Lab assistant turns to farming
FORTY-nine-year-old Neetesh Raju is taking up vegetable gardening to earn a living after losing his employment with the Fiji Sugar Corporation.
He was a lab assistant for 13 years at the Penang mill and after moving to Rarawai, he became a general labourer.
Mr Raju was earning $130 weekly in salary and received $8000 as a final payout.
“The day they informed me that we will be sent home, I didn’t know what will happen and what to do,” he said.
Mr Raju looks after his elderly parents and also two children who are in secondary school.
“I looked at other options of driving a carrier or to work as a supermarket attendant, but jobs are hard to find here.”
With gardening space available behind their house, Mr Raju saw it fit to get into cash crop farming.
“I want to get my children through school from the money that will come from selling all the vegetable.”