It is always an honour to be recognised by others for our efforts and achievements. FRIEND has received numerous awards and recognition over the years, locally and internationally. Our focus on accountability, transparency and excellence has earned us numerous awards from the philanthropic community, among them Global Knowledge Partnership ICT youth Award, CIVICUS Nelson Mandela Graca Machel Award and Fiji Development Bank Small Business of the Year.
A significant honour, which has had a lasting impact, was the visit of His Royal Highness Prince Charles in 2005. At that time the organisation was barely three years old and was struggling in its mission to empower the underserved out of poverty. The Prince’s visit generated great publicity and provided a huge boost to FRIEND when it was really needed.
FRIEND is grateful to have received the following awards:

NATIONAL AWARDS

Frank Hilton Community Service Award 2008
An inaugural award by the ABC Foundation (Fiji) to recognise the efforts of those working at improving the lives of fellow citizens.

FASWA NGO of the Year 2007
On bestowing this award, the Fiji Association of Social Workers revealed that FRIEND had received unanimous support from FASWA membership.

Fiji Development Bank New Initiatives Small Business Awards, 2006
Awarded to three projects falling under FRIEND’s DESI program:
Handmade Cards Initiative - Deaf Card group
Tamarind Chutney Project - Ba Senior Citizens Center
Sweet Mango Chutney Income Generation Initiative - Kamla Wati


Fiji Development Bank Small Business of the Year, 2006
This prestigious award came in recognition of being the driving force behind the various New Initiatives Small Business Awards, as detailed above.

INTERNATIONAL  AWARDS

South Pacific Stock Exchange Annual Report Cover 2009
Second Runner up in the non government category.

UN Habitat Good Practice 2007
Awarded to FRIEND’s Income Generating Program (Food Products) for poverty alleviation. Best Practices are analysed with a view to extracting lessons that others can learn from and incorporate in their own programs.

CIVICUS Nelson Mandela Graca Machel Innovation Awards 2006
Awarded for the Youth Employment Network (YEN) program at FRIEND.
The criteria the judges used for evaluating these projects included originality, sustainability, potential for positive impact on citizen rights and justice movements, and partnership opportunities.
ICT Youth Award, Tunis, 2005
This award recognised the use of internet technology as a facilitator of an income generation program for youths. Nileshni Sekar, a volunteer with FRIEND at that time, searched the internet and learnt the art of quilling. This she shared with a group of about twenty deaf youths that kick-started the Friend's Fiji Style® range of handmade cards.