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Mother Mere's mission forges Fijian football fairytale
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An extraordinary act of motherly love in the face of gossip and superstition has helped to facilitate a Fijian football fairytale for one profoundly deaf woman.

Ever since she was a baby, people have been whispering about Halamehi Tuilomania.

"There's little gossips going around saying: 'They must have done something bad. That is why they have daughter who is deaf'," her mother Mere remembers.

"It is the Pacific way of thinking."

Twenty-three years on, they are still whispering about Hala, as she is better known, but these days they are saying things like: "She has the best boot in Fiji" and "Australian AFL clubs should look at her".

Inspired by her cousin, former Port Adelaide Australian Football League (AFL) defender Alipate Carlile, and assisted by development programs in her school, Hala has developed into a star of the Australian Aid-supported women's AFL program in Fiji and one of the most exciting prospects in the Pacific.

She is also studying 'Library and Information' at the University of the South Pacific. Hala remains profoundly deaf.

"I am always into the websites of different clubs and my dad gets angry sometimes when he opens up the laptop and it's all AFL - not my studies," she giggles while communicating in sign language to Mere. When Mere interprets, she can't help but insert a slight tone of maternal disapproval.

She is entitled to. Hala's accomplishments would be impossible except for an extraordinary act of love and devotion by her mother. When Hala was a young child, Mere abandoned life as she knew it, left her job, and intensively studied sign language until she became adept.

She then attended school with her daughter every day for eight years, interpreting every word the teacher said. She turned her existence over to the pursuit of a full life for her daughter.

"We just decided that if she's here, we have to look after her," Mere says.

"We had to make quite a few choices in life. We just took a stand. You have to make good use of whatever possibilities and opportunities she can take."

- Mere Tuilomania

Mere's dedication and Hala's diligence have combined to open a world of possibilities and opportunities.

The connection they share is plain to see and unlike any other; a rare mix of affection, respect and intuition. It goes beyond mother and daughter because Hala has trusted Mere with the responsibility of being her voice in the world.

Mere is a friend, confidante and guide that, in many ways, is living the life of a woman in her early 20s. They are a dynamic duo but there remains a mutual recognition of each other’s individual identity.

This story was produced by ABC International Development as part of the Pacific Sports Partnerships funded by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

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