Sid Patel vowed no other child would feel like the 'loser' he once saw himself as. Photo / Supplied
Sid Patel vowed no other child would feel like the 'loser' he once saw himself as. Photo / Supplied
He's decked the school out in computers and now Kawhia's Sid Patel, dubbed the True Father Christmas, has once again proven he's the epitome of a generous person.
Each year he turns up to Kawhia Primary School's prizegiving armed with gifts for each of the 63 students. Not only does he give to those pupils, but he is also generous towards those at the local childcare centre and the correspondence class.
About 150 kids in Kawhia and Huntly benefit from his amazing generosity.
Kawhia Primary School principal Leanne Apiti said Patel, who owns the Kawhia Motel, had donated for the past couple of years but this year the school's post on its Facebook page had more than 56,000 views and more than 1200 likes.
"This is because at our school prizegiving, Patel, generously donated a gift bag for every early childhood, primary and secondary student in Kawhia."
Sid Patel has been dubbed Kawhia's 'True Father Christmas' after once again buying presents for all of the 150 children in the seaside town. Photo / Facebook
Inside each gift bag were educational books, quality Crayola crayons and good quality Bluetooth speakers.
"He is truly our Father Christmas in our low decile 1 community."
In the first year, all the kids were given tablets and senior students were each given mobile phones last year.
"Sid announced that his motivation came from the fact that he was always last in his class and never won a prize. He did not want other children to feel the same as he did. He hopes he can inspire other businesses to also give back. In true humble fashion, he never asks for praise or anything in return."
To acknowledge his generosity, Apiti asked the NZ Herald to give him the recognition he deserved.
"But his giving does not rest at Kawhia School. In Huntly, where he owns another business, he donates bread regularly to a local early childhood centre and also bought Christmas gifts for the children there."
Rosanna Taylor wrote on the school's Facebook page: "Awesome! What a wonderful, amazing, kind hearted man. This is so heart warming .. nice job! This would have meant soo much too many parents especially those struggling.
Marama Mahara added: "What an amazing person you are."
Patel said he grew up in a poor family in Fiji. He's dyslexic so can't read or write.
However, technology has helped him and he's good with numbers, which has helped him in business. As well as the Kawhia Motel, Patel owns K Beez in Huntly.
"I came last in my class, I never got a gift. We came from a really poor family so one gift means a lot.
"It really hurt me as a kid growing up, I didn't know how to read and write being a dyslexic, I felt like a loser."
He doesn't plan to stop helping the school anytime soon.
"People work hard for something but I work hard for the kids so that they can get all the new technology. So next year we will be updating all of the technology as well."
He also supplies all of the children's school books and art supplies and regularly donates towards school activities and events, including camp throughout the year. He also kitted out the school office with new furniture.
He had always donated to charities and used to spread it around but now he prefers to focus on children.
"Sometimes I struggle with cash. I do want to buy myself a boat or a motorcycle but the kids come first, you know."
Donating had run in the family, with his mother pressing it upon him to always donate.
"My mother is 93 years old and she always taught me one thing, and that is always donate. She still checks on me. She rang my staff just the other day to make sure I wasn't spending my money all on myself."
