Single Mum Expresses Gratitude to Foundation
‘This is the first ever assistance we got from the Foundation Education for the Needy Children’
Asolo mother, who travelled all the way from Naitasiri to receive a $200 voucher from the Foundation Education for the Needy Children (FENC) in Suva, has expressed her gratitude for the assistance.
Inise Rokodolo, 34, from Naqali Village in Naitasiri said this was her first year to receive assistance from the foundation and the help would go a long way to prepare her only daughter for the new school term.
“My father has been supporting my daughter’s education through Social Welfare money he gets every month. This is the first ever assistance we got from FENC,” Ms Rokodolo said.
She was among the hundreds of recipients who came to collect vouchers at the FENC headquarters in Suva.
FENC national co-ordinator John Tuiono said they received over 3200 applications for the 2018 academic year, and there were 95 per cent successful applicants.
“We have seen an increase in number of applicants in 2017 for 2018 academic year,” he said. He said the figure was the highest so far.
“This assistance targeted the lowincome earners who earn less than $100 a week,” he said.
“Some family have more children than the others, but we give them a fair treat and equal distribution to every child.
“Many who applied were those still recovering from cyclone Winston. And every child has to apply independently.
“The voucher we give them, they take it to our supplier CK Bargain, because they give the best service to our clients. Each child gets a $200 voucher.”
From next year FENC will be having a new scholarship database to avoid confusion. “Children are our future. Every child must have access to opportunity to grow healthily, to be educated, to dream the dreams to achieve a desirable future, one in which they contribute to their own and their families’ wellbeing,” he said. “We managed to secure long term contracts with companies to provide more assistance to students. “We issued the application form to the community every year, and we do our own verification and analysis in the office.” He urged the public to be patient because they were trying their best to serve all applicants.
“There are a lot of people out there who needed our assistance, and the office will be open Saturday, Sunday and whole of next week,” he said.