The city’s homeless and underprivileged children enjoying a special meal at the Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house organised by IOJ.
WHILE most Malaysians returned to their hometown for Hari Raya Aidilfitri, students of Segi College Kuala Lumpur spent the first day with the city’s underprivileged children and the homeless.
The 20 students of various ethnic and religious backgrounds brought cheer to about 250 people.
The Jom Raya open house was organised by non-profit organisation Institut Onn Ja’afar (IOJ) as part of its ongoing Jom Breakfast campaign.
IOJ chief executive officer Charles Mohan said the campaign has been going strong for the last four years.
“It’s a weekly morning soup kitchen where student volunteers from local public and private universities take turns to feed 250 underprivileged children and homeless people.
“However, for Ramadan we switched to serving meals for sahur,” he said, adding that IOJ also organises an open house at Pusat Transit Gelandangan Kuala Lumpur, a transit home for the homeless, during every major festival in the country.
“We believe that by having multiracial students celebrate Hari Raya with the less fortunate in a open house setting, both sides will benefit from the experience of taking part in a cornerstone of Malaysian warmth, culture and unity,” he added.
Pusat Transit Gelandangan was set up as a one-stop centre by the Federal Territories Ministry for the government, private sector, non-government organisations and the public to provide aid to the homeless.
“We strongly believe in giving back to society and every little bit goes a long way.
“We are very happy that we are able to celebrate this joyous Hari Raya with the community here,” said Charles.
