Students reap rewards for handing in lost bag of cash
Two friends from Hamilton West School were praised and rewarded for their actions in returning a bag of cash that had been lost near Waikato Hospital.
When schoolmates Alex Fisher and Hakeke Kingi came across a bag with cash left on a city street, they knew exactly what to do.
The two primary students were walking home after school past Waikato Hospital when they saw the bag sitting in the middle of the road.
Alex and Hakeke of Hamilton West School walked over to see what it was. As they got closer, they couldnât believe their eyes.
âI said, hey Alex look, thereâs a little bag with money in it,” Hakeke said.
“Straight away we knew what we had to do.â
The bag was sitting in an entrance way to Waikato Hospital parking. Alex picked it up and saw some writing on the back that told him it belonged in the hospital.
As luck would have it, the boys located a man on a scooter nearby who was part of hospital security and they handed the money over to him.
âHe rode away, we waited for a couple of minutes and then he came back to say we did a good job,â Alex said.
The boysâ efforts were celebrated on Thursday at Hamilton West Schoolâs assembly. There they were presented with Chiefs jerseys, tickets to a Chiefs home game and some cash to spend by John Gallagher, a director on Gallagherâs board.
âWe give a lot of awards out to different areas in the education sector, but nothing exactly like this,â Gallagher said.
âI think it is excellent to see [what they did] and for being rewarded for it as well. It is great to see people being honest.
âWe get a lot of negative stuff happening and here is something that is a very positive thing.â
The boys also received a certificate of commendation from the police which was handed to them by Community Constable Niwha Jones.
âSo this is heaps better than all those other things, this has got mine and [principal] Mr Penmanâs signatures on it,â Constable Jones joked before handing the boys their certificates.
âYou boys made me very proud to be MÄori,â he said.
âI was embarrassed, happy and excited. My legs were shaking,â Alex said after the assembly.
âEvery time I kept walking up [to the stage], it felt like I was an actor or something,â Hakeke said.
âLike a hero. A hero of Ham West,â Alex added.
Principal Mark Penman said the boys had done very well, but so had their families.
âThe whanau were here supporting them, so their values were instilled in the home,â he said.
The boys were never tempted to do anything else with the sum, a figure that they haven’t found out.
âIt looked like a little bit of money, maybe $1.50, so I was like, who would want that?â Hakeke joked.
âPlus who has the time to open the packet and count the money?â Alex questioned.
The boys agreed that they had learned a good lesson from what they had done.
âBe honest and if you see money, give it back,â Hakeke said.
- See related stories