The generosity of Hoon Hay dairy owner Suresh Patel has not passed unnoticed. Photo / Greg Bowker
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A Christchurch dairy owner who responded to his community in its hour of need has received flowers and many thanks from locals, and even cheques from out of town.
Hours after the earthquake on Saturday, Suresh Patel, owner of Hoon Hay's P&P dairy, gave panicking locals essentials - such as
water and batteries - even if they could not pay for them.
Mr Patel and his family rushed to their dairy after the earthquake to check on any damage.
It took some time to manually open their electric garage door at home, and by the time the Patels arrived at the store, shaken customers were queuing up outside.
Power and water were knocked out and people needed drinking water and batteries for torches.
Mr Patel had a lot on his mind - everything in the shop's cellar had fallen over, and he was feeling rattled by the quake.
But supermarkets were closed and his customers were in need.
"I told them, 'Take it, take whatever you need - milk, batteries, water, spaghetti'," Mr Patel said.
Eftpos was not working and many people did not have the cash to pay, but that did not matter.
"We just weren't worried. It doesn't matter if they don't pay, because money is not everything. Just helping each other was the important thing," Mr Patel said.
A week later, Mr Patel still struggles to fall asleep and has spent every night since the earthquake in a van parked in his driveway.
"My family want to go in the house, but my heart wouldn't stay still. I don't know why. As soon as it gets dark, my heart starts racing."
But Mr Patel considers it his duty to supply the neighbourhood with the things they need, so all week he has put on a brave face, restocking his shelves even if he has had to sell items below cost.
He has also donated more than 100 litres of milk to emergency shelters set up in Christchurch for displaced residents.
In return, Mr Patel been overwhelmed by the response. People as far away as Napier have heard of Mr Patel's generosity and mailed in money in support.
"We will donate it all to charity. Just blessings are enough."
He said giving to his customers helped him as well.
