Raikadroka appreciates a bed and a loving home more now after sleeping on wooden pallets under a house

I appreciate a bed and a loving home more now after sleeping on wooden pallets surrounded with a tarpaulin under a house in Lami when I was in Form 4.

Musician, lawyer, and survivor, Natalie Raikadroka revealed on fijivillage Straight Talk With Vijay Narayan as she spoke about the struggles while growing up, and finding things the hard way after making mistakes.

Raikadroka says after making the mistake, she was determined to continue to school even if it meant studying by candlelight under the house.

She had made up her mind that she needed to continue with her education rather than get involved with a boy and leave school.

Raikadroka also says her schoolmates at Suva Grammar School did not know she was living under a house that year.

From being deported as a toddler, living under a house and studying by candlelight, to facing abuse, judgement, and stigma – Raikadroka has walked through struggles that many in Fiji can relate to but she has also risen, with education, music, and sheer resilience, to carve out her own path.

You can watch the full show on our website, fijivillage.