$18,500 chance 'to care and give'

WANTED CAST: Bidding for Prime Minister John Key's cast and morning tea reached $9350 on TradeMe yesterday, which he confessed was much higher than expected and causing some unease.

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He splashed out nearly $20,000 for one of the prime minister's castoffs, but Ganesh Cherian hopes that will just be the start of renewed efforts to raise money for the blind.

Cherian, who part-owns a headstone business in Lower Hutt, is the proud new owner of the cast worn by Key after his New Year tumble at a Chinese restaurant.

The Trade Me auction raised funds for The Fred Hollows Foundation.

"Part of this is saying we have what we need and there are other people out there in the world who don't even have the basics, such as eyesight," he said. "It's an opportunity to care and give, we actually are an extremely wealthy country."

Cherian said he was considering either on-selling the cast or renting it out to raise more money for the foundation. He was "shocked" his $18,500.10 bid, placed late on Saturday night, was enough to win.

Money raised from the auction will go to the foundation, which operates blindness prevention programmes across the Pacific, including Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, the two countries Key visited after he broke his arm last month.

The cast bears the signatures of Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and several other Pacific leaders.

The proceeds would go towards funding two eye surgery outreach visits in the Solomon Islands later this year, the foundation said.

Doctors on two similar trips last year performed nearly 100 sight-restoring surgeries.

Cherian said he was more interested in supporting a worthy cause than in having a piece of memorabilia to show off.

"I'm very very blessed and have more than I need. I see this as a wonderful opportunity to give on such a level."

He was unsure when the cast would be handed over or when his morning tea with the Prime Minister would take place.

And was he worried the cast would be a bit pongy after nearly six weeks on Key's arm? "I suspect they'll encase it," he said hopefully. 

- © Fairfax NZ News