Selina's Good Hearted Woman

Selina Leewah is the grandmother of Kevin and Maria Lee Wah,both live in Hamilton with their parents Aubrey and Stella. Selina sewed the uniforms of the Hamilton Fijian Youth Dance Group for their performance at the Auckland Pasifika Festival, when Selina was here in New Zealand on holiday. She is indeed a woman with a big heart! Vinaka Vakalevu Selina!

MENTION the name Selina Lee Wah to anyone in the friendly town of Labasa and the first thing they will say is her involvement in community work.
Originally of Labasa, Mrs Lee Wah is known not only in her hometown but in most areas in the Friendly North where she has contributed an act of kindness and love to.
For more than 20 years, Selina has been involved with community work.
Not only does she look after the disadvantaged members of society, she also helps civil societies and churches keep a clean financial record.
As a bank officer of the Australia New Zealand bank for 35 years since 1968, when it was the Bank of New Zealand, Mrs Lee Wah used her experience to balance financial accounts of various groups.
She does not charge fees for her work but believes it is part of her community work.
It is easy to see that Selina had a heart for the kind of work she does because she shed some tears when sharing her experience of visiting the disadvantaged in society.
"There was this family at Valebasoga and it was a discouraging sight because the couple has three children who are handicapped and mentally retarded," she said.
"When I first visited the family, I could not hold back my tears at the sight of the children having to live a deprived life.
"The family live in a home the size of a garage with baked cow dung on the floor and an open fire place outside. The only furniture they have is a three-quarter size bed and a food cupboard.
Mrs Lee Wah remembers very well the time she met the children's mother.
"When I arrived it was like a big thing for the family and I guess they did not have many visitors. I think people rarely visited them and having someone over at their place was a big thing for them and I felt that when I was at the home."
Another case she handled as a community worker was of a 60-year-old mother and her 38-year-old blind son.
"The mother is the only one who supports her son who lost his sight after a car accident about nine years ago.
"But the son has been paralysed for 20 years and they live in a dilapidated home with no proper sanitation.
"Despite such living conditions they accepted what life provided and seeing people still happy although they may be poor, encourages me a lot in my work."
Sighting an example, she said the mother of the paralysed man refused to put him in an institution where he could be taken care of.
"People have suggested that there man be taken to a proper home but she refused because she said it was her responsibility to look after her son because she would answer to God.
"That's the kind of attitude that also encourages me in my work because I know it is a genuine case and they deserve to be helped."
As part of her book-keeping job, Mrs Lee Wah has helped Catholic parishes in Vanua Levu such as Napuka, Rabi, Nabala, Vudibasoga, Dogotuki and Savarekareka.
This week she will hand over a power generator to the parish of Savarekareka for the Catholic seminarians in the area.
"It was a fundraising drive organised by a small group of mothers in Labasa parish and it's all part of community work."
Mrs Lee Wah said helping the needy people has been an enjoyable task as he has the full support of her husband, Sam Lee Wah whom she says is her pillar of strength.
Her job has also seen helping hand from the business people in Labasa.
"Assistance is great because they supply material for curtains and food for the people that I visit," she said.