A mother’s struggles to provide the best she could for her child was paid in full yesterday.

Amla Wati, a widow of Labasa, shared tears of joy as she watched her son, Aneet Lal, receive the dux award during the Bulileka Sanatan College prizegiving ceremony on Thursday.

The 50-year-old mother-of-six recalled the painful memories of how she lost her husband when Aneet was in Year Three.

“Aneet was the youngest in the family and I had to make so many choices about my children’s education,” Ms Wati of Anuve, outside Labasa, said.

“I sacrificed so much to make sure that Aneet was able to complete his high school education.

“Today I am a proud mother because he is the first in the family to receive the Dux Award. I know that my sacrifices have paid off.”

The 19-year-old aspiring telecommunication and network engineer said he was thankful to his mother and siblings.

“My mother and siblings collected whatever funds they had to support my education and if it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t have completed Year 13,” Aneet said.

While he said competition was tough in his class, he worked towards his goals.

“I would like to thank all my teachers for their moral support. In life I have learnt to face struggles instead of being bitter about problems that surround us. I know I will experience more difficult times in my life, but I am prepared for it.”

He scored 448 out of 500 in the annual examination.

Edited by Caroline Ratucadra

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