One of the most senior residents of the Samabula Senior Citizens Home yesterday reflected on his life as a loner and how he misses his two children who now have their own families in Australia.

“I have lived on my own for about 40 years and I have told all my relatives that when I find a place I don’t want any of you to come and visit me until I am ready as I am like that,” 79-year-old Wallace Waterman Work said.

Mr Work, who spoke to the Fiji Sun during the celebration of Father’s Day at the Home, was the chief guest of the occasion.

The gathering was organised by the Ministry of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation.

Mr Work misses his children who he has not seen the last 18 years.

He joined the home on June 20 this year and he considers himself a loner who has always travelled and done things on his own.

He got married in England to an Australian lady before they got separated 51 years ago but he is still in contact with his children though he has not seen them since 1999.

“I am a hard person to get along with and my children are with their mother in Australia,” he said.

“I don’t know when they will come to visit me next as their last visit was in 1999. I have already told them that I will never leave Fiji.”

His children are now 55-years-old and 57-years-old and they have their own families to look after. The last time they visited they were still single.

Mr Work said he spent less than five years with his children as they have mostly been with their mother.

“When my wife and I had decided to separate I had told her that it would be better for her to take the children to Australia and live there because at that time the wages in Fiji was so poor that I couldn’t afford to send my children to school,” he said.

Mr Work, with tears in his eyes, said: “Every moment I had spent with my children was a cherished moment for me that I still remember and hold dear to my heart.

“I love children as they are wonderful creatures. When you see a little child you see an angel and when you see them you want to do everything for them.”