Seasonal work builds new home for Leba’s family
Today, that goal stands as a three-bedroom house she paid for with income earned through seasonal work.
Saturday 03 October 2026 | 11:30
Mereani Leba receiving her certificate on business training at the Ministry of Youth and Sports Conference Room in Lautoka with her house.
Photo: Mereleki Nai
For four years, Mereani Leba endured the demands of farm work in Australia with one goal in mind — to build a new home for her children.
Today, that goal stands as a three-bedroom house she paid for with income earned through seasonal work.
“I demolished our old house and built a new three-bedroom house with the income I received from Australia. I am the only income earner in my family. The income I get does not satisfy everything that I am responsible for, supporting my two children in high school and one in primary school and providing for our everyday needs.”
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Ms Leba, 40, is from Malake Village in Ra and has maternal links to Doi in Ono-i-Lau.
She worked for the Fiji Revenue and Customs Service (FRCS) from 2011 to 2022 before resigning to pursue overseas seasonal employment through the National Employment Centre (NEC) under the Ministry of Employment, Productivity and Workplace Relations.
Before leaving Fiji, Ms Leba set herself two targets — to build a house and establish a business.
She said both goals were fulfilled when she returned from seasonal work in June this year.
But achieving them required sacrifice.
“It was not easy to work on the farm. What the men do, we also do it too.
“Sometimes the job is hard, but I always think of my children and what I have been purposed to do.”
Ms Leba first travelled with other seasonal workers in 2023 and returned to Fiji in June this year.
She said some workers who travelled with her did not return to Fiji as scheduled.
Ms Leba stressed the importance of seasonal workers respecting the conditions of the programme and returning home when their contracts end.
“It is important that when our time is due, we must return back to Fiji. We will be given opportunity to go back.”
Next goal
With a new home secured for her family, Ms Leba is now focused on establishing a sustainable business.
She and other seasonal workers in the West underwent business development training to help them make better use of the income they earned overseas.
Ms Leba plans to focus on the market-vendor business, building on a venture her mother has already started.
For Ms Leba, the years spent working on Australian farms were about more than earning money.
Each difficult day away from home was tied to the future she wanted for her children — and the promise of a home to return to.
