After four years, widow gets her chance

After four years of waiting, persistence and prayer, a Nadawa widow has finally secured her place under the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme.

Jasmindar Singh, 49, received her certificate last week at Kshatriya Hall in Suva, marking the end of a long wait that began in 2022. She will soon travel to Sydney to work as a hotel room attendant for the next four years.

She was part of the 90 Fijians that were farewelled by Minister for Employment Agni Deo Singh last week.

“In 2022 I applied, so many times I come and update, now I got mine,” Ms Singh said, clutching her certificate with a smile.

Ms Singh is the sole breadwinner for her family, having lost her husband nine years ago. She supports three children and her 67-year-old mother.

“The pay we’re getting in here is not enough for my family and I’m the only breadwinner in my family,” she said.

Before her selection, Ms Singh worked as a housekeeper at the Fiji National University hostel. She said the decision to leave was not easy, but it was made together with her family.

“I sit down and I decide with them and they call me, that you’ve got a clinic to go, that I make a meeting and counsel my kids, and they are all happy with me,” she said.

Knowing she will be far from home, Ms Singh said faith helped her through the waiting period.

“I pray hard to my God, this is my opportunity, I have to come,” she said.

Her goal is to save enough money to buy a car and start a small restaurant business when she returns to Fiji.

“I’m gonna send money home and savings too,” she said.

Ms Singh also encouraged other Indo-Fijian women to apply for the scheme.

“Try your best, everybody can get the job,” she said.