Toua reunites with her children

Main Stories, National
Source:

The National, Monday August 11th, 2014

By WENDY KATUSELE

COMMONWEALTH Games gold medallist Dika Toua finally met her two children and her partner on Friday – after two years of living apart because of her commitment to sports.

It was the ultimate sacrifice she had to make when she left the family two years ago to train as a weightlifter at the High Performance Training Centre in Noumea, New Caledonia under coach Paul Coffa.

It paid off fittingly for her family – son Paul Arua Gavera, 8, daughter Ani Geua Gavera and their dad Mavera Gavera – when she won a gold medal at the recent Games in Glasgow. Not only that, she received K100,000 from the Government’s for her gold medal win.

It was an emotional reunion at Jackson Airport in Port Moresby when Toua finally hugged her children for the first time in two years last Friday.

Toua said she missed her children so much.

“I only speak to them on the phone,” she said.

“I never see, touch and feel them. And being in my arms today is special after these two years of sacrifice. I thank God and everyone who have put in to my success.

“I thank God for my wonderful family, my partner and children for their sacrifice too.”

Toua left home when son Paul was six and daughter Ani was 18 months old to pursue intensive training in Noumea.

Her partner, Mavara Gavera Tamasi, said he could not have cared properly for the children without the help of the family and in-laws.

“We shared Dika’s sacrifice for this. And to come up with a gold medal is a great achievement for Dika. My two children and I are so proud of her,” he said.

“The two children marked the calendar on the wall every day since their mum left for New Caledonia and today you can see (how excited they are to see her,” Gavera said.