Generous Northlanders have pitched in with financial assistance to compensate a pensioner who has forked out hundreds of dollars transporting generators for cyclone-affected families in Fiji.
Whangarei's Roy Alder flew out to Fiji on Monday and plans to clear the four generators - which were donated to the cause - from Lautoka wharf this week before distributing them to needy families on the western cane belt areas of Ba and Rakiraki.
He spent $250 transporting the generators from Whangarei to Auckland and a further $245 shipping them to Fiji. All up, he has forked out about $1200, including airfares and transportation.
Two Northlanders gave Mr Alder $745 this week after reading his fundraising appeal in the Northern Advocate, including a businessman who handed over a cheque for $500. Both donors did not want to be identified.
The businessman said Mr Alder deserved to be helped because he ran the appeal singlehandedly without much cash to spare.