Malaysians rally to help schools buy masks for students

Big-hearted Malaysians are reaching into their pockets to raise funds to supply schools with reusable masks to protect students against the Covid-19 virus.

The fundraising campaign is dubbed "The Big Give" and is organised by the fundraising platform "100% Project". The campaign, which kicked off on July 16, has since raised RM19,119, which is enough to supply 1,909 pieces of masks to two schools.

While masks are not compulsory for schoolgoers who do not show symptoms of Covid-19, the campaign complies with the Health Ministry directive encouraging mask-wearing in public.

The Big Give is also collaborating with Mangosteen, a social enterprise that hires a community of mothers from the B40 and Orang Asli communities to sew the face masks in return for a steady income.

Aishah Parker, who leads The Big Give, said the fundraising project focuses on two fronts - helping schools protect their students and teachers, as well as providing opportunities for mothers and communities that are the most vulnerable during this health crisis to generate an income for their families.

“The public cares about curbing the spread of Covid-19. We all love Malaysia and we saw Malaysians step up right from the start of this unprecedented time we are all facing.

“At the time, we needed to protect our hospitals and front liners by raising funds to produce personal protective equipment (PPE) and now we need to protect our schools, our children,” Aishah said.

She added that, apart from students, masks will also be provided to teachers and other school staff.

Aishah said providing reusable masks is also more environmentally friendly and less costly in the long run, compared to disposable masks that need to be replaced every day.

“We don’t want to put out more waste into the environment so these reusable masks are a good option to help the schools,” she said.

The Big Give’s ambitious goal is to help raise funds to supply one million masks to schools across Malaysia. To date, 10 schools have joined the campaign, which has received approval from the Education Ministry.

“To do this, we need to rally all segments of society and establish partnerships with corporations and individuals,” Aishah said.

She explained that corporate sponsors can opt for different tiers of support, starting from RM1,000 to fund four to five classrooms, and up to RM10,000, which supplies masks for a school of 1,000 students and teachers.

“We also want to ensure that every Malaysian has the opportunity to participate in this campaign. Therefore, the minimum an individual can contribute is RM10,” she said.

The Big Give fundraising campaign was started by 100% Project in 2016 to provide teachers with school essentials at the start of the school year. The 100% Project is a crowdfunding platform that aims to help classrooms in need.

Helping students from underprivileged families

Ratnadewi Lim, a teacher from SMK Segambut, joined the campaign and managed to meet her school’s target of raising RM6,780 to buy masks for 597 students and 80 teachers in just one day.

“I think it’s a wonderful initiative. It definitely helps schools like mine, where a lot of children could not afford to buy their own masks. This fundraising allows the students to own one.

“Otherwise, they will be using the disposable masks for a couple of days before changing to a new one. Masks are not cheap so this fundraising really helps the students,” Lim said.

She shared that there are still many schools in Malaysia where students come from underprivileged families. The school she works at is in urban Kuala Lumpur, so she hoped that schools in rural areas would receive this much needed help.

Meanwhile, Aishah also hopes that The Big Give will be able to protect schools and keep students, teachers and administrators safe.

“We also hope that with this fundraiser, we can rally all Malaysians to unite for a common cause.

“Schools are where education begins and it is where the process of nation-building begins. Education is what most Malaysians believe in and can rally behind,” she added.

She said there is no specific deadline set for this project, simply because there is no end in sight for the Covid-19 pandemic.

“As long as Covid-19 is still among us, we will continue to have fundraisers to help communities that need protection," Aishah declared.

Up to June 2020, the Education Ministry said it has allocated RM57.88 million to purchase safety and sanitation equipment for schools, including hand sanitisers, thermometers and handwash. - Mkini