The Fijian Holdings Group donated $10,000 today to 5 charity groups as part of their 20-year anniversary celebrations.

In presenting the cheque, the Chairman for the FHL Group, Mr Lyle Cupit stated that the theme of the celebrations of ‘Success Through Teamwork’ did not only refer to the immediate staff or shareholders or clients of the FHL Group, but ‘it also refers to the community and society at large in which Fijian Holdings operates’.

Mr Cupit acknowledged the roles of the organizations and their significant contribution to the communities that they serve and expressed the Group’s continued support for the difference that the organizations make in the lives of the people in their communities.

The recipients of the charities were the Chevalier Hostel, which looks after street kids, the Homes of Hope which looks after single mothers with children, Prison After Care Society, run by Salvation Army which caters for the families of prisoners who have been ostracized from society, the United Blind Person’s Society and the Hilton Crippled Children School, which both look after disabled and handicapped children. The charities would be receiving $2,000 each from the FHL Group donations.

In an interview, the Chairman of the Organising Committee for the celebrations, Ann Steele, stated that the ‘the charity was an employee initiative as part of the celebrations to give back to the under privileged and less fortunate in society and to be able to touch the lives and give hope to the hundreds of people that the respective charity groups assist. It’s a way to give back to society as a Group of companies and to allow them to share in our success’.

Also as part of its 20-year celebrations, Fijian Holdings donated Dux Prizes to 3 secondary schools throughout Fiji in the second year in a row. Three HP laptops were donated to the 3 students from Adi Cakobau School, Ratu Kadavulevu School and Queen Victoria School, which were presented at their prize giving ceremonies during the week. A fourth prize will also be awarded to the top Fijian student in the country, which will be announced by the Ministry of Education.

This effort is directly in line with the reason for the existence of Fijian Holdings, to accelerate indigenous Fijian’s participation in the business sector, and in doing so encourage and motivate young people to excel in their respective fields as they enter tertiary institutions and eventually the work force. The emphasis being to reward hard work and to encourage young Fijians to strive for greater things in the future.

Prizes were also given out for the 20-year celebration Essay and Art Competition at the FHL Group Open Day yesterday. The overall outstanding essay was won by Ms Katarina Toga, a Form 2 student from Holy Cross College all the way from Waiyevo in Taveuni, which included an IBM PC and cash donations to the School, as well as prize money for the student. Ms Steele stated yesterday that it was pleasantly surprising that most of the winners for the competition were from schools in outer islands, all the way from Macuata, Labasa and Waiyevo. ‘While there were some winners from Suva schools, it is very encouraging for us to see rural based schools participating in the 20-year anniversary essay and art competition, it tells us that there is already an awareness amongst young people of what FHL is about and this is something that we want to improve on in the future’.


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