COVID-19: Mercy Malaysia launches Ramadan Appeal campaign

KUALA LUMPUR, April 17 -- Mercy Malaysia has launched Ramadan Appeal campaign to raise funds for communities affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, as many families will be facing a bleak Ramadan this year.

Its executive director Amran Mahzan in a statement today said funds raised would be used to purchase food parcels that are sufficient to support a family of four for iftar and sahur. 

“Since the Movement Control Order (MCO) began, we have started receiving requests for food aid from families who live on daily wages, been told to go on no-pay leave or been outrightly terminated. With the MCO being further extended, far more people will be affected.

“People who are still holding regular jobs find that they have saved a significant amount of money from the daily commute. Petrol and toll aside, many are also enjoying savings from not eating out, impulse shopping or social activities,” he said.

He added that the public could channel these direct and indirect savings to a good cause during the month of Ramadan by sharing the blessings with others who are hard-hit by the MCO, especially the urban poor living in cities and rural folks who have lost their source of income. 

He said the donations could be directed through www.mercy.org.my or to MERCY Humanitarian Fund (5621 7950 4126) or MERCY Malaysia (CIMB 8000-7929-08) and all donations are tax-exempted. 

To date, he said, Mercy Malaysia had distributed almost 15,000 food packs to families in need around the country, from the rural kampungs of Kelantan and Sabah to the urban poor in the Klang Valley.

He also said that with Ramadan starting next week, the organisation would begin to distribute its food packs tomorrow, beginning with seven locations across the country.

-- BERNAMA