He Raised Me Up

David Raj grew up in a squatter settlement in Fiji, with his mother and two sisters. He shares how The Salvation Army shaped him as a young child and how love in action changed the course of his life.

I was born into poverty, and life was pretty tough in a squatter settlement. We didn’t have much, just a basic dwelling with no electricity, no tap water, no furniture and very little food, but we had love and we had each other.

I first encountered The Salvation Army when I was ten years old. One of our neighbours in the settlement hosted a church service in their house which was led by the Sigatoka Corps.

Not long after this my mother was diagnosed with stomach cancer. She was admitted to hospital for surgery and remained there for two months. During this time, my sisters and I were basically on our own with just our neighbours to look after us. Then one evening the corps officer from Sigatoka Corps, Captain David Thomas, came to our door with a box of groceries. We had nothing, so this gesture made an enormous impact on my life from a very young age. I saw the Army making a difference.

Members from the Sigatoka Corps continued to come and check on us, especially Captains David and Mariama Thomas who we came to know as Uncle Thomas and Aunty Mary. When my mother had recovered and was well enough to come home from the hospital, we devoted ourselves to The Salvation Army.

A new beginning

A few years later the landowner reclaimed the settlement land, and we found ourselves homeless. Once again Uncle Thomas and The Salvation Army helped us. He invited us to live with them at their quarters in Kulu Kulu. Miraculously, he secured funding through the Army to help us to build our own house.

Uncle Thomas was not a carpenter, but he built us a house. Every morning for a month, we walked five kilometres to and from the building site carrying tools and materials. It was then that I fully understood what The Salvation Army was about. It was not just about the Bible or teaching. What I saw was love in action. Now when I talk about it, I get goosebumps. 

The reality was that our life was very hard. I spent whole school years huddled on the floor by a hurricane lamp to study, and I remember as a young child crying when I would get home from church outings because everyone discussed their lunch plans on the return journey. Lamb curry, restaurant chow, pilau—we would not be having those things. At Christmas we couldn’t afford to buy a piece of Christmas cake. We didn’t have gifts or even candies. Now I realise that through The Salvation Army, God prepared a path for me out of that hardship.

I was able to attend secondary school, along with my sisters, through a sponsorship programme run by The Salvation Army. They paid for school fees, uniforms, books and transport from Year 9 through to Year 13. Now school fees and textbooks are paid for, but back then secondary schooling was expensive and without these scholarships we would not have had access to further education.

Following secondary school, I received a scholarship to study at the University of the South Pacific and The Salvation Army supported me again with my accommodation expenses. I went on to complete my master’s degree in professional accounting and I now work for an international aid organisation that supports the development of health and education in many countries.

Leading the way

When you come from a squatter settlement, people look down on you. Some people used to say that there is little good that comes from a squatter settlement. If something went wrong, the finger was always pointed at the squatter kid. In Year 13, I became head boy of my secondary school, this was not because I came from a squatter settlement, it was the anointing of God from the very beginning. He raised me up to be a leader. I have always felt God’s protection, the way he has built me up and brought me here. I am proud to say I was the first student in the whole settlement to complete Year 13 at secondary school and gain a tertiary education. I never dreamed that this could happen. 

I feel like this pathway has been carved out for me by God. From an early age, I felt like I understood our situation. The journey has been challenging. There have been times when I have been so sad and felt really low emotionally. I learned to persevere and endure, but the struggle was real. God always hears the cries of our hearts.

I share my stories with my wife and two children now. Thankfully, they live a very different life. There are fewer squatter settlements these days and the living conditions have improved from when I was younger, but I always see the need and I want to help in some way. I was once where they are now, and I want to help them make changes to their lives.

I became a soldier in The Salvation Army when I was 14 years old, and I considered becoming a corps officer, but God told me, ‘Hey, you have completed your studies, I have guided you through that. Now into the workforce, the real change comes now.’ I love my work and my volunteer role as the treasurer for Sigatoka Corps. 

For me, The Salvation Army is not about religion, race or colour, it is about touching people’s lives. The Salvation Army is built on sharing God’s love and caring about everyone. When I was a child, they fought for us and looked after us. I am the man I am today because God raised me up with the help of The Salvation Army.