MOTHERS are such that they laugh when their children are happy and cry during the gloomy days and this becomes a motivation factor for their children to try and go that one step further and achieve their dreams.
For Vodafone Fiji under-20 footballer Setareki Hughes, his mother passed away with a dream of seeing her son representing Fiji in the FIFA World Cup.
Hughes’s mother, Mere Tanoa Hughes ,was making arrangements to travel to New Zealand to see her son play in the FIFA under-20 World Cup but little did she know that destiny had already planned to take her away from her family.
Hughes’s father, Leadro Hughes, remembered the night when his wife said her final goodbye.
If life had asked a dying mother for a final wish then Mere would have definitely wanted to be alive to see the apple of her eye play in the World Cup.
“On that Easter Friday we went to church together and later on that night she mentioned that she had a pain in her body and the following morning we took her to the hospital and she was given a drip and was on the oxygen and injection,” Leadro said.
At about 6.45pm she died without seeing her son play in the World Cup.”
Hughes said his wife would have been the proudest mum seeing her child playing in the World Cup.
“The way he is performing I am very proud of his performance and I always teach him about discipline.”
“When we came out of Vanua Levu in 2006 we came with the Labasa under-12 team for a tournament in Suva and he was nine-years-old and since then he decided to don the Fiji jersey.
“It is a dream come true for Seta and our family as he will be part of the team playing in the World Cup.”
He said he consulted his late wife Mere Tanoa Hughes to move from Vanua Levu so their son could gain more football exposure.
“I always tell him to train hard and never give up as one day you will see your success after your hard work.
“Back in 2006 the way he was performing in the Fiji FACT I knew my son would go a long way,”
“Then his mum and I decided to move from Vanua Levu to Suva for the betterment of our son and for him to continue with his football,” an emotional Leadro said.
The family had organised her passport and were working on other travel logistics as her ticket was about to be organised in a week or two but it turned out to be a nightmare for family.
“She made her plan to be with our son in New Zealand to see him play for Fiji in the World Cup. I am so sorry that she could not be here today to see her son’s achievement. His mum was very happy with him during the qualifiers when Fiji finally managed to book a spot in the World Cup. She supported him wherever he went to play football.”
According to Leadro he always try to encourage his son to do well knowing that the blessing hands of his mum was no longer on him.
“I always tell and encourage Seta that although his mum is not here, he needs to play and perform well to get in the history book in remembrance of his mum. She used to encourage him and follow him everywhere supporting him from the sideline.
Her ticket was due to arrive in two weeks before she passed away. I would not be able to go with him to the World Cup because of work commitments but I can give my best wishes to him. I have faith in him that he will play well for his country.
“Every time he goes into the field I tell him to use his skills and play just his mother is watching him from the sidelines. I wish the boys well for the World Cup.”
While with other members of the U20 team celebrating Mother’s Day with their mothers, Seta as he is commonly known was wandering around longing for that love and affection his mother would have given him if she was still alive.
“Though my mum is not here but with the love from all the mothers of my teammates I would like to thank all of them for making me feel comfortable on this special occasion.
“I thank the Lord for giving me the strength in this difficult time. I can clearly remember that whenever I used to play she was there supporting and cheering for me from the sideline. But no one will ever support me now and I will miss her at the World Cup. I will work really hard and will try to make my mum and the country proud,” Hughes said.
Hughes added she was the motivating factor to go one extra step in his life.
“Before coming to camp she told me that she wanted to go and watch me play at the World Cup but unfortunately she has gone. She always encourage me in my life so that I could achieve everything in my life.
“I know she would be watching me from above and would be proud to see me,” Hughes added.
