PRIME MINISTER VOREQE BAINIMARAMA'S REMARKS AT THE SAI PREMA FOUNDATION 4TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS

Mr. Mahendra Tappoo – Chairman & Founding Trustee;
Mrs. Maya Tappoo – Founding Trustee;
Mr. Rajendra Kumar – Trustee;
Mr. Kamlesh Tappoo – Trustee;
Dr. Krupali Tappoo – Director of Sai Sanjeevani Children’s Heart 
Hospital Fiji;
Mr. Sumeet Tappoo – Director of Sai Prema Foundation Fiji;
Invited Guests; 
Ladies, Gentlemen and Children.

Bula Vinaka, Namaste, and good morning to you all—and thank you for inviting me to share this fourth anniversary of the Sai Prema Foundation Fiji with you.

Two things stood out to me as I looked at the work you have been doing as I prepared to speak to you today. The first is the truly amazing number of things you have accomplished in just four years. I think any organization would be proud to accomplish as much in 10 or 12 years. It is a testament to your clear sense of purpose, your devotion to humanitarian service, your drive, and your ability to make plans and execute them faithfully. 

The second thing that struck me is the work you have done to promote heart health in Fiji. I think that is fitting, because anyone who looks objectively about the ideals, the energy and the spirit of this foundation would agree that it is all about the heart—that the work of the Sai Prema Foundation Fiji comes from a very big heart. 

We often think of foundations in terms of their endowments, their disbursements and their accomplishments. But money is nothing without a noble purpose and true compassion. 

This organization’s very large heart beats steadily under some very broad shoulders, too. 

Those shoulders have carried the hopes and eased the misfortunes of thousands of Fijians—Fijians who needed specialized medical care, Fijians who did not have the means to feed their families, Fijian children who now have better education.

Of course, Mrs. Bainimarama and I are deeply honoured to be Patron and Patroness of the Sai Sanjeevani Children’s Heart Hospital, a facility that will save the lives of countless children who suffer from congenital heart disease in Fiji and the Pacific.

In Fiji, it is Government’s responsibility to provide education, health care and social services to the people. But no government can do it all alone. 

The true value of any society is found not in what it asks its government to do, but in what the people do to make their society better—what they do through their government and what they do by joining together. The partnerships Government has formed with the Sai Prema Foundation Fiji are an excellent example of the public and private sectors bringing their assets together to do things that would be more difficult for one of us to do alone. 

Fortunately, in Fiji we have a strong tradition of civic action. We have many groups that support different causes, and our society is richer for the work they do. I believe that we all have a duty to each other, not just as Fijian citizens, but as human beings. And if more act out of compassion and concern for our country and our fellow citizens, the easier it will be to build a Fiji that truly realizes its potential.
 You do that by promoting physical and mental well-being among the underprivileged, but also by upholding human values in a world that can at times seem cruel and selfish. I am particularly moved by your mission to promote love, peace and unity among all Fijians, and to promote better spiritual well-being.  And you live those principles by providing your services at no cost to all Fijians irrespective of race, religion, caste or creed.

The Sai Prema Foundation Fiji has made many promises since its founding four years ago, and I am pleased to say that it has kept every one. Thanks to you, we opened a new Sai Sanjeevani Medical Centre in 2018, and the following year I inaugurated the South Pacific’s first Children’s Heart Screening Centre. Sai Sanjeevani Medical Centre has served more than 12,000 people completely free of cost.
By bringing in teams of specialist children’s heart surgeons and support personnel from overseas to operate on our children suffering from congenital heart disease, the Sai Prema Foundation has saved the lives of 73 children and brought happiness to many families. These children now have a real future, thanks to you. 

It wasn’t long before you promised to develop the South Pacific’s first Children’s Heart Hospital, which would be finished now were it not for the COVID pandemic. But it is almost finished, and I look forward to cutting the ribbon for it when it opens.  

These, of course, are the most visible programmes, but the day-to-day work that you do is making the lives of many Fijians better—by brining medical care to rural communities, by caring for orphans, by collecting blood, by distributing free meals to the needy.

My Government fully supports the work of the Sai Prema Foundation’s projects and initiatives because of the great benefits they bring to this country and because of the example they set for others who have enjoyed success and have the means to share their blessings with their fellow citizens. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, the great faiths of the world instruct their believers to perform works of charity. It is one of the many things that we have in common and that we can admire in each other. 
The great religions call on us to serve humanity as an expression of faith in God. For Christians, the admonition comes from the writings of the evangelist St. Luke, who quotes Jesus as saying, “For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.”

We, who have much must do more to help those in need. Whether we are Christians, Hindus or Muslims, it is our calling. And so I proudly join you today in proclaiming the foundation’s governing principles, which you are serving in an admirable way:

“Love all, serve all. “
“Help ever, hurt never.” 
“Hands that help are holier than lips that pray.” 

I wish you all a very happy fourth Anniversary!

Thank you. 
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