SELANGOR: Starting from 6th March, SERUM members headed out to deliver a total of 280 hygiene kits to Klinik Amal Muhajir, Manna House Learning Centre and Tender Hearts Cafe.
The first stop was at Klinik Amal Muhajir, Seri Kembangan. 60 face shields were supplied to the clinic. Klinik Amal Muhajir is a project by Little Steps Organization and HopeSpring in their hope to provide medical services to the migrant community in Serdang and other areas.
SERUM’S community builder Lu Yian, left, being a part of the delivery scene to Klinik Amal Muhajir, Seri Kembangan
“I feel so accomplished today. I worked here previously and today I got to talk to the clinic staff and had a really good catch-up session,”said Lu Yian, SERUM’s community builder.
Harsani, SERUM’s Community Builder, on the other hand, departed to Manna House Learning Centre at Petaling Jaya to distribute a total of 132 facemasks (72 kids & 60 adults) and 24 face shields. Manna House Learning Centre is an organization that provides enrichment and access to education for refugee children. They also provide support to the underserved communities.
Harsani highlighted that it was a pleasure to meet the cheerful kids and their families. To her, they seemed very grateful with their thanks for SERUM, and were absolutely excited to take photos as memories. According to Harsani, most of the refugee parents do not speak English, hence the kids were translating to them that the mask provided was a reusable mask. They were also grateful to be given face shields, since most of them work in the service industry and undoubtedly face shields could protect them from Covid-19.
SERUM’S community builder Harsani with the energetic and cheeky kids at Manna House.
“I always believe that there is goodness in everyone! And when I share a little, I feel fulfilled and rewarded, especially when looking at their big, broad smiles. Meeting the energetic and cheeky kids has definitely added joy to my day!”said Harsani.
On 11th March, Lu Yian and Shy Kit had a special mission at Lady Ayaz Sewing Centre, Shah Alam, which was to photoshoot their products for Ramadhan sales. Lady Ayaz Sewing Centre is a centre for Pakistani refugees artisans, where they are upskilled and provided the infrastructure to make handmade products such as face masks, apparels and bags.
Shy Kit, Managing Director of SERUM, said that he got to know from Sister Ansa that the staff had also pivoted to Work From Home style. Sister Ansa had even decided to place some of the sewing machines at a couple of artisans' home, so that the centre is following the SOP set, while the artisans could continue working while taking care of their children.
Shy Kit, left, and Lu Yian were ready for a photoshoot session showcasing Lady Ayaz’s handmade products.
“It was a warm experience as it has been quite some time since the last time I visited the centre. Although it has been tough for them in getting sales, they are still strong and hopeful. In addition, one of the artisan even thanked me for the workshop we had conducted virtually as some of their family members had also joined.”said Shy Kit.
The last stop was at Tender Hearts, Subang Jaya, with Nin acting as the delivery man. 20 bottles of hand sanitiser, 20 face masks and 24 face shields were delivered to the cafe. Tender Hearts is a social enterprise founded on 27 December 2016 for Special Needs Youths. They help the down syndrome and autism community to earn their own livelihood. Right now, they are running a cafe in USJ Summit but Covid-19 has apparently disrupted their business. They are open to have people to teach their beneficiaries on new skills such as baking, sewing or even hand crafting. Also, they are looking for volunteers to help them when they are moving their cafe in July.
Tender Hearts Cafe, Subang Jaya
“I’m glad to meet the 'Angels' there and knowing that she (Aunty Sharon, founder of Tender Hearts) wants them to be treated normally in this society and have the ability to earn their own livelihood. I’m happy to be able to help, at the same time get to learn about the possibilities on how to help them more in the future.”said Nin, Co-founder of SERUM.
