His association with the UBP continued from 2004 to 2006 although now, he spends time at home and also does part-time work at RICOH.

In 2007 he had a one-year stint with the Book Binding Section of the Fiji Vocational Training Centre at Brown Street, Suva, followed by a six-month stint with Classic Apparel, and around 2009 Romulo was fortunate to have been selected to attend a Youth Conference in Sydney, Australia, where he learnt a lot.

He was fortunate in 2010 to have received financial help from FCOS which enabled him to complete his Foundation Studies at the University of the South Pacific, and today, Romulo

is still involved with the UBP particularly as the UBP Representative in the Human Rights Grant Scheme (HRGS) which is funded by AusAid.

The main focus of the HRGS is to integrate persons with disabilities into the main stream and to help mould and build their capacity because they have potential - something that Romulo has plenty of and is working hard at.

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RUCI SENIKULA

Recognising one's ability and using it to empower one's self and making a difference has proven true for Ruci Senikula.

Mr and Mrs Lacarua of Moumi, Bau, Tailevu are proud parents to 5 wonderful children and Ruci is their youngest daughter who was born to them blind, and being the baby of the family no doubt was given all the love and affectionate that any child could get from her family despite her impairment, and this is something that she will always be indebted to her parents and family for.

Time came for Ruci to begin school and off to the Fiji School for The Blind (FSB) went Ruci to begin her primary education, nevertheless as young as she was Ruci was being exposed to boarding life where she learnt a great deal on how a person with vision impairment could live independently, and she attended FSB for classes 1 and 2 where she learnt how to read and write using Braille. The following year Ruci was being integrated into the main stream school, and for her classes 3 to 8, she attended St. Marcellin Primary School.

Subsequent to completing her primary school, Ruci went on to Cathedral Secondary School for forms 3 to 6 and then onto St Joseph's Secondary School for form 7 where she finished off her secondary school education with flying colours. She furthered her education to tertiary level where she attended the University of The South Pacific and now holds an IISE certificate in Social Enterprise, a degree double majoring in Education and Applied Psychology with one more unit left for her to complete.

As brilliant as Ruci was, facing challengers never eluded her. Thankfully, there were teachers who took time to get used to teaching her and there were times in secondary school she found difficulties with diagrams, but as times passed, Ruci found a way to rise above these challengers.

In February of 2011 Ruci secured herself a job with the United Blind Persons of Fiji as the Project Officer for 1 year and 8 months and she says that her working environment was

user friendly due to the fact that there were assistive devices at her disposal which made her work easier.

Ruci is currently employed under the Human Rights Grant Scheme as the representative of the Fiji Disable People's Federation being part of an Employment Task Force and her role focuses on government ministry policies on employment opportunities for persons with disabilities.

Ruci advices people who are living with any forms of disability is to never look down on themselves because of their disability but instead use it as a stepping stone and always strive forward and try to make a difference.

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SAIRUSI TABULAWAKI

Self-pity and giving up was never an option for Sairusi Tabulawaki, who was born normal and attended school both primary and secondary school as any other child his age.

A fine young boy, Sairusi enjoyed life attending AOG secondary school not knowing what the future had in store for him and at the age of 15 Sairusi lost his vision, completely in the dark as to how this came about and this was very devastating for him and his family.

Visits to the hospital were next for Sairusi with the hope that the doctors would be able to restore his sight again and in 1984 after consultations with 2 doctors for an operation to have contact lens inserted into his eyes, Sairusi was very hopeful and excited for he knew that his vision would be restored again, but after surgery his vision was not restored enough for him to live a normal life as he had expected.

Never losing hope, Sairusi came to find out about the Fiji School for the Blind (FSB) at Vatuwaqa., where he spent 2 years at FSB learning all that he could to be able to live life as normal as any other person.

In 1985 Sairusi participated in the Australian Pan Pacific Games in which he won 2 gold medals in the 100 and 200 metres. During and after this 2 years Sairusi grew very confident and independent and finally realised that losing his vision was not the end of the world and as a result, he was able to secure a job with Rewa Dairy as a general hand packing full cream milk and he is very thankful to Mr. Ali for offering him this job and at Rewa Dairy where he has worked for 13 years.

He has now moved on after Rewa Dairy to being a care taker for a prominent business man in Suva, where he has looked after his properties for 6 years.

Sairusi, who hails from the village of Waisomo in Kadavu, is now 45 years old and is married with 3 children. Today he calls himself a farmer and owns 9 acres of land where he plants root crops, vegetables and fruits for their family consumption and also plans to sell when the crops are ready for harvest.

Currently he and his family reside on their farm, in their own home in Uluileba subdivision, Wailase in the province of Naitasiri. Farming and being a farmer for Sairusi is not the end of his dreams as he hopes and intends to venture out and try his skills in newer fields in the not too distant future.

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SAVITA DEVI

Most children nowadays start their education by attending pre-school for perhaps a year or two before commencing their primary debut by which time the age frame would be either 5 or 6 years old, and on most occasions, if not always, in the comfort of their own homes, in familiar surroundings with their parents and siblings.

An ideal scenario some may say, however unfortunately this was not the norm for Savita Shivangni Devi whose family consisted of Dad, Mr. Lakshmi Prasad, Mom, Mrs. Prabha Wati and brother, Parmeshwar Prasad.

Blind, from birth in 1990, she grew up in Seaqaqa in Vanualevu, where after a visit by Field Officers or Community Workers, her parents were informed about the School for the blind at Vatuwaqa, Suva, in Viti Levu. Which also provided accommodation for Boarders.

So in 1997 began Savita’s independent and academic journey .

Independently, at the Hostel where she was introduced to washing, hanging, folding and even ironing her own clothes, also experiencing some highs and a few lows in this part of her journey.

Academically, she completed primary school at the Fiji School For The Blind and received her secondary education at DAV Girls College, Samabula, from Form 3 to Form 6. At the Fiji School For The Blind, Savita was comfortable because she had become familiar with all things and people around her. At DAV she was out of her depths, like a fish out of water as all the students had two good eyes.

Initially she felt uncomfortable , a feeling reciprocated by teachers and students alike especially when she used the Braille machine which is quite noisy. Fortunately all concerned adapted.

Her first attempt in 2011 at acquiring her Fiji School Leaving Certificate (FSLC) was unsuccessful, nevertheless she tried again in 2012 during which time she lived with her

brother in Raiwai, from where she was able to learn computer studies at the United Blind Persons Office . For Savita this was another first for her and she admits that although from the outset it was difficult, she soon got the hang of it, and found it easy. This proved immensely encouraging for Savita as she wants to study more in order to achieve her aspirations of becoming an English Teacher.

Savita’s perseverance and resilience is testimony to others who are blind or visionally impaired that they should not be discouraged or embarrassed about their disability and instead they should joy in that they are capable of overcoming and with the right knowledge and support, they can make a difference.

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SURESH CHAND

Despite losing his eyesight 13 years ago, Suresh Chand of Waila, Navuso has not permitted this impairment to prevent him from leading a very normal and fruitful life.

Being diagnosed as short sighted and with the slow on-going deterioration of his eyesight, he was forced to leave School when he was in From 5 at Saraswati College in 1979. Woodwork was one of his favourite subjects at school and when he left school, he joined his father Mr.Brij Narayan doing carpentry.

Mr. Chand's already dwindling vision continued and he was going blind, only to be told by Doctors at CWM that an operation would be costly and nothing more could be done for his eyes.

After continued visits to the CWM Hospital for eye treatment, he applied for a voluntary position and was successful and was attached to the Switchboard at the Hospital. He was given the opportunity to act as relieving staff for 6 months and continued from 1985 to 1990. When a Switchboard Operator’s position became vacant a Nausori Health Centre he successfully applied for the position and has been there since.

Mr. Chand is versatile and his job requires him to answer calls, transfer them, make announcements and call patients numbers through the PA system.

By 1997, Mr. Chand had completely lost his sight, but his energy, vitality and commitment never declined, rather his focus and determination has increased.

Motivated by his responsibilities, spurred him on and gave him purpose and confidence. Being the bread winner, he ably supported his daughter through primary, secondary and Nursing School. She is now a Nurse at the CWM Hospital because of his sacrifice and achievements. His will to accomplish knows no limits. At home he is involved in subsistence farming with his co-pilot, his ever supporting wife, and they plant bean, baigan, pawpaw's, bele, maize, dalo leaves and many other crops for their daily use.

Presently he is the President of the Tailevu Disabled Peoples' Organisation , is also the President of the Men's' Ministry for the Mission Field Outreach Church and has his own taxi which operates out of Gladstone Street, Suva.

For Mr. Chand there is no mountain high enough, so be encouraged, have the will to achieve.

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