Families affected by cyclone Evan are in urgent need of assistance to send their children to school. More than 5000 applications seeking education assistance from the FRIEND Scholarship Scheme have been received at the start of 2013. The Scholarship Scheme is aimed at assisting struggling families with school fees for primary and secondary education. Director Sashi Kiran says, while the scheme has been running on the quiet assisting hundreds of children over the last 10 years through contribution of various private donors, the Scheme received a major boost last year with Air Pacific contributing $FJD 137, 000 and this sum has now been topped up again this year with an additional FJD $100, 000