Sainimili Naivalu (1986–2019) was a paralympic athlete and disability activist from

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

. She represented Fiji in international wheelchair table tennis competitions and was awarded gold and silver medals.

Biography

Naivalu was born in 1986 and was from Dakuibeqa on

Beqa island Beqa (pronounced ) is an island in Fiji, an outlier to the main island of Viti Levu, to the south. The island has a land area of and reaches a maximum elevation of . Beqa has 9 villages broken into 2 Tikinas or Districts: Sawau and Raviravi ...

. She was born with

caudal regression syndrome Caudal regression syndrome, or sacral agenesis (or hypoplasia of the sacrum), is a rare birth defect. It is a congenital disorder in which the fetal development of the lower spine—the caudal partition of the spine—is abnormal. It occurs at a ...

, which meant that she was a wheelchair user all her life. Her father was a church elder and her mother a housewife. She was a member of the Spinal Injury Association in Fiji. She was also a representative of the Fiji Disabled People's Federation. She was vocal about how people with disabilities needed to be consulted so that Fiji could progress to greater inclusivity. She saw three central concerns for disabled people in Fiji: accessibility, medical supplies and security - in particular in the aftermath of natural disasters. A wheelchair table tennis para-athlete, Naivalu competed at an international level, winning a silver medal in doubles table tennis with partner Merewalesi Rodan at the 2017

Oceania Para Championships Oceania (, , ) is a geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern and Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of and a population of around 44.5 million as o ...

. In 2015 she won gold in the doubles with partner Mark Harris at the

International Table Tennis Federation Oceania Cup International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

. Naivalu died in 2019.

Selected works

* Devine, A., Carrol, A., Naivalu, S., Seru, S., Baker, S., Bayak-Bush, B., & Marella, M. (2017). They don’t see my disability anymore’–The outcomes of sport for development programmes in the lives of people in the Pacific. ''Journal of Sport for Development'', ''5''(8), 4-18. * Devine, A., Carroll, A., Naivalu, S., & Seru, S. (2018). Promoting Effective Implementation of Disability Inclusive Sports for Development Programmes. Lessons Learnt from Australian Government Programs in the Pacific. ''Journal of Paralympic Research Group'', ''9'', 43-62.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Naivalu, Sainimili 1986 births 2019 deaths Fijian athletes Paralympic table tennis players of Fiji Disability rights activists Fijian women activists People from Serua Province