GEORGE TOWN – The Penang government has set aside 20,000 masks and 96 hand sanitisers to help low-income individuals keep Covid-19 at bay, following reports of impoverished families wearing filthy face coverings.
It was the Penang Hindu Association (PHA) – a welfare group – that kick-started the action, when it appealed to elected representatives and the medical fraternity to provide aid in the form of essential supplies such as masks, disposable gloves and hand sanitisers for B40 and M40 families.
PHA president P. Murugiah said he noticed that whenever his association and the Temple of Fine Arts’ (TFA) charity arm visited B40 and M40 families to donate food items, the recipients always wore old and grimy looking masks, indicating that they had been reused several times.
“I am very thankful for the state government’s speedy response after receiving my appeal, which was reported by The Vibes.”
The Penang government has also offered to donate hand soap, and asked PHA to write an official request for them to be disbursed to poor families, he added.
The 20,000 masks will be handed out in packs – each containing 10 pieces – and the 500ml hand sanitisers will be handed to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and temples for distribution.
“We also received 20 boxes of masks from the Penang Medical Practitioners’ Society, 50 from Permata Firus Sdn Bhd and 10 from an anonymous donor from Johor Baru,” said Murugiah.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, who handed over the donation, expressed gratitude to all NGOs that are helping people in need.
“PHA has been providing services to the community for the past eight years.
“During the Covid-19 pandemic, the association continues to reach out to the community by providing many types of services.”
PHA and TFA have distributed 3,000 pieces of masks to two temples in the state, and couriered some to a temple in Perlis.
They will distribute the remaining donations to the public from 5pm to 7pm daily at Klinik Derma Sivasanta in Jalan Sungai.
PHA again appeals to health institutions, including private hospitals, pharmacies and medical supply outlets, to distribute essential medical supplies to B40 and M40 families, as well as orphanages and old folk’s homes.
“If permitted, they can also consider distributing over-the-counter, non-prescription basic medicine like paracetamol and vitamins, as well as adhesive bandages that can be used by the families,” said Murugiah.
“I hope that people will continue to contribute. We are also trying to offer people things they have yet to receive, like milk powder, vitamin C, masks and baby napkins in place of disposable diapers.” – The Vibes, July 23, 2021
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