Family’s sacrifice and prayers brings
Brings fruitful results in Masi’s achievements
Winning the Melrose Cup has brought a lot of joy to Iosefo Masi’s family as well as the Fijians who have always looked up to him as an inspiration.
To celebrate Masi’s achievement, his family and the whole village of Waitabu were planning to get together to congratulate him.
Iosefo Masi, 24, is the eldest child in his family and his rugby journey has been a success through the prayers of his parents.
His father, Antonio Kawakawa said his family felt very special and happy to see Masi achieve his long-term goals, which was to wear the white jersey one day.
He said it was his dream to see Masi bring joy to his family by achieving something his son enjoyed, and that was rugby.
“We burst into tears when we heard that he was selected for the World Cup which was his long-term goal and with the team work and effort, he actually made the win possible,” Mr Kawakawa said.
“This means a lot to us which brings joy to the country and as well
as the family, because we know our prayers have been answered.”
He said they were able to find out
about his passion for rugby when Masi kept pictures of Waisale Serevi and other players in his room or kept it in his files and folders.
“We had to take him to other houses to watch the games early morning and night because we didn’t have a television at home,” Mr Kawakawa said.
“Through his achievement, Iosefo was able to inspire us as a family about the importance of being humble, loving, caring, hardworking, praying and believing in yourself and working towards our dreams and you will achieve it.”
Masi’s hobbies
Iosefo Masi likes to be surrounded by children, he also likes to travel to other places and of course playing and watching rugby.
“He is always humble and hardworking and he has never forgotten where he was brought up (background),” Mr Kawakawa said.
“He has always been a role model to young boys in the village, where he encouraged the boys never to give up.”
Masi’s passion for rugby began when he was in primary school.
He attended South Taveuni School at which rugby was not given much importance and only football was played, but his parents motivated and encouraged him to play rugby because it was a natural talent in him.
“As parents we always informed the school that Masi will not be attending when Fiji is playing, usually in the mornings,” Mr Kawakawa said.
Challenges
Masi’s journey in rugby was not that easy as there were many ups and downs, especially in balancing his studies, rugby and farming.
Despite the challenges, he was still able to pursue his dreams.
Mr Kawakawa said: “First of all, we would like to thank God Almighty for his guidance all throughout Masi’s life.
“We know that our prayers and fasting for one month had finally paid off.
“Saying our family Novena for nine days was worth it because he was able to be selected in the team and they won the Sevens World Cup.”
Masi’s family also came to realise that their support towards his career was worth it.
“This is because we always left our home and travelled to other places just to watch him playing. Many times, we have travelled to Lautoka, Nadi and Savusavu to watch him play,” Mr Kawakawa added.
“We believed that by being present physically and watching the game inspires him and encourages him to keep playing.”