HOPE Selangor shines a light on the needy this Deepavali

 

Prema, co-founder of HOPE Selangor, passing a packet of food to a child. (HOPE Selangor pic)

PETALING JAYA: With the poor and destitute reeling from the onslaught of Covid-19, many Malaysians and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have banded together in an incredible spirit of solidarity to extend help to those in most need of it.

While many have donated cash, others have contributed in kind.

An NGO called Pertubuhan Pembangunan HOPE Selangor, was among one of many that quickly got to work when the first Movement Control Order (MCO) was enforced in March.

Co-founder of HOPE Selangor, Prema Thiyagu said she and her husband set up the NGO in 2005 to give the poor and destitute hope for a better future through a better quality of life.

Through initiatives aimed at improving the livelihood of the less fortunate, the NGO delivers aid to children, women and the youth.

HOPE Selangor shops for groceries and distributes food on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. (HOPE Selangor pic)

“Before we were hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, 70% of HOPE Selangor’s initiatives were focused on empowering the needy.

“The remaining 30% of our efforts were channelled towards charity work because we wanted to give the less fortunate the tools to be able to stand on their own feet,” explained Prema.

However, when the MCO came into effect, Prema said her NGO noticed just how many people lacked even the most basic necessities to get by on a day to day basis.

So, together with her husband and another volunteer, she travelled door to door distributing aid packages.

She says it was heart-breaking to see how some poor families, particularly those living in low-cost flats, were surviving solely on rice and salt.

She tells FMT that this was when HOPE Selangor decided to shift all their efforts to charity work.

Volunteers of HOPE Selangor cooking food for the needy. (HOPE Selangor pic)

In April this year, Prema and her team began distributing cooked and surplus food to the needy.

It was also around this time that they discovered that depression and suicide attempts had spiked among the poor, brought on by the inability to pay rent and settle other debts.

“We thought that the situation would get better when the MCO was lifted because this meant that people could return to work. But honestly, many of them suffered pay-cuts instead and are now living hand-to-mouth.”

In a bid to help as many deserving people as possible, the tireless team at HOPE Selangor has extended aid to those in Johor and Negeri Sembilan as well.

As of September, they have delivered aid to almost 50,000 people in the form of cooked food and groceries.

A volunteer handing out food aid. (HOPE Selangor pic)

Prema says that HOPE Selangor is particularly concerned about the welfare of children as they are the most vulnerable group when their parents are unemployed.

She tells FMT that many children from needy families are malnourished and recalled an incident where a mother had resorted to feeding her three-year-old child with condensed milk. With little to no money, most families are unable to buy even the most basic food like milk for their children.

“I know many people think these families receive the Bantuan Prihatin Nasional (BPN) cash aid. But let’s be honest, how can a family pay their rent, pay their other bills and take care of seven children with just RM1,500?”

With the situation being so dire, Prema is appealing to Malaysians with surplus food such as bread, tinned food or vegetables to reach out to HOPE Selangor, where these basic necessities can be distributed to the needy.

HOPE Selangor also provides workbooks to children with no internet access and who cannot participate in online classes when schools are shut.

The HOPE Selangor team packing bread before donating it to the community. (HOPE Selangor pic)

With Deepavali approaching, Prema wants to bring some spark of hope to the destitute.

“Many of us spend on clothes and our families. But for needy families, all they want is food.

“We are hoping to be able to provide groceries, Deepavali cookies and candies for the children. We intend to donate RM30 or RM50 hampers filled with delicious goodies so they too can celebrate Deepavali,” said Prema.

If you would like to help struggling families and children celebrate Deepavali with decent food and groceries, please donate to:

HOPE: Pertubuhan Pembangunan Harapan Selangor (PPM-013-10-05042016) 512222631461 Maybank

HOPE Selangor also accepts food donations. For more information, check out HOPE Selangor’s Facebook and website. - FMT