WHEN Roneel Ravinesh Prasad found out from his mother that he had surgery when he was just a three-moth-old baby, he thought he would not be able to support his parents when he grew up.
Doctors had performed ahead surgery on him after they discovered there was some kind of liquid on his brain.
Growing up, Roneel’s worst enemy was headache.
He dropped out of school in class four and could not continue studies because reading and writing triggered his headache.
He was just a young boy back then but he already had big dreams for his family.
His medical situation motivated him to work hard and push beyond boundaries as he wanted to achieve more for his parents and three sisters being the only boy in the family.
His father was a farmer from Tavua and they moved to Nawaka, Nadi many years ago.
Since then, he has been his parents’ greatest helper.
“Dad built a small tin-shack for us and this was where we spent most of our childhood in,” Mr Prasad said.
“I started helping my father when I was only nine-years-old and I made up my mind to do something that will help generate income for us and I could not do hard jobs because I get consistent headaches.
“I started by selling beans and peanuts every day and as time went on, I set up stalls at events like the Bula Festival and this was how my love for this business grows stronger every day.”
Amidst his selling business, the 39-year-old has only one main goal in mind; to see his sisters get married and extend their family house to allow his parents a decent living standard. It may amaze many people as his hard work and effort to sell beans daily has never gone to waste as he fulfilled his personal goals and promises.
A few years ago, his dada developed kidney problems and died at the height of the 2012 Nadi flood.
It is now just him and his mother and he has never given up yet on his bean-selling business.
He walks around Nadi Town and the suburbs every day doing what he does best and returns home a little after mid-day with his daily earnings.
In a day, Mr Prasad earns around $40.
His next goal now is to find a perfect wife that will love him despite his medical condition.
“I now hope I will find a perfect, loving wife who will love me and my mother and this has been my dream for sometimes now,” the Nadi bean seller added.
