Missing Dad’s Cremation Pays Off For Niklesh

Missing out on attending a father’s cremation has paid off for a student of Swami Vivekananda College.

Niklesh Kumar had to skip attending the cremation and sit for his Fiji School Leav­ing Certificate (FSLC) examination. Despite the loss, the 17-year-old believes his late fa­ther, Abimanu Kumar, would be smiling at him now – he scored 347 out of 400.

Niklesh had to sit for his Maths paper on the day the late Mr Kumar was cremated.

“That particular day, I recalled every word my father used to encourage me about my future dreams. So, I decided to make a sacri­fice for my future and sit for my exams and miss out dad’s burial.

“I believe that if he was alive today he would be pleased with my FSLC exam re­sults,” he said.

The teenager also believes his achieve­ment came about from the sacrifices and encouragement from his parents.

“My dad was a carpenter and he always encouraged me and my brother to work and study hard for a better future than him. He doesn’t want us to work in the hot sun and struggled like him to put food on the table and build a house for us,” the aspiring air­craft engineer said.

“He always told us that he wanted us to work in an office or in an airplane far be­yond from the work that he does. Those words inspired me and I wanted to make my parents proud.”

Edited by Naisa Koroi

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