ON a day when most 13 year olds are glued to their screens or enjoying time with friends, Taniela Tave chose a different kind of holiday.
With one hand gently guiding his visually impaired 73-year-old grandfather Lekini Vasukiwai through the city hall, Taniela is spending his school break helping a loved senior citizen.
A student of Krishna Janardhan School, assisting his grandfather during a celebration organised to honour Senior Citizens Day yesterday at the Civic Centre in Suva is a Christmas gift he believes he can give his favourite grandpa.
While the event honoured the elderly, it was the quiet presence of Taniela that stood out.
Calm, patient, and attentive, he guided his grandfather through the crowd and ensured he was comfortable throughout the event.
“I am happy to be here with my grandfather to attend this celebration,” he said.
His maternal grandfather, who hails from Lomaivuna, Naitasiri, lost his eyesight in the year 2000 after undergoing cataract surgery. What was meant to restore his vision, instead, changed his life forever.
“When I entered the hospital, I could see but after the surgery, when I removed the plaster, I realised I lost my vision,” Mr Vasukiwai said.
Since then, he had to relearn daily routines and sometimes depend on others for tasks he once managed himself.
The Senior Citizens Day focused on honorring age and experience and was organized by the National Senior Citizens Council.
Within this small act of devotion lies a larger story, and for Tevita it is about the respect for elders.
“It is not only taught in classrooms or spoken about on special days, but lived, sometimes by a schoolboy like me spending my holidays to help my blind grandad.”
