Society to raise more funds
THE Fiji Cancer Society (FCS) is hopeful of raising more funds, and perhaps getting budgetary support from government, in 2024, says CEO Belinda Chan.
She said the organisation would continue with existing events like the Bushells Morning Tea, which was sponsored by Motibhai.
Ms Chan said the trend was often to focus on activities in the latter half of the year, however, this time around, they wanted to bring some new activities during the first half.
“We call on everyone to support us, because we support over 200 patients,” she said.
Ms Chan added that the money raised went towards assisting the patients they looked after, and they were appreciative of those people and business houses who always extended a helping hand towards FCS.
She said apart from patient support, the organisation also conducted outreach programs in the community and corporate sectors.
According to Ms Chan, they were hopeful of securing support from the government.
“We are filling the gaps where government is unable to, so things like procurement of medication, diagnostic equipment, sending patients for diagnostic tests, paying for surgical backlogs.
“Those are all the little gaps, and those funds chew up quite a bit of our operating expenses, which we could have used to provide a little bit more service to the patients.
“My request is that if you see a cancer society event that requires you to do some fundraising, please go ahead and fundraise and know that your money has been put to good use.
“We don’t charge for our services, everything is given free of charge. We support the ministry if they can’t do it on their own. We need the support of the people of Fiji.”