Caption:- From left are Ramakrishna Mission Fiji president Swami Aparoksha Nanda, Rotary Club of Lautoka president Rick Eyre, Rotary Club of Nadi president Krupesh Patel with management staff of BSP during the handover of cheques at BSP Namaka Corporate office. Photos: SHALENDRA PRASAD.
By SHALENDRA PRASAD
Non-governmental organizations working at grass-root levels in the western division received a major boost following a timely donation from BSP yesterday.
BSP Namaka Branch manager Madhur Kumar hands over the cheque to Rick Eyre of Rotary Lautoka.
Well-known for its philanthropic approach towards the community, the senior management of BSP based at the Namaka corporate office in Nadi handed over a total of $15,000, that is $5,000 each to three different NGO’s namely the Rotary Club of Nadi, Rotary Club of Lautoka and the Ramakrishna Mission Fiji respectively.
Yesterday’s donations has taken BSP’s contribution towards cyclone Evan to a total of $100,000 according to Curtis Mar, BSP’s head of corporate and commercial in the western division.
Speaking at the handing over function, Mr Mar said BSP continues to invest heavily into the community and is happy to partner with humanitarian and non-governmental organizations which provide timely assistance to those affected during natural disasters.
“Your organizations already have all the mechanisms in place to reach out to those affected the most during natural disasters, and we are happy to be working with you all to make a difference as BSP has always been a community based bank,” Mr Mar said.
He said the bank staff had previously tried to provide assistance themselves and a notable experience was during the two floods last year but they found it very difficult to reach out to the affected people effectively.
“We have decided to leave the distribution of assistance to the experts as your people are already on the ground,” Mr Mar added.
Sharing similar sentiments, BSP’s regional manager west Viliame Varasikete said the bank is also involved in community projects every year.
“We have six branches in the west and each branch has been allocated $10,000 annually to carry out community projects and we request you all to identify worthy projects which could be assisted under this initiative,” Mr Varasikete said.
He said apart from just giving out the money for such projects, the interesting part was the personal involvement of management and staff in carrying out works for such worthy causes.
BSP head of corporate and commercial west Curtis Mar hands over the cheque to Swami Aparoksha Nanda of Ramakrishna Mission.
While thanking the management of BSP, Ramakrishna Mission Fiji president Swami Aparoksha Nanda said the money given will be well used to assist those who have been badly affected during cyclone Evan and are finding it hard to get back on their feet.
Rotary Lautoka president Rick Eyre saluted the bank for their continued assistance to the community during hardships.
“BSP has been a silent partner in a lot of our community work and we deeply thank them for the assistance,” Mr Eyre said.
He also acknowledged the support received from Mr Curtis Mar in his personal capacity during the height of the floods last year.
Rotary Club of Nadi president Kurpesh Patel thanked the bank for the timely assistance and said the money will be used for the educational needs of students who are still finding it hard to go back to school because of the damage and loss of family income caused by the cyclone in December last year.
BSP’s regional manager west Viliame Varasikete hands over the cheque to Krupesh Patel of Rotary Nadi.