Waka Excels Despite Disability

Eighteen-year-old Nemani Waka was diagnosed with Klinefelter syndrome and febrile seizures at a young age. Despite this, he chose to approach life with a positive mindset.

Klinefelter syndrome is a genetic illness where a male is born with one or more extra X chromosomes and may be taller throughout their life as testosterone growth stops after puberty.

Young males diagnosed with Klinefelter syndrome may have learning difficulties, delayed speech and short-term memory.

Mr Waka attended Lautoka School for Special Education from 2009 to 2016 from the age of six to 13. From 2017 to 2018 he worked in garages.

He attended the Technical College in Lautoka from 2019 to 2020 to pursue a Certificate 2 in Bodyworks and Spray Painting and graduated in 2021. He then spent the rest of 2021 until early this year assisting bus drivers in Lautoka by accompanying them on trips.

The soft-spoken lad currently resides in Koroipita, Lautoka with his mother and was one of the eight people in the area recruited as Central Sterile Supply Department (CSSD) attendants in April by Aspen Medical Fiji to work at the Lautoka Hospital.

“Now, I am helping in doing deliveries in every ward. I feel happy, it’s good for me and I promise to do my best,” he said.

The Uluibau, Moturiki native can be normally spotted at the Lautoka bus station accompanying bus drivers on trips.

His mother, Arieta Vosanasau, thanked the Koroipita Model Town Charitable Trust and Aspen Medical Fiji for helping her son secure employment at the Lautoka Hospital, easing her financial struggles.

“Raising him alone was a battle; from him being bedridden to using a wheelchair and he started walking at the age of 7, but I never gave up, I even quit my job and focused on him,” she said.

She said she enrolled her son at the Technical College in Lautoka after he showed an interest in cars at a young age.

“He did well and attained a Certificate 2 in Bodyworks and Spray Painting. He was a little upset about the place he went to do his practical because of the bullying verbally,” she said.

“He did a lot of garage work and was still underestimated, but that didn’t stop him from trying to achieve his goal and we are grateful to Aspen Medical for acknowledging his ability and not his disabilities and despite all the negative words. He showed everyone that he could do it.”

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