DIVESH Chandra believes that we should always work hard for what we want and not take any shortcuts while trying to achieve our personal goals.
The 21-year-old from Nasinu is one of the young men vying for this year’s Vodafone Fiji Hibiscus festival Kings crown.
The former student of Rishikul Sanatan College in Nasinu who is now an apprentice with Government Shipping Services said he had this dream of being a King contestant from childhood whenever he saw contestants taking part and having so much fun, which was what motivated his participation in the pageant.
Divesh, sponsored by APCO Paints, said the personal quality he would want to champion at the national stage was hard work.
He said the preparations for Hibiscus was really hectic because he had to look for tailors and designers for his wardrobe for the week, and also attend to work, school and rehearsals while managing his time.
“I have my family who are helping in preparing myself for the Hibiscus week and I am really happy to have them by my side from day one,” Divesh said.
“The experience that I have gone through to juggle work, school and Hibiscus commitments was really difficult.
“Due to the fact that I have a whole day at school where classes are back to back, I would also try to wake up early in the morning in order to get to work before 7am and spend most of my time in the engine room.
“After that, at around 5pm, I have to come back to the Hibiscus office and psych myself for rehearsal after which I have to go home and do my research and study for a lot of things.”
Divesh said the scariest thing for him at this year’s pageant would be doing the research topic because they were the first batch of King contestants for the festival to compete for this award.
However, he said the most exciting things about being a Hibiscus contestant was learning a lot of things and the idea of meeting new people and sharing ideas with them.
“Another exciting thing would be to learn issues and advocacies that my fellow contestants are advocating and forming new families and bonds with my fellow brothers.”
Divesh will be advocating on the theme of climate change at this year’s festival.
“Being part of this platform will give me exposure in terms of media coverage to spread my advocacy whenever I want to organise some awareness programs and campaign.”
