Tuesday, January 21, 2025 | Today's Newsletter | Login
Natural resources with talent equals a steady income
Times are hard. There is little in empirical evidence and otherwise to dispute this. This can be seen in the ever-increasing cost of living and rising unemployment. People losing their jobs or working for reduced earnings as a result of the country’s economic decline. And all this amidst the increase in food prices and other household necessities.
But there are people out there who will not blame the country’s current economic situation for not making a better life for themselves.
“Nothing is impossible if the heart is willing to face any challenge that comes in our way.” This is one of the many things that keep Rusiate Goneva a 47-year-old fisherman from Nukui in Rewa continuously striving for better things in the future.
Goneva is one of the many fishermen that usually leaves his village as early as four o’clock in the morning to come and sell fish near the Vatuwaqa Bridge.
“This is the only way I can earn income in order to feed my family and send my children to school,” Goneva said.
The Nukui man says he has been engaged in this small business for 10 years now. Goneva says the earnings are usually constant. This he said can quickly change when he gets a customer who wants fish for a particular occasion and ceremony.
This year out of the 10 he says is the most challenging. This is because of the many changes that are taking place and the current economic situation.
“I used to collect more then $400 a day from the three days I used to come and sell fish but now I receive less than what I used to get before,” he said.
Goneva said that apart from the effects of the current situation, he noticed that most customers now preferred to buy fish from supermarkets. The ever increasing cost of fuel he said also impacted on his business.
The Rewa fisherman says he has managed to send all his four children to school with the money he gets from selling fish for the past 10 years. All his children are employed except for his youngest son who is still schooling at the Fiji Institute of Technology.
Goneva said being a fisherman was not an easy job because it came with its responsibilities and risks.
“It’s really sad to think that most people from our own areas are looking down at people like us but little did they know that we can earn more money than they do,” he added.
Goneva is advising all unemployed local youths to work hard in whatever talents they have and also for those in the villages to make use of the natural resources that are already provided.
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