Fiji Sun

Losing his father at the age of three and being a distance from his moth­er for the sake of employment has never drowned Satendra Prasad emotion­ally.

The 24-year-old originally from Daloko Village in Dreketi, Macuata Province, left his home at the age of 19 to work as an ap­prentice at Fiji Sugar Corporation in La­basa.

“I have experienced various kind of struggle in life and still continue to do so,” the youngest of four siblings said.

“It’s challenging staying away from fam­ily, cooking food for oneself for more than five years.

“I worked as an apprentice for years and then last year I worked as a mechanic at the mill.

“Starting work from a young age did not sway me away from living my dream and that is to become a transport engineer,” Mr Prasad said.

“Having a Certificate Three in Engineer­ing-Mechanical is a stepping stone to my career.

“More than this, I feel thankful to God for helping me make my mother proud as I am the first one in the family to graduate with a certificate.

“Unfortunately, she couldn’t come to my graduation as she lives very far away, but she did call me and blessed me over the phone.

“I can’t wait to hug her and show my cer­tificate.

“I hope God blesses me with another scholarship so that I can upgrade my skills and knowledge.”

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