Sibu hailed as fundraising icon of Sarawak
SIBU: This division is regarded as aniconwhenitcomestofundraising initiatives in Sarawak, in that the way that the Sibu people respond to charity programmes is nothing short of ‘ fantastic’.
In stating this, National Council of the Blind Malaysia president Dato Dr Hsiung Kwo Yeun observes that every year the number of fundraising activities keeps growing.
“We could not compare this with those in Kuching and Miri.
“The charity work by Sibu people is fantastic. I want to congratulate them,” he spoke during the opening ceremony of Sarawak Society For The Blind ( SSB) Sibu Division’s ‘42th Open House’ at its premises here yesterday, which also hosted a ‘Food & Fun Fair’.
We could not compare this with those in Kuching and Miri. The charity work by Sibu people is fantastic. I want to congratulate them.
Witnessing the ceremony were SSB Sibu chairman Ting Ing Horth, advisors Dato Ding Lian Cheon and Datuk Hii Yu Ho, past treasurer Datuk Stephen Chung and event organising chairperson Datin Judy Lau.
On the active charity work here, Dr Hsiung attributed the success to the organisers, as well as encouraging engagement by the public and local corporate organisations, ‘year in and year out’.
Meanwhile on the allocations set aside for the underprivileged members of society, particularly the blind, under the national budget for next year, Dr Hsiung said prior to the tabling, the council had submitted some proposals, but not all were considered.
“They (federal government) did fulfil some of the items (that we requested). I hope that the welfare (of the blind) would be upgraded in terms of amount. At the moment, it’s quite low in view of the current inflation and higher cost of living. But the federal government is having a very tight budget – we understand that. So it is our duty as citizens, and also as a NGO (non-governmental organisation) to complement government’s job.
“That’s why we are doing our fundraising events to boost the welfare of the blind people,” he said, adding that the council’s programmes include provision of training for the blind so that they would gain employment.
He stressed that the most important thing is to uphold the dignity of the blind and visuallyimpaired individuals.
“I don’t want it ( programmes) to be just about receiving aid or allowance – you know the proverb, ‘ better to teach them how to fish rather than give them fish’.
“We have solid training facilities that include those for ICT and massage training.”
According to Dr Hsiung, there are about 200,000 visually-impaired individuals in the country.
Dato Dr Hsiung Kwo Yeun, National Council of the Blind Malaysia president