Family members and friends converged at Korovuto Village, Nadi, to farewell the eighth victim of the Nabou crash, Joseph Underwood, yesterday.

The Year 11 student of Korovuto College accompanied a group of Ratu Navula College students and ex-scholars to watch the Powerade Super Deans Rugby semi-finals at the ANZ Stadium in Suva on August 4.

The trip turned tragic when they were involved in a horrific three-vehicle crash, which claimed six lives at the scene.

Joseph died early on August 11 after eight days in a critical condition at the Intensive Care Unit at the Lautoka Hospital.

He attended Ratu Navula from 2016-2017 for his Year 9 and Year 10 classes before joining Korovuto College this year.

Former student of Ratu Navula Ratu Sailosi Dawai delivered a thought-provoking eulogy on behalf of the school during the service.

Mr Sailosi said: “Not only are we farewelling Joseph today, we are also concluding a series of funerals that made an unprecedented impact on the Ratu Navula College family, the vanua o Nadi, the nation and across the globe.

“At this juncture I wish to highlight the positive effects that accompanied the catastrophe.

“It commanded unity and solidarity among families, communities, societies, schools, associations and the nation.

“It triggered a sense of repentance, forgiveness, genuine love and true affection.

“The incident activates an unmatched focus on the almighty Living God.

“We will remember them for laying the foundation and for being the pillars that we needed to escalate our growth and to gain momentum in this paradigm shift.

“We will honour their memories by safeguarding all of the mentioned positive impacts that accompanied the calamity.”

His aunt Maca Underwood wept beside the casket and said: “Joey open your eyes for the last time and see your Aunty Maca for the last time.”

One of the school teachers at Korovuto Kamal Swamy said: “He was a big comedian in school.

“No matter how serious and angry a person would be, he could crack jokes and turn it into laughter.”

He was buried at the village cemetery and members of his family said they were grateful to the village elders for allowing the service to take place at Korovuto.

Edited by Epineri Vula

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