FOR more than three decades, Keola Pati has watched a small mattress business grow into one of Fiji’s recognised names in bedding and upholstery.
And at 86, she still walks through its doors every morning — carrying with her a story of work, faith, loyalty and a life built one stitch at a time.
Every morning, Mrs Pati walks into the Comfort Home Furnishing showroom in Nabua, greets the customers and settles into her day.
There is no longer a need for her to sew mattresses or lift heavy rolls of material.
Age has changed the work she does, but it has not taken away the desire to work.
Still employed
“I will work till I can,” she says simply.
For Mrs Pati, continuing to work at an age when many people have long retired is not something extraordinary. It is simply the way she has lived her life.
“Hands to work and feet to run. God gives to me and you.”
Those words perhaps best describe the philosophy that has carried her through more than six decades of working life.
Work history
Her story with Comfort Home Furnishing began in 1992, but her experience in the furniture and mattress industry stretches back much further.
She began sewing in 1962 at Harish Store, a factory in Toorak. Ten years later, she moved to Hensher Fiji Ltd, where she continued to build her skills. By then, sewing was more than a job. It was a craft she had learned through years of discipline and repetition.
In 1982, her experience operating mattress machinery took her to Lautoka, where she joined Popular Furniture.
And another 10 years later, she returned to Suva and started work at Comfort Home Furnishing.
Never left
When Mrs Pati first joined the company, Comfort Home Furnishing was much smaller than the business it is today.
As the company expanded, it rented additional premises to accommodate its growing operations.
One of those places was at Viria Rd, Vatuwaqa.
Mrs Pati remembers those years clearly. Among her memories are the mattresses being prepared for export to Samoa.
She recalls around 12 containers being shipped during that period — a sign of a small Fiji business beginning to reach beyond its shores.
Eventually, the company moved into a larger factory at Laucala Beach, where it remains today.
Mrs Pati was there through the changes. She watched the business expand, saw new generations come into the company and continued doing the work she knew best — sewing mattresses.
But her relationship with Comfort Home Furnishing became more than that of an employee and employer.
Work family
In the early years, she remembers being asked by the company’s managing director and owner, Himen Chandra, how long she intended to stay.
Her answer was bold, especially considering that Mr Chandra was not yet married.
“I will work until your son becomes the manager for this company,” she told him.
Years passed.
Mr Chandra married and eventually welcomed his first son.
Mrs Pati remembers being invited to the hospital with the family when the baby was discharged.
She recalls carrying the newborn home.
That child is no longer a baby. He has grown up and is now a director of the company.
For Mrs Pati, that moment became part of a relationship that has endured for more than 30 years.
“They look after me just like their family, not a worker.”
The company has also recognised her contribution, presenting her with two awards during her years of service.
Her role today
The factory floor, machinery and heavy materials have given way to the showroom and office.
She greets customers, helps where she can and remains part of the daily life of the business.
For Mrs Pati, that is enough.
“I thank God, and I thank my company, Comfort Home Furnishing, who employs me at this age.”
Her faith is woven through almost every part of her story.
Hard work and independence
She remembers her teacher, Ms Koini from Levuka, who taught her the importance of hard work and faith.
“My teacher told me the main root of poverty is laziness”. It is a lesson she never for got. Her father also taught her to value the dignity of earning through one’s own effort.
“The sweat money, that’s the useful one.”
For Mrs Pati, work has always been about independence.
“Don’t depend on anybody.” Those words have guided her through more than 60 years of employment, from the factories of the 1960s to the modern showroom where she now spends her days.
Her approach to life is uncomplicated: work hard, do good, pray and be grateful.
“Only prayer change things, nothing else.”
Future plans
Even now, younger workers sometimes ask whether she is still fit enough to work. Her response is immediate.
“Yeah God is great.”
She does not spend much time questioning why she has been able to continue working at 86.
Perhaps it is the company that has continued to value her. Perhaps it is the strength she has carried throughout her life. Or perhaps, as she believes, it is simply God’s will.
“I will work till I can’t.” There is no grand declaration in the way she says it. No attempt to make herself an example.
Yet her presence at Comfort Home Furnishing has become an example all the same.
Dignity in work
Mrs Pati represents a generation that measured life through work, responsibility and perseverance. She has witnessed Fiji’s changing work places, watched a small local business grow and remained
loyal through every stage of that journey.
She has also become part of the history of the company itself.
From the sewing machines and mattress machinery of her early years to the showroom she now helps run, Mrs Pati has seen more than three decades of change from inside the business.
And after all these years, she still arrives. Still greets customers. Still helps where she can. Still calls the company her own.
Her story is ultimately not about age. It is about purpose.
Tomorrow morning, as she has done for so many years, Mrs Pati intends to walk through those doors again.
