MYCARE AIMS TO PROVIDE 500 BABY PACKS TO HELP PALESTINIANS COPE WITH WINTER

SHAH ALAM, Dec 31 (Bernama) -- Humanitarian Care Malaysia Berhad (MyCARE) aims to provide 500 baby aid packs worth RM375,000 to help ease the burden of the Palestinian community in facing the coming winter season.

MyCARE Board of Trustees member Dr Fauziah Mohd Hasan said that, in collaboration with Klinik AJWA, the organisation will mobilise a fundraising drive to ensure the aid packs, which include items such as infant formula and disposable diapers, reach those in need.

"To make a contribution, members of the public may channel their donations to the CIMB Humanitarian Care Malaysia Berhad account number 8602135592," she told reporters after the Launch of the Winter Campaign and Baby Bags Gaza here today.

Dr Fauziah said the implementation of the project will involve cooperation with international strategic partners to enable the purchase of items directly from within Gaza in order to avoid restrictions.

She said the approach was adopted to ensure aid is distributed based on the actual needs of the local community, without being dictated by any external parties.

"As outsiders, we should not determine what they need because the people there have more right to voice their own needs. Therefore, we will only channel financial assistance; once it reaches there, they will manage the purchase and distribution.

"Many items, including baby milk, have been blocked at the border, and some have even been confiscated although the aid was brought in by medical personnel from the World Health Organization (WHO)," she said.

In a related development, Dr Fauziah, who is also a humanitarian activist, said the cost of basic goods in Gaza is currently at an unreasonable level, with some items only allowed to enter through commercial channels.

She said the situation has caused essential goods to be sold at exorbitant prices, even though local residents have no steady income or employment to meet their daily needs.

"There are times when the price of salt increases by hundreds of times, while sugar is sold at completely unreasonable prices, reaching up to USD100 (RM405.75) (a kilo).

"Although the situation has eased slightly and more goods are now allowed to enter, prices remain high and can only be afforded with the help of public donations from around the world," she said.

Earlier, Dr Fauziah was joined by academic figure Prof Emeritus Dr Mohd Alauddin Mohd Ali and Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA) Faculty of Law and International Relations lecturer Prof Dr Mohd Afandi Salleh as panellists in a forum attended by nearly 200 participants at the Yayasan Restu Auditorium, Selangor International Islamic Arts Complex, here.

-- BERNAMA