Nairai Farmer invests for the future
December last year, Tevita Balemaiono harvested 22 yaqona plants, for which he received more than $5,000.
He used that money to upgrade his canteen business in Vutuna Village in Nairai, Lomaiviti.
He is also a member of the Rural Maritime Advisory Council and receives a monthly allowance but apart from that, he is also a fisherman – selling his catch to the Agro-Marketing Authority on a fortnightly basis, depending on the shipping schedule.
About the retirement expo
Mr Balemaiono said that he had been hearing about FNPF’s Minor Voluntary Scheme on the radio and had seen the advertisement on television.
And the more he heard about it, the more he knew that it was the solution to his dilemma, to save for his son’s future. He has two sons – one in class one and the other one is 18 years old.
For a while now, he had been wanting to open his younger son’s savings account but thought that he could just keep depositing funds into his older son’s account.
He said he wanted to start saving as soon as possible for his younger son’s high school and tertiary education. His only concern was that since it was in a bank account, it could be easily accessed. So when he heard about the minor voluntary scheme, he knew it was the solution he was looking for.
During his visit to the capital city in April, Mr Balemaiono was happy that the FNPF Retirement Expo was going on at
the Downtown Boulevard.
He made sure he had all the required documents to open a minor voluntary account when he visited the Suva Expo and was quite happy knowing that his son would have his very own FNPF account.
He said that the profit from his canteen business would be deposited to his son’s account. “This is good – because we (parents) can put aside money for our children’s future.
“My target is to deposit $50$100 and I want this money to be for my son’s education.” He added that not many in his village know about the minor voluntary account and said that he would spread the word about it.
“Sa ka vinaka saraga qo. Levu mai na koro era sega tu ni kila, ia au sa na lai wasea saraga na kena vinaka me rawa talega ni ra dolava na nodra na luvedra.” (This is such a good product. Not many in the village know about it but I will tell them about it so that they can also open their children’s account)