A Fijian COVID-19 survivor is advising other students in India not to be afraid of the pandemic, but instead focus on completing their studies.

Deepak Prasad originally from Tabia, Labasa has completed his Master of Commerce, majoring in accounting and auditing at the Gujarat University in India.

The 35-year-old father is now on his way back home to reunite with his parents and four-year-old daughter.

COVID-19 experience

Sharing his experience, Mr Prasad said when the second wave of COVID-19 Delta variant hit India in April, he fell victim to the deadly virus.

He was immediately placed into isolation in a COVID Centre at Ahmedabad in Gujarat for 14 days after testing positive.

While in isolation, he kept his eyes on the goal – to complete his studies and return home to his family.

“For five days the medical team gave me medication and after that I recovered,” Mr Prasad shared.

“I can’t describe the pain I went through, but what motivated me

to recover was the memories of my loved ones.”

The former football referee and employee of the University of the South Pacific said before the 14th day, he recovered and returned home to complete his online finals.

“It wasn’t easy to adjust to COVID-19 restrictions and protocols such as wearing of masks, handwashing and maintaining distance,” he said.

“While staying focused on examinations I had to also protect myself

from coronavirus. Living in a country where thousands of people die daily from coronavirus led me to sleepless nights,” Mr Prasad said.

Mr Prasad decided to study under the Indian Government scholarship following the passing of his wife in 2018. He has a Bachelor of Accounting and Diploma in Business Accounting degree from the Fiji National University.

“Life in the past two years wasn’t easy being away from family, but I managed to blend in with the Indians considering the land of India as my mother land,” he said.

“If you remain faithful in the little things you do and stay focused,

you can achieve anything in life.”

He thanked his parents for looking after his daughter so that he could achieve his dream to study in India.

Edited by Caroline Ratucadra

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