Foundation assists struggling families
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit Fiji in March bringing with it financial woes, school teacher Mainaz Ali knew she had to help out somehow.
Two months after Fiji’s first COVID-19 patient was diagnosed and schools closed, Ms Ali founded the Voice of Needy Foundation.
She knew parents were being laid off work and families would face the hardship of putting food on the table.
So with the little finances she had and the support of her family, she vowed to feed school children as much as she could, one meal at a time.
“A lot of families are affected by the pandemic because most people are unemployed and are working reduced hours,”
Ms Ali said.
“When the school date was announced, most families posted their concerns on social media that they are facing financial crisis and needed help from the community.”
To tackle the challenge, she said her foundation started a back to school drive to collect free school bags and stationery for students and the free lunch drive.
She said their goal was to identify schools and distribute grains or cooked lunch so that children didn’t go hungry and could continue their studies.
The foundation has seven members in Nadi and five in Suva who volunteer and dedicate their time and money to funding their initiatives.
“All of them are very supportive and hardworking towards this new foundation because they believe that actions speak louder than words,” Ms Ali said. “We receive funds from our members and anonymous friends and families from Fiji and overseas who believe in our work.”
The foundation is looking forward to partnering with the business community to support the cause. “We have covered seven schools so far and we have three more to assist in the coming weeks with the help of our donors. Our team has a lot of projects to work on but we believe in completing one project at a time with quality work before moving on to another project,” she said.
The foundation also provides solar lights to families who have no access to electricity.
She knew parents were being laid off work and families would face the hardship of putting food on the table.