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Refugee children raise over RM25,000 for Malaysians
KUALA LUMPUR. Children from a local refugee centre earned RM25,000 for the Montfort Boys Town and Little Sisters of the Poor to benefit the young and elderly of Malaysia. The 30 children from the Zotung Refugee Catholic Learning Center (ZRCLC) moved audiences to support the cause as they performed in a 20-minute Christmas musical for companies and private homes.
The support came in many ways during the 3-day caroling event. Some companies invited the children for their annual Christmas party, some hired them as part of their Christmas CSR program, while others simply opened up their offices and homes to reach out to more.
Cherly Lee, head of marketing, My E.G. Services Berhad recalled, “We were looking to hire Christmas carolers to sing at En Yun Old Folks Home as part of our CSR program and coincidentally heard about the children from ZRCLC. This was the perfect opportunity to make our contributions benefit more people at the same time”
“We invited the children to sing at our Christmas celebration so that their admirable efforts could be witnessed and supported by over 250 of our guests” explained, Chow Yoke Mei, general manager, PJ Midtown.
ZRCLC was established in 2008 under the protection of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). It relies primarily on the generosity of individuals for its operations.
“Over the past 10 years, we have been blessed with the generosity of Malaysians in running our learning centre. Apart from helping us pay for the rent and utilities, Malaysians have also supported us by donating food, books, stationery and from time to time teaching our children in the classroom. Hence we teach our children about the importance of returning the goodwill and our annual caroling is one way of imparting this value to them” says Cecilia Mi Mi Win, head teacher of ZRCLC.
Brother Robin Devasagaya, director, Montfort Boys Town, was deeply touched by the generosity of the children from ZRCLC.
“The words of our founder St Louis Marie de Montfort ‘Those whom the world rejects must move you the most’ is clearly alive today” He said.
The children were excited to know how much they raised after every caroling session and were overjoyed when the final amount was announced to them.
Aungzabawi, a 12 year old ZRCLC student who accompanied the musical with his guitar exclaimed, “Before today, I could not have imagined that we would be able to help others with our singing.”
Through their talent and sincere effort, these children contributed in making Christmas more meaningful for many, reminding us that charity is not exclusive to those with financial means.
Offices that supported this initiative include :
MyEG Services Berhad
TSH Resource Berhard
Suway Velocity Mall
PJ Midtown
Feruni Ceramiche Sdn Bhd
VPO Services Sdn Bhd
DiGi Telcommunication
ABOUT ZOTUNG REFUGEE CATHOLIC LEARNING CENTRE
The Zotung Refugee Catholic Learning Centre (ZRCLC) was established in 2008 in Kuala Lumpur under the protection of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
It is run independently and relies solely on the generosity of individuals its entire operations.
The centre provides basic education for refugee children between the ages of 4 to 12 as they are unable to attend local Malaysian public schools. The centre also serves as a safe haven for the children as their older siblings and parents work as undocumented general workers.
Located on 97 Jalan Loke Yew, Pudu, 55200 Kuala Lumpur, the centre is a 2 floor shophouse above the car workshop.
MEDIA CONTACT
Chris James
WhatsApp : +60 11 25270401
Email : zrclcoffice@gmail.com
Website : www.zrclc.com
19 DECEMBER 2018
Companies that couldn’t make their office premise available supported the cause by pledging.
“It is a busy time for our company so we couldn’t invite them, but we felt it was important to support the children’s effort in helping the needy. So we passed a bad around and pledged our collections” explained, Francis Foo, executive director, Juita Viden.
The musical comprised of the kindergarten children acting the Christmas scene as the primary students sang corresponding traditional Christmas songs. Many who watched their performance were deeply moved. “In my 60 years, I have never encountered carolers such as these. In their helpless state and purity of heart, their message of hope touched me deeply. Indeed God dwells among the least, lost and the little” shared, Mildred Lopez who invited the children to her home and invited her neighbours to join in the festivities.
Kindergarten children acted the Christmas scene as the primary students sang corresponding traditional Christmas songsType your paragraph here.
Performance at TSH Resource Berhad. The school also had their 3 day transportation and costumes sponsored which allowed ZRCLC to donate 100% of their collections
ZOTUNG REFUGEE CATHOLIC LEARNING CENTRE