Frank Hilton Organisation president Ritesh Dass said they have raised more than what they were expecting from the wheelbarrow race in Suva yesterday.

“The funds raised will go a long way in helping children with disabilities at our school and also achieving our objectives,” he said.

Minister for Health and Medical Services, Rosy Akbar said the wheelbarrow race brings back childhood memories during her school days.

“Seeing is believing when you actually visit the special schools. Only then you realise the difficulties the children face on a daily basis,” she said.

“These initiatives provide an opportunity to understand the challenges faced by persons living with disabilities and getting to be part of this event is worthwhile and truly amazing. I hope we can continue to build on this partnership and we will invite all government ministries and departments to participate in this amazing race.”

Akbar also highlighted the importance of healthy living and creating a healthy population.

“Non Communicable Disease (NCD) is a man-made disaster that is plaguing our society. We don’t want to lose any lives to NCDs, so please be serious about your health, eat healthy and exercise daily. Maintaining healthy living is the way forward for a healthy population.”

The 14 corporate companies who were part of the event are Vinod Patel Foundation, Harcourts Fiji, Stands South Pacific, Vodafone Fiji, Sun Insurance, British American Tobacco (BAT), Fortech Construction, Permal Construction, Telecom Fiji Limited, Bank South Pacific, Fiji TV, Bluescope, and Bagel Boys (team of volunteers).

The event was won by Bluescope Lysaght with a time of 10.34minutes.

The Frank Hilton Organisation looks after the Hilton Special School and the funds raised would be used for services such as audiology and speech therapy, physiotherapy, hostel intensive care facilities and daily transport for children with special needs. The minimum registration fee was $5,000 and Harcourts Fiji raised the biggest amount of $16,000.