Nafitalai Endures Sacrifices, Does Family, Fulaga Proud
Nafitalai dedicated his achievements to his parents and thanked them for bringing him from the comforts of his village abode in Fulaga, in pursuit of education.
Thursday 30 November 2023 | 03:17
Nafitalai Qareiwasa is flanked by family at the Nakasi High School prizegiving ceremony.
Five years of enduring sacrifices paid off handsomely for Nafitalai Qareiwasa when he scooped the Dux award at the Nakasi High School prizegiving ceremony on Tuesday.
The 18-year-old Fulaga native from Lau was delighted to become the first in his family to reach and complete Year 13, and claim the dux title.
Being the youngest of three siblings, Nafitalai explained that his academic journey was ridden with financial constraints.
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“My parents were into wood carving until COVID-19 hit and left them unemployed,” Nafitalai said.
“This forced my eldest sister to provide for the rest of the family.”
To help ease the burden on his sister and to pay for his way through school, he did random jobs.
“I did things in the neighborhood like cleaning driveways, maintaining yards and I also tutored children there,” he said.
“All these helped me earn money during the pandemic so I could buy school stationeries and other basic needs.”
He reaped just rewards when he was nominated for the Vision Award in 2021.
The Vision Fiji leadership award was in recognition for going out of his way to help students despite being in similar circumstances.
Nafitalai dedicated his achievements to his parents and thanked them for bringing him from the comforts of his village abode in Fulaga, in pursuit of education.
Nakasi High School principal Praveen Chand said Nafitalai was a dream come true for any parent and school for that matter.
“Given the number of years that he has spent here, his contribution to his peers and to extra-curricular activities and the fact that he has had zero discipline cases makes him a truly remarkable student,” Mr Chand said.
“We are really proud of him.”
Apart from being the dux, Nafitalai also scooped the leadership award, the principal’s award, outstanding science student, Dr Goundar’s award for being the highest in English and Biology, first prize and the top scorer awards in English, Maths, Chemistry and Biology.
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