Donated clothes add festive joy for the less fortunate
JOHOR BARU: For many underprivileged families, celebrating Hari Raya Aidilfitri in new clothes remains a luxury.
However, a group of volunteers here is working to ensure no one is left out this festive season.
Baju Raya Project Johor Baru programme director Dr Naqiyatul Amirah Mohd Said said the initiative collects unused Hari Raya attire from the public and distributes them to the less fortunate, particularly those in welfare homes.
She said the initiative began in Kuala Lumpur about 13 years ago before the founders approached her in 2017 to expand the programme to the southern region.
Naqiyatul said the programme is held once a year on Ramadan, with the donation drive typically lasting just a few hours.
“Once the clothes are collected, we immediately sort and deliver them to welfare homes, B40 families and this time to the Orang Asli community in Kampung Orang Asli Teluk Jawa, whose houses were destroyed in a fire early last month,” she said.
Apart from clothing, she said the group also managed to collect 600 food aid sets consisting of 5kg of rice, 2kg of flour, two packets of sugar and one tin of milk.
Naqiyatul said the project in Johor started with just 15 volunteers. Now the team has grown to around 300 volunteers.
“They come from various racial backgrounds in Malaysia, and we also have former volunteers and international students who help us,” she said, adding that the initiative grew largely through word of mouth and social media exposure.
She said the group maintains strict criteria when accepting donated clothing to ensure recipients receive items that are in good condition.
“The clothes must not be overly worn, smelly or torn. They must still be suitable to wear,” she said.
Naqiyatul said she was deeply touched that many of the donated clothes were still in their original boxes and had never been worn.
She added that donated clothes that do not meet the criteria are sent to a recycling centre in Kuala Lumpur to avoid wastage.
“We feel overwhelmed in a good way. It is all worth it when we see the smiles on the faces of recipients who can finally wear ‘new’ baju Raya during the celebration.
“For some of them, this is something they could not afford before. Being able to celebrate with dignity means so much,” she said.
