FOR 15 years Salesh Chand and Sunita Wati have been getting up at 3am to prepare food parcels. They then travel for about two hours daily from Ba to Lautoka City where they disembark and peddle the ready cooked food as they walk about.
Mr Chand of Rarawai in Ba, has never had a permanent employment his entire life and since marrying Sunita, his family relied on what little he got from cutting sugar cane and selling brooms.
As time went on and as their family grew, the couple started thinking seriously about how they could earn money to support their family. Hence, the food selling “business”.
If you’re from the Sugar City, then it is highly likely that you have encountered this humble man carrying his bags of food.
Mr Chand wears a smile that hides the hardship and struggle he endures daily. But for the interested, a closer look at the creases along his face tell a compelling story of hard labour under the hot sun.
“It was very hard but we never gave up,” said Mr Chand.
“One thing I have to say is that whatever you do, you have to do it from your heart because if you don’t then you will not get the blessings. I believe I have received the blessings because I have been working hard and I have been honest about everything.
“If your heart is clean and pure, everything will fall in place.”
And although they had little and made little from what they sold, the couple always had the time and energy to put aside a little extra for those who are neglected by society. Every day since they began their food vending business, a few extra parcels are set aside for the homeless and beggars on the streets of Lautoka.
“We have been feeding the homeless for many years. Many of them know me and they wait for me every day. No matter if the demand for more parcels is there, whatever my wife packs for them, I give it to them.
“I have grown to love what I do, selling food to my customers and meeting a lot of people and making friends with people who have no homes and giving them something small to help them through their day.
“Sometimes we wonder if God is watching because we continued to struggle for many years but everything happens in His time. Always work hard and honestly and the blessings will eventually come.”
Mr Chand proudly explained that his eldest daughter was training to become a teacher while her two younger siblings were progressing well in primary and secondary school.
And not only that, Mr Chand is now the proud owner of his registered food vending business called “Thirst First” operating out of Shirley Park in Lautoka every Saturday. And like his life, Mr Chand’s new business also has a story behind it.
“I came to meet the Prime Minister (Voreqe Bainimarama) once when he came to Lautoka,” explains Mr Chand.
“During that meeting, I gifted him a half-penny that was handed down to me from my forefathers who kept it right from the girmit days.
“I was very humbled when the Prime Minister took the half-penny and touched it to his forehead. For us that is a sign of respect and I never thought that he would do that. I believe that the half-penny brought us both blessings, for me and my business and for the Prime Minister in his ruling of the Government.”
Mr Chand said although the half-penny was very dear to him and his family, he felt it was time to part ways with it and hope that it would bring blessings for his family.
“After that everything fell into place. The Prime Minister heard my story of how much I had been struggling and selling on the streets and he told the Lautoka City Council to look for a spot for my stall.
“I was also very thankful to Mr (Jone)Nakauvadra, the LCC Chief Executive Officer for providing the space at Shirley Park for me.”
Last Saturday the couple set up their stall around 8am and by the time we arrived at the park at 1.30pm to sample his food, it had all run out, signalling a very bright future for Thirst First.
“We have been given a very good spot and everybody likes my wife’s cooking so we intend to expand our business. For now we have just a small stall with just one shelf but our plan is to build a proper stall in the future when we can afford it.
“This is an opportunity given to us by the Government and I want to thank them. My advice to the younger generation and even to the unemployed is to dream about what you want and pray for it but most importantly to work hard for it.
“Everybody struggles but there’s always light at the end of the tunnel.”
If you live in Lautoka or decide to travel to the Sugar City on a Saturday, you will not miss Mr and Mrs Chand at Shirley Park, both of whom would be more than happy to serve up a chilled drink and a delicious serve of their home-cooked meal, all, according to Mr Chand at a very affordable price!