Raised by his grandmother and an uncle before he later lived with his parents was an experience Leveni Vudinibola Turagakula will never forget.
He was taught that ‘only the strong man will survive’.
The man didn’t need to have big muscles but strong inside.
Leveni was born in Nausori but spent his childhood life in Draiba Village.
He was raised on Ovalau by his grandmother, Marama Katolina.
He attended Loreto Catholic Primary School from Class 1 to Class 3 and later moved to Suva.
His uncle, Panapasa Doko, cared for him for sometime when he came to continue his studies at Nabua Primary School until Class 8.
During this time he was also able to move in with his biological parents.
They taught him to be independent.
The 29-year-old said his journey to be the man he is today was through lessons from different teachers because he was brought up by different individuals.
Leveni said his grandmother taught him to ‘never give up’ in anything he tried in life. “be prepared at all times and to spend things wisely”.
“My uncle Panapasa taught that hard work beats everything and my parents taught me to love each other and never to rely on others but learn to look after myself and my family when I got married.”
The Nacokaika native, who is now a father dwells a lot on those teachings and uses them in his everyday life.
“I try my best to make sure my only daughter has the best in life. I work within my comfort zone when using money because I also want my daughter to learn to be independent and work hard in life.”
Leveni said he got married at 21 years old and lived with his in-laws in Kinoya.
He said he did not want to rely on his wife’s parents to care for him.
“I started to look for work because that’s what I was taught in my early childhood days. I applied four times to join the Fiji Military Forces, three times in the Fiji Correction Services and one application went to the National Fire Authority.
“I never lost hope to do something for my family. I worked as a security officer with Ayaan Security Services and after a few months I decided to move back to the village and do farming.
“While waiting for the applications I worked at a car wash in Kinoya.”
The former Queen Victoria School student said he saw an advertisement for the Fiji Ports Terminal in the newspaper and applied for the job.
“I waited for three months and never gave up hope. After three months of waiting, I was finally called to join the Grace Homebuilders and FPT.
He said for four years he worked as a stevedore until the COVID-19 lockdown when he opted to move his family to the village because of the life in Suva was a bit expensive.
“While I was moving my household materials to Nacokaika, the lockdown came into force unexpectedly trapping me inside the containment area and I couldn’t return to work in Suva. I received only two pays from my employer and I had to look for employment behind the border-line to put food on the table.
“My uncle Wakuila Vakadranu heard about my situation and gave me a car to drive to make my daily income as a taxi driver,” he said.
“I never gave up, all thanks to the teachings and lessons I was taught growing up. I feel I’m a stronger person than I was before — after this experience.”
Leveni said one thing he had learnt to respect and uphold was to be bold in his decision-making and be content with the little things he earned.