Sovaia Faktaufon was born completely blind. Currently a teacher at the Fiji School for the Blind, the 31-year-old is Fiji's first visually-impaired Australian Leadership Award (ALA) scholarship recipient.
Sovaia is determined to be one of the first visually-impaired persons in a managerial position in Fiji. Having already completed her Bachelors in Education, majoring in literature and language, she has always wanted to pursue a career in human resource management and accounting.
'I would like to be one of the pioneers in the human resource field for visually-impaired people in Fiji,' Sovaia said.
'Presently the public and especially employers are of the view that people with disability can only be employed under their associations or within special needs groups. When I return from my Masters I will work to change this view of us who have a disability.'
Acting Australian High Commissioner Glenn Miles presented seven Fiji citizens, including Sovaia, with the prestigious ALA scholarships.
The AusAID-administered ALA is part of the Australia Awards initiative, which aims to develop leadership, build partnerships and create enduring links between developing countries and Australia.
'These seven outstanding people have been identified for their potential to assume leadership roles that can influence social and economic policy reform and development outcomes in Fiji and the region on their return home,' Mr. Miles said.
The ALA scholarship recipients will undertake postgraduate studies at Australian universities in fields that include agriculture, nursing leadership and management, development studies, gender and development, geophysics, resource economics and human resource management.
They will also participate in a tailored leadership development program during the course of their studies to strengthen their leadership skills, establish regional networks and enhance their understanding of regional development challenges.
The seven awardees are:
- Sovaia Faktaufon (Master of Commerce–Master of Strategic Human Resource Management; University of Wollongong)
- Adi Tiriseyani Naulivou (Master of Development Studies; University of Melbourne)
- Robin Achari (Doctorate in Agriculture; University of New England)
- Haemarie Taito (Master of Nursing Leadership & Management; University of South Australia)
- Miliana Ratu (Master of Development Studies Gender and Development; University of Melbourne)
- Makereta Alfereti (Master of Resource Economics; ANU)
- Sefanaia Seru (Master of Science; Geophysics; Curtin University).
The scholarship recipients were selected from more than 100 applicants in Fiji and presented with their tickets at a pre-departure function held at the Australian High Commission on 11 December.