Sainimili Magimagi 
Mataiasi Yaya
It’s not every day that we hear inspiring stories of individuals who were once at the beating heart of the street system and are now serving as correction officers, helping inmates and supporting former offenders as they reintegrate into their communities.
One such individual is Mataiasi Yaya, originally from Nakasaleka in Kadavu.
At the peak of his high school years, at just 16, Yaya chose to leave the comfort of his home in Vuci, Nausori, for life on the streets, a decision he says was driven purely by his own will.
For four years, he learned what the streets call “the hustle.”
Yaya says he picked up new habits and adopted a lifestyle he needed in order to survive.
“We roamed as a crew of the same size to ensure no one bullied us. I learned glue sniffing and smoking from the streets, and that’s how we survived.”
Until one day, he decided he had had enough.
He knocked on the doors of shops and restaurants in Suva seeking employment.
He says at the time he was lucky enough to land a job as a kitchen crew member at McDonald’s, and that marked the beginning of his journey toward change.
Yaya later secured a job at a retail shop before eventually joining the Fiji Corrections Service as an officer.
Today, he is part of a program that helps reintegrate former offenders onto new pathways and back into their communities.
Yaya is urging all pillars of society to reach out to street dwellers, especially youths, with the hope of reintegrating them back into society.
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