photo courtesy of Insider
The viral man who survived 24 days lost at sea consuming just ketchup and seasoning packets expressed disappointment over the gift that Kraft Heinz gave him. According to an Insider interview on April 28, Elvis Francois was promised a new fishing boat complete with a GPS navigation system from Heinz. Instead, the money given to him wasn’t even enough for a sailboat.
The Insider reported that Heinz initially asked if Francois wanted to receive money or wanted the company to purchase a boat for him, and the fisherman chose the money. A sum of a little more than 10K was passed over, and the 47-year-old said the money wasn’t enough for a replacement sailboat as he had before becoming stranded at sea or for a usable small one so that he could immediately go back to fishing. However, he said that he was from a very small village” and didn’t have “a proper education,” so he didn’t think he could ask for more.
Francois said, “You can’t force anything in life. I just have to accept it as it is.”
He used the money to buy a small boat and two motors because “I wouldn’t go out in the water with one engine because it’s too risky. That’s why I had to buy two engines,” he explained. Since the money has run out, he’s been hard at work selling fruit at his local market to try and make enough money for the other basic necessities for the boat. Francois told the outlet he needed more money to buy a GPS system and other essential parts like a steering wheel.
A representative for Heinz recently responded. The company told Insider, “We’re surprised and sorry to hear that Mr. Francois is disappointed with Heinz’s monetary support. While our intention was to purchase him a new fishing boat, once we were able to locate and discuss with him directly, he indicated that money would be preferred and most beneficial.”
“We quickly researched and determined that our donation was sufficient to purchase a higher-quality boat than what he previously had if he chose to do so while also keeping in mind any tax implications that he might incur. As our only goal here was to delight Mr. Francois, if he was not able to purchase the boat that we had discussed, we’re happy to take a look and determine if additional funds are needed.”
As previously reported by NewsOnyx, Kraft Heinz launched a huge media campaign back in February to find Francois after news broke about his survival feat. They publicized that they planned to give him “a new boat equipped with full navigational technology to avoid another disaster in the future.”