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Family remembers Dr Samisoni’s values

August 12, 2023 3:32 pm

The late Dr Mere Samisoni.

The family of businesswoman and former parliamentarian Dr Mere Samisoni announced her passing on Friday afternoon after a short illness.

Dr Samisoni was the founder and chair of Hot Bread Kitchen and a former Member of Parliament for both the Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua and the Social Democratic Liberal Party.

In looking back on her life, a family spokesman said that Dr Samisoni’s first words would have been to pay tribute to the strength and inspiration she derived from the example of her mother, Mere Levu, who raised her and her seven siblings as a single parent in Levuka.

The family spokesperson says that for the entrepreneur who created Hot Bread Kitchen, bread was an unimaginable luxury in her young life.

Dr Samisoni’s family also said that she had imprinted on her a need to work hard and self-improve through education.

Following her secondary schooling, Dr Samisoni travelled to New Zealand, where she qualified as both a general and maternity nurse, training at the Christchurch General and Essex Maternity Hospitals.

The family spokesman said that Dr. Samisoni took pride in a very competitive bakery market and that Hot Bread Kitchen was unique amongst its competitors in having its own premises that are always health and safety compliant.

She cared deeply about gender equality in the workplace, the social and financial empowerment of women, and the empowerment of the indigenous community through business.

After the success of Hot Bread Kitchen, Dr. Samisoni turned to public service and was elected as the MP for Lami Open in the 2006 election for former Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase’s SDL party.

The December 2006 coup ended her time in Parliament, but she was re-elected in March 2018 and then again in 2022.

In her maiden speech last year, she called on the then government to work with the private sector, as it was critical to allow businesses to do what they do best without much interference by way of restrictive legislation.

Dr. Samisoni is survived by her four children, John, Selina, Vanessa, and Philip, and her twelve grandchildren.

Funeral arrangements are currently underway.

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