Malaysia

From school supplies to Covid-19 ward, a Sabahan driven by charity

Norfadzlina Ramsah and her group of volunteers raise their own funds to help those in need

Updated 5 years ago · Published on 11 Oct 2020 4:56PM

From school supplies to Covid-19 ward, a Sabahan driven by charity
Beluran native Norfadzlina Ramsah has long been involved in community work in her hometown, giving out food aid to the needy and undertaking other charity work. – JASON SANTOS/The Vibes pic, October 11, 2020

by Jason Santos

KOTA KINABALU – Norfadzlina Ramsah has worked tirelessly to raise funds for the needy in her hometown of Beluran since the nationwide conditional movement control order (CMCO) came into force in May.

The 39-year-old and her band of volunteers drive around town distributing food items to the poor, including those who missed out on government aid.

“Since the CMCO started, we have been working non-stop to help those who missed out on getting government assistance.

“We raise our own funds to help them.”

She said she is not in Beluran MP Datuk Ronald Kiandee’s good books because of this, but declined to elaborate.

Norfadzilah’s volunteer work started in 2015 with the “Pensel Project” (Pencil Project), a small movement that aimed to raise funds to buy stationery for poor students in the district.

She then embarked on bigger community projects, handing out food aid to vulnerable groups that did not get assistance from the previous Warisan-led Sabah government.

“My dad has been calling me about helping our hospital. I’m the one who should be worried because he is in a red zone,” she tweeted via her account @LinaKlasik.

Her next endeavour is a feat indeed – building an isolation ward for Beluran Hospital.

“We’re called Beluran Hope. What I do is my own initiative to help our frontliners. We need about four to five days to complete the ward.

“The work starts on Monday.”

However, she has yet to raise funds for the project, and is worried about a scheduled Covid-19 swab test that could shelve her plans if she is ordered to undergo quarantine.

She has the same concerns for the nine volunteers in the project.

They do not have stable jobs, she said, but are willing to help build the ward without getting a single sen.

“All of them know that I don’t have money to pay them. I can only offer to pay for their food and fuel.”

The cost of building materials is between RM3,000 and RM4,000, she added. – The Vibes, October 11, 2020

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