Trailblazer Kamikamica Dies, 85

Long-time educator and pioneering unionist Esiteri Vakalala-Kamikamica was described as a trailblazer by former colleague Susana Tuisawau.

Mrs Kamikamica was called to rest on March 27, aged 85, after a short illness.

Just like her former schoolmate, the late Taufa Vakatale, Mrs Kamikamica, was a woman of many firsts.

Mrs Kamikamica was a long-time teacher, a leader, a champion of the empowerment of indigenous women, and a worker’s rights fighter.

She was married to former finance minister the late Josevata Kamikamica and is the mother of Fiji’s Deputy Prime Minister, Manoa Kamikamica.

She was the only successful candidate to be awarded the Centenary Scholarly Scholarship by the Australasian Methodist Church in 1957 to major in English and Geography at the University of New England in New South Wales, Australia.

At the completion of her studies in 1961, she became the first indigenous woman to obtain a degree from a foreign university.

She was also one of the first women to attend the all-boys boarding school, Queen Victoria School, Matavatucou, in Tailevu.

In a personal tribute, Mrs Tuisawau described Mrs Kamikamica as one who stood by the truth and was always consistent.

“Esiteri was someone who never broke rules, and that was how she lived,” Mrs Tuisawau said.

She added that Mrs Kamikamica always saw the best in everyone.

Even with her busy life, Mrs Kamikamica volunteered her specialty in the church, the retired Fijian Teachers Association, and the education sector in Fiji and the region.

Roles she held included:

- Methodist Church secretary for its Education arm;

- Fiji Council of Churches secretary;

- Member of Public Service Commission;

- Member of the Fiji Consumer Council;

- President of the National Council of Women (two terms);

- President of the YWCA (two terms); and

- First woman president of the Fiji Teachers Union.

Mrs Kamikamica is the fourth eldest in a family of nine children. Her siblings were successful in the different sectors they were employed in.

She hails from Navunievu Village, Bua, where she will be laid to rest among her family members tomorrow.

A thanksgiving service will be held at 3pm today at the Centenary Church in Suva.

Following the service, the funeral cortege will proceed to her residence in Lami before it leaves for Vanua Levu in the evening.

Feedback: wati.talebula@fijisun.com.fj