ATTENDING classes by day and selling coconuts and pastries at night is the norm for children as young as 12.
This newspaper came across a group of 10 young lads immersed in their ‘business’ at a car park in Laucala Bay, Suva, yesterday.
“We are selling young coconuts (bu) because our parents can’t afford to cater for all our needs at home due to financial problems,” one of them explained.
Barefoot in the cold and struggling to keep warm in worn-out clothes, a boy carried a sack on his shoulder and pushed his way through the busy crowd as he pleaded with people to buy what he had to offer.
“I usually do this every night but in the day I am in school.
“Like any young boy, I want some things my parents can’t afford. “We got all this young coconuts from Lami and from there we caught a cab to come and sell them here.”
The soft-spoken student said he sometimes earned about $50 a night.
“The police come and chase us away from here, at least we are not stealing and doing anything bad, we are just trying to earn money.
“The money I earn every night is enough for me to buy stuff that my parents couldn’t afford.
“Some of the money I earn will go to my parents.
“I study during the day at one nearby school here in Raiwaqa and at night I join my other friends from our neighbourhood to sell pastries or young coconuts because this is always a busy spot.”
His cousin, who said he was from Beqa Island, said he wanted to see how children in Suva City earned money on the streets.
“I am here to spend the school holidays so I decided to accompany my cousin and to see what they do for a living,” he said.
