Tia Punja Youngest Rotarian Member in the World: President
Tia Punja was given tickets by her father Rohit Punja to attend a Rotary Club dinner early this year. It turned out to be a fruitful event for her.
She was impressed by the club members she met, their work and their enthusiam for service to the community.
On Tuesday night, the 24-year-old was inducted the youngest Rotarian member in the world after she joined the Rotary Club of Suva Peninsula Sunset.
Mr Punja is the executive director of FMF Foods Limited while Tia’s mother is Patricia Punja, the general manager for Camira Holdings Ltd.
Rotary Club of Suva Peninsula Sunset president Prashant Anurag said: “A big congratulation to Tia Punja for becoming the youngest Rotarian member in the world. “I’m so proud to induct her in our Rotary Club of Suva Peninsula Sunset, she will be a source of inspiration to young women and also be able to make a difference in the community.”
Ms Punja is an executive assistant and purchasing assistant at FMF Foods Limited in Suva. She is the granddaughter of businessman and chairman of Hari Punja Group of Companies, Hari Punja.
“I started in September so I have been working for FMF Foods for a little over three months’ now,” she said.
“I am still settling into the business and getting to know how everything works. I am currently working in the purchasing and procurement department. I always knew that I would end up back here, I just didn’t know when.”
About her:
She attended Yat Sen Primary School and at the age of 18 she moved to Wellington, New Zealand.
She attended Victoria University where she completed her Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Commercial Law and International Business in 2016.
“Which was interesting, I enjoyed living in Wellington, beautiful city and great to study and work in. “I travelled with my partner Amrit Rai for a while before I basically hunted for a job in Wellington which was not easy.”
She worked at AON Insurance for about a year.
“Then I got a call from my father, to see if I wanted to move back home. I thought about it for three months after which I decided to move back to Fiji.
“I enjoy seeing my family everyday, seeing my friends more often and doing more things in one day then I would be able to do in New Zealand.”
She got involved with Rotary Club after her father handed her four tickets to attend a Rotary dinner early this year.
“I got handed these tickets from my dad for the presidency handover dinner and he said you’ll enjoy it.
“So I told my partner and two other friends for us to attend and so we ended up in the same table as the new Rotary Club president. “Hearing them talk about the new initiatives and what they plan to do and what they have achieved really inspired me.
“What was planned to be only dinner and drinks turned out to be something completely different. “From then on I started talking to people at my table and I got their contact information and I told them that once I had moved to Fiji, I would contact them.
“As soon as I got back, I emailed them straight away I wanted to attend the meeting straight away. “I went to five meetings and sent them my documents, and curriculum vitae (CV) and last night (Tuesday night) I got inducted. “Now that I am a member, it is special to me to be able to help the community that I am part of.”
Future plans
Ms Punja said: “My life is unpredictable but hopefully in five years’ time, I would be someone who would really help my community in a big way
“I am proud to be part of the club and we always have a great turnout and people who are part of it are full of energy and ready to do things and are special to me. “They show up every week, it is not easy and they are ready to make a difference
“My source of inspiration is my family who have always worked hard.
“My parents have always been loving and that has always been my inspiration.
“They are always giving and very generous and watching them has shown that they can make a difference in life in a small way.” Her partner Amrit owns Platform Sports Management, a NZ based company. He now lives with Tia in Fiji and works from here.