By Meli Tulewa
Bula Vinaka. I am Meli Tulewa, a former Flight attendant with Fiji Airways.
When I was young, whenever Fiji Airways was hiring Flight attendants, one of my friends would bring the news and we would then share our exciting dreams of becoming flight attendants and create our own happiness with imagination.
Many people who knew me always thought that this was impossible because I was born with a medical condition or birth defect called congenital talipes equinovarus (commonly known as ‘clubfoot’) on my right foot which could result in me walking on the side of my foot. Thanks to my mother, Kelera Tulewa who raised me single-handed, she decided to put me up for surgery while I was only 8 months old. Since then, I walked without any issue even though my right leg was slightly thinner than my left leg. Growing up, I never liked to highlight or tell people about my condition unless they see it for themselves and ask me. I grew up being laughed at and people even made
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