Dishing up profit as Preston restaurant shows compassion for bush fire victims

Kind-hearted owners of a Preston restaurant are working for nothing this week to help victims of the Australian bush fires.
Chantelle Scott who manages Manjaros in London RoadChantelle Scott who manages Manjaros in London Road
Chantelle Scott who manages Manjaros in London Road

Manjaros in London Road has pledged to donate every penny of its profits for seven days to the aid operation Down Under.

“When I saw pictures on the TV of what those people are going through it made me cry,” said Peter Blive, one of the owners.

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“We just wanted to do something to help and this seemed a great idea.

“There are 52 weeks a year and this is only one of them for us. It’s cost those poor people in Australia an awful lot more.”

The African/Caribbean restaurant will pay overheads and staff wages as normal. But any profit will go to help families whose homes have been caught up in the worst wildfires the country has seen in decades.

Peter has family living in the Sydney area and, although they have escaped the worst of the crisis, they have friends and colleagues who have had to flee the flames.

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“My mum’s brother lives in Sydney and they run a construction company, so obviously we have been keeping a close eye on what has been happening,”he said.

“They haven’t been hit, but they know people who have. And the situation out there is awful. When I first heard about the devastation it touched me.

"People’s lives are at risk, but thousands of animals have also been caught up in it.

"We decided to do something to help them and the only thing we could think of was to donate to the emergency funds that have been set up there. So we’re fiving every penny of our profits this week.”

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The move comes just three weeks after Manjaros provided Christmas dinner for the homeless.

At least 28 people have died in the fires which have ravaged large parts of Australia for months.

More than 2,000 homes have been destroyed as the flames have crossed vast tracts of land along the east coast of the country.

Dense smoke from the wildfires has blocked out the sunlight and caused health worries due to air pollution. NASA has been monitoring things from space and says the smoke will soon encircle the earth.

The fires have also taken a dreadful toll on wildlife, with rescue operations being launched to save thousands of injured creatures.