60-year-old former serviceman Peniasi Dobui, who had lost both his legs in an accident when he was just 25-years-old, is now a successful farmer and living his best life despite his disability.
Dobui is not only providing for his families needs from the proceeds he receive from his farm as he has also built a canteen and purchased a new car.
The 60-year-old is not only a farmer but is also a fisherman, carpenter, and an automobile driver.
According to Dobui, he lost both his legs in an accident when he was just 25-years-old, but he has learned to handle life without his legs to provide for his family for years.
The Sigatoka villager in Rewa, surrounds himself with love and support from his wife Vasemaca Dobui in Lomanikoro Village also in Rewa, and their daughter Keresi Gabriel Dobui and he believes that their endless sacrifices is a motivation to keep him going.
Dobui says it was in 1990 and he had just returned from Lebanon, and was on his two-weeks leave when his brother asked him to accompany him to work in a factory in Lami, while awaiting to return to the military camp.
He says it was on that fateful day of work that he encountered the mishap.
He adds while looking back, he realise that he have been living without both of his legs for 34 years and is thankful that the Lord spared his life and gave him another chance to live life once again.
He further adds he is a living testimony to others living with disability to stay strong and forge on.
Following the accident, he felt the simplest tasks such as getting out of bed and going to the washroom too impossible.
However, he was determined to move around freely once more with the help of a Japanese expert at the Tamavua Hospital, where he was admitted for three years during his recovery phase.
He says when he returned to the village and adjusted to his new lifestyle, he weighed out options and thought of what to do to survive.
Dobui says in 1995 he started farming as he knew that he could provide food for his family, so he took a knife and started preparing a small plot and started planting dalo.
He says he knew he could not be sitting around doing nothing and cannot become a burden and depend on others for his survival as he was an independent person from the start and was not going to let his disability change that.
Dobui says he had difficulties in the beginning when he started farming as he had to learn to manoeuvre his way around the land.
He says with the uncertainty of the situation, his experience has never been a bed of roses and he trained his-self not to be disheartened and not to give up as there is always a silver lining at the end of the tunnel and farming became his daily dose of happiness and expanding and harvesting year in and year out.
He says his relatives in the village as well as neighbouring villages have been placing their orders during the harvesting period and most times he also transports his bundles of dalo to the Nasali landing where it is often sold out.
He says in March this year, he upgraded his farming method with the help of his brother residing overseas who sent materials for the nursery and the weed mat, and it has helped in the control of weed, reduced labour and the contraction of diseases associated with water and farming.
There are others around us who are without a legs or hands but have hidden talents.
He urges people living with disabilities not think they are helpless or be ashamed of their situation because they can still achieve and do a lot if they put their heart and mind to it.
To date, Dobui has planted a total of 1,700 dalo suckers with an additional 3,000, he has also planted 200 tomato plants and is planning to cultivate another 600 on his one-acre piece of land.
His story stands as a powerful example of how perseverance and creativity can turn seemingly insurmountable obstacles into opportunities for growth and success.
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