Volunteers gathered at the Foundation for the Education of Needy Children (FENC) Fiji headquarters to begin a week-long packing of school stationery for 11,000 successful applicants.
Application for the assistance closed on October 30 last year and FENC Fiji officials are prioritising those in the remote islands and the interior.
The organisation has been assisting children with school stationery since its establishment in 2009 and last year saw an increase in the number of applications.
According to the NGO’s head of operations, Nirmala Nambiar, they were given $300,000 by the Government for their yearly operations and $160,000 went towards back-to-school assistance. However, they have gone over the budget because of the increase in the number of applicants.
“We are trying to seek assistance from a charity group because we want to help all these children,” she said.
“At the moment we are liaising with the Government on how we can get more help to not deprive any child who needs this opportunity to go to school.”
She said children were the future of our nation and they wanted to help educate as many as possible.
Ms Nambiar has advised that all applicants will need to contact their child’s head of school for updates.
Volunteers from the NGO Selfless Fiji are assisting FENC Fiji and anyone who wishes to volunteer can stop by their office.
