MyCare on mission to bring food and medical relief
KUALA LUMPUR: Humanitarian Care Malaysia (MyCare) is the latest non-governmental organisation to launch a humanitarian mission to assist Rohingya refugees currently stranded in Bangladesh amidst the current crisis in Myanmar’s Rakhine state.
MyCare chairman Prof Dr Hafidzi Mohd Noor said the mission was to further enhance the existing support and assistance to the community largely centred at the Bangladeshi border city of Cox’s Bazar.
The mission, dubbed “MyCare Humanitarian Mission to Cox’s Bazar 2”, will depart in October with five medical personnel and RM350,000 worth of contributions and medical supplies.
“We have received information that the situation there is worsening at an unimaginable scale. Now, the refugees are in need of medicine and food. They will also need shelter as the monsoon season is coming,” he told a press conference at the launch of the mission yesterday.
A recent offensive by the Myanmar authorities against ethnic Rohingya had left thousands killed, triggering a refugee crisis mainly in bordering Bangladesh.
It was estimated that 700,000 displaced Rohingyas have entered Bangladesh.
Hafidzi said a Rohingya emergency fund initiated by MyCare had so far collected RM150,000, which had been channelled to three nongovernmental organisation partners in Bangladesh.
He added since 2015, MyCare had delivered assistance worth RM1.1 million in the form of food, medicine and education materials to Rohingya refugees in Malaysia, Myanmar and Bangladesh.
Those who wish to contribute to MyCare official account “Humanitarian Care Malaysia Berhad” via Maybank (5642-58560698), CIMB (8602-135-592) and Bank Islam (1209-2010-0349-04).
Donations can also be made online through www.billplz.com/ selamatkanrohingya.
Mercy Malaysia on Monday said it needed about RM3 million for immediate relief in Cox’s Bazar, where its team has been at the refugee site since Sept 9.
Those who want to donate can go to Mercy’s web page at www. mercy.org.my