Fiji should be proud of fellow countryman Sumeet Tappoo who was awarded the American President’s Volunteer Services Award, says Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka.
Mr Tappoo received the award a week ago during his concert at San Francisco.
“As Prime Minister of Fiji, I am deeply honoured and so should all Fijians be, that a son of the prominent Tappoo Family of Nasigatoka, Nadroga, has been awarded the prestigious President’s Volunteer Services Award for the many outstanding achievements,” he said.
“He has been a major part of in many parts of the world but most noticeably here in Fiji for the benefit of children in Fiji and the Pacific Region.
“Sumeet and his wife were instrumental in the acquisition of the land and the building of the Sai Prema Children’s Heart Hospital in Muanikau, Suva.”
The hospital opened in April 2022 and has conducted 260 free life-saving heart surgeries and 15, 500 free echocardiograms for the children in Fiji.
Mr Tappoo described his award as one that has heightened his sense of responsibility to continue striving for positive change in our world.
He is still on a concert tour in America raising funds for the children who use their services at the Sai Prema Children’s Heart Hospital.
