Every child deserves a Christmas gift - Deo

It will be a Christmas to remember for 95 children of Rakiraki, Ba, Lautoka, Sigatoka and Suva after they received gifts through the joint efforts of Pacific Recycling Foundation, Waste Recyclers Fiji Limited and Vinod Patel & Company Pte Limited.

The recipients are the children of Collection Pillars of Recycling, formerly known as informal waste pickers who collect recyclables from dumpsites and other places as their main source of income, and most endure difficult and dangerous conditions with little to no protective equipment.

Pacific Recycling Foundation Founder and Waste Recyclers Fiji Limited CEO, Amitesh Deo says this is the second round of gift drive following last week's event in Vunato, Lautoka where over 100 children received Christmas gifts.

Deo says the smiles on the childrens' faces were priceless and every child deserves a Christmas gift.

He says the PRF and WRFL teams collected data from various parts of the country where Collection Pillars of Recycling are based, and then coordinated efforts to reach them.

The CEO says they visited families in Naria, Maururu, Saweni and Kulukulu.

He says some people have been dependent on waste picking as their main source of income for more than 50 years and are faced with enormous challenges that PRF and WRFL is now trying to address with the assistance of other organisations.

Deo also says he was extremely thankful to Vinod Patel & Company Pte Limited for directing gifts from their internal Christmas drive to PRF/WRFL toys and stationery Christmas drive for children who are a part of CPR families.

Vinod Patel Home & Building CEO, Rahul Amin says the Annual Toy & Stationery Drive has been a long-standing initiative of the Company’s Corporate Social Responsibility program for over 10 years.

He says every year all employees across all their branches contribute, wrap and label gifts before distributing this in orphanages, hospitals and this year they are grateful to add another partner through Waste Recyclers Fiji.

General Manager Group ESG, Latileta Qoro says this partnership for Central and West provides great synergy.

She says while continuing their social agenda and reminding children that they are special and loved, the great work that WRFL and CPRs does is well aligned with the company’s recently endorsed ESG and environmental sustainability agenda.