From rags to riches
Fiji Sun – 18 November 2009
Nemani Tueli dropped out of school in form five after his family could no longer afford his education.
Today, Tueli is a successful businessman owning a security firm and a café in Namaka, Nadi.
The 51-year-old said everyone goes through phases in their life which builds what is in store for their future.
Mr Tueli said he had spent 15 years in New Zealand which helped change his life and made him what he is today.
“I had to look for a better life and when I went to New Zealand in 1986 I didn’t know it was my destiny,” he said.
“For me to survive I had to do it. That’s what I have been through and driven by faith in my life. The poor upbringing hurts when I look back. That’s why some of the kids have to go through these phases of life to become someone.
“Life is more than this-that’s how you see things. I looked at the opportunity and I said, I can do that, that’s where I am now. “Somehow I was driven by surviving factors the way I was brought up that drove me to break into that barrier.”
The Kaba villager from Tailevu owns Rhino Security and Chit Chat café.
Tueli started his security business in 2004 when he returned from New Zealand where he had been working as a security contractor.
In 2007, he diversified and ventured into the restaurant business.
Mr Tueli said Nadi has become his home now and he sees a lot of potential in it.
He said everyone needs to get education to achieve their goals.
“I send my children to International School so that they get education-something which I could not fulfill when I was young,” he said.
“Education is the key for the future. Try and achieve your education and you have to respect the other races as well. You learn a lot from that when you understand each other.
Tueli is married to Akanisi and they have three children, Ruci, Meli and Lenuasi.
He now spends most of his time helping the Nadi Rugby Union where he is the chairman
