Returning seasonal worker plans sewing business after Australia stint

Working in Australia for three years has helped a Bau mother support her family, invest in their livelihood and take the first steps towards becoming a business owner.

Seruwaia Watiloqauli, 56, used the money she earned as a caregiver under the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) Scheme to buy a boat engine for her husband, pay her son's tuition at Fiji National University (FNU) and start a home-based sewing business.

The mother of six and grandmother of four worked near the Queensland-New South Wales border in a role she had never done before.

"I really enjoyed it, even though everything was new," she said. "It was challenging because I was away from my family for the first time."

Ms Watiloqauli said the opportunity transformed life for her family on Bau Island.

"I purchased an engine, which helped my husband go to his plantation," she said. Her husband is also a cattle farmer.

She also extended the family home and paid her son's fees at FNU in Lautoka.

After completing a business training course in Suva this week, Ms Watiloqauli said she now plans to formally register her home-based sewing business.

"I have to register my business," she said.

She hopes to return to Australia under the PALM Scheme to continue building her family's future.

Her message to other women considering overseas work is simple.

"Just be yourself and focus on your dream... it will make you grow stronger."