Singh aspires to improve community’s living conditions

Coming from a small community and being deprived of the basic necessities for years, Sheena Kiran Singh hopes to bring justice to her community by fighting for access to proper water supply and roads.

The 24 year-old from Vitogo in Lautoka was surrounded by her family members yesterday as she was admitted to the bar as a lawyer. She says the sole reason she decided to study law was to put her in a position where she could help develop the standard of living in her community.

“At times when people do not know the law they feel like there is no help available to them and I chose to study law because I felt like I could be in a position where I could help members of my community,” Ms Singh said.

“When I was in high school I had to walk for miles to get to school and there were instances when I had to go into the bucket of a digger to cross the bridge.”

She said the poor conditions in her community would sometimes lower her self-esteem when she would compare how easy her classmates lived and commuted. “Now that I am a lawyer I can go back and relate to people in my community that they are not supposed to be living like that and we can have a better standard of living through personal efforts and the government,” she said.

She also highlighted that a temporary bridge had been constructed in their community however it would wash away every time the area flooded.

“Every second day they come and repair the bridge so it is a recurring hazard that has been happening over and over again. We have tried to go to the proper authorities but it seems like help has not been given to us.”

She said her first project is to ensure they get access to basic necessities.

Ms Singh thanked her uncle in Brisbane, Australia for his financial support towards her education and her pineapple farming parents who never stopped believing in her. Her mother Usha Kiran Singh said it was always her dream for her daughter to become a lawyer because she admired former Fijian judge Nazhat Shameem.

She said she was proud of her daughter for her achievement as the first lawyer in the family.