Former Fiji resident and radio broadcaster Dharmendra Shyam has raised $15,000 for families in Fiji hit hard by the second wave of COVID-19.
Shyam with many other former residents and corporate partners organized a charity event in New Zealand last week.
The event was called “Ek Shaam Fiji Ke Naam” which means “An Evening for Fiji” with former Fiji residents put up a music concert at the A1 Event centre in Great South Road Papatoetoe.
“We have successfully collected over $10,000 New Zealand dollars, through ticket sales and corporate pledges. This amounts to almost $15,000 Fijian dollars,” Shyam told Mai TV.
The former Labasa man says he took this step for his homeland after seeing news reports and hearing first hand from people of the hardships due to lockdowns and limited business activities.
“We have had discussions with Shop and Save in Fiji, and so the best thing to do is give food vouchers to the people worth $50, this means we will reach over 300 families.”
Shyam says people will have the choice to buy whatever they want, even if they wish to buy meat products or food for children, however alcohol, cigarettes, kava and recharge cards will not be allowed through the vouchers.
The funds will be remitted to Shop and Save and the vouchers will be distributed through social workers in Fiji to the needy families.
