People: Cama stays focused; “not the end of the road for me”

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Maciu Cama sells socks, razor blades and other products along Butt Street in Suva. Picture: JONA KONATACI

Maciu Cama’s biggest fear is returning to prison.

So, he’s set himself the goal of completely shifting his focus on his two children and their needs and away from the lifestyle that landed him behind bars.

“After serving my term in prison for a year as a result of theft, I realised that it was not the end of the road for me, just part of my life journey,” Cama said.

“So, I’ve had to pull up my socks and start all over.”

Cama used to work as a labourer in building construction projects or he’d sell bu by the roadside to meet the needs of his small family.

The 27-year-old father-of-two, who’s originally from Yadrana on Lakeba in Lau, was working at a flour mill when COVID-19 struck and he was sent home.

“So, I’ve had to look for another source of income so that my family can survive. I don’t want to go back to stealing,” Cama says.

“I dropped out of school in Year 11 because my parents were not working and it was hard for them to look after the five of us in the family.

“I decided to leave school and help them at home by planting and doing casual work to help finance our needs at home.”

Cama says he had a little money saved from his flour-mill job with which he bought socks, earbuds, Panadol and razor blades to sell in town.

“I also took my family from mum and dad at Cunningham to build a house for them at Veiraisi settlement in Nadera,” he adds.

The former John Wesley College student says his son attends St John Bosco kindergarten and he has to drop him off every day before going to peddle his wares in Suva.

“My wife will pick him up from school at mid-day because I’d be still in town trying to sell my stuff.

“My business is only three months old and I try to sell something every day, so that I can buy what my wife and children need.”

Cama faces challenges each day while walking the streets of Suva carrying his box of products from one corner of the capital to another.

“Sometimes, I meet schoolmates and relatives and I have to be strong because by the look on people’s faces, I can tell when they are not going to buy from me.

“But I’m not giving up because I’m the sole breadwinner and my children wait for me every day to return home with food.”

Cama says when he looks back on his life, it was peer pressure that spoiled most parts of it, but he thanks God for changing him to be a better person and an even stronger father.

“My advice to young families and those out there struggling to survive, be strong because God is always there to help you,” he adds.

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