Families of needy Ipoh students get food aid

Yeong (in checked shirt) receiving the food box donation from Pertubuhan Amal Ai Xin Fan Tong Ipoh adviser Kathleen Wong to be distributed to families of needy students.

FAMILIES of SMK St Michael Ipoh students who are hard hit by the movement control order (MCO) received some much needed aid in the form of food boxes courtesy of a non-governmental organisation (NGO).

A total of 55 food boxes from Pertubuhan Amal Ai Xin Fan Tong Ipoh will be distributed to families of selected students after the school Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) reached out to the NGO, which runs a soup kitchen from its centre in Ipoh.

School principal Sit Wai Yin said touched by the plight of some of the students, the NGO decided to help ease the burden of the families with food boxes.

“We really appreciate the gesture and kudos to our PTA for helping those in need, ” he said, adding that each box contained rice, a tin of crackers, instant noodles, cooking oil, a pack of Milo and vegetarian crackers.

“The school’s counsellors have identified the needy students and contacted them to receive the food boxes.

“The NGO has given out over 3,000 sets of food rations during the MCO period to families and needy households in Ipoh, Pusing and Batu Gajah, ” he added.

PTA chairman Simon Yeong Chin Chow also thanked the NGO for its help.

He said the PTA was also appealing to the public for donations to equip the school with sanitising equipment, thermal scanners and other necessary items in preparation for its reopening.

Meanwhile, the school’s Teachers and Staff Club chairman Titiyaka Jajuri said its Michaelians Care Covid-19 Charity Fund has raised about RM9,900 as of May 25.

She said nine students have received allocations from the fund in conjunction with the Hari Raya celebrations.

“We’ll continue to distribute the funds to our fellow Michaelians as part of our mission to reach out in service to the last, the lost and the least, ” she said.

“We want to express our heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to the school board of governors, PTA, Old Michaelians Association, parents and our own teachers who have contributed, ” she added.