The ‘Reach Out’ project by Kiwanis Club of Bandaraya Ipoh (KCBI) has benefited countless individuals in need, particularly those badly affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the Immediate Past President of KCBI (2020-2021), Daniel Lim (A.M.P), the pandemic community service initiative came into the scene in November last year.
“We foresaw that the pandemic may continue impacting low-income communities from both urban and rural areas, thus came the inception of Reach Out.
“Our country has been under the pandemic’s onslaught since early 2020 and is still undergoing numerous waves of the deadly virus.
“As such, we divided the project into phases to ensure that we have enough time to raise funds and work out supplies in provision of essential items, such as face masks, groceries, lunch packs and school items.
“Overall, we’ve spent 10 months in the project as of the latest development, in which 14 KCBI members have participated and a total of RM106,000 in funds were raised, benefitting 8,250 needy individuals,” he explained to Ipoh Echo in an interview.
The latest feat by KCBI under the project is ‘Going Back to School with Kiwanis’ in September this year, involving a provision of essential school items for primary school children from single-parent and poor families.
“653 students from 70 schools around Perak under that category were identified, and they subsequently received uniforms, shoes, socks, water tumblers, face masks, stationeries and school bags.
“We raised around RM65,000 with help from KCBI members, friends, networks and the public,” Daniel mentioned.
The club also engaged in the distribution of food aid, lunch packs and face masks to Orang Asli communities, poor families and NGO homes between January to August this year.
When asked about future prospects, Daniel said, “For the remaining months of 2021 into 2022, KCBI will remain committed to the ‘Reach Out’ project as there are continued requests for it to be extended due to the prolonged pandemic, which will become endemic in the near future.
“Thus, our project activities remain as usual. There have been many calls received asking for assistance as more and more people are forced out of their jobs.
“The number of single-parent households are also on the rise and KCBI is also inundated with calls and emails from schools. We’re still in the midst of collating numbers and seeking sponsorships.
“We would like to thank Junior Chamber International (JCI) Ipoh for their collaboration in the distribution of lunch packs for needy communities. They helped pull in V-Life Cafe as one of the sponsors.
“However, we’ll be phasing it out, instead to commence with the distribution of data plans and tablets for school children in need.
“The new norm requires them to attend online classes from their homes. Unfortunately, not all of them are able to afford equipment required for the purpose.
“Besides that, Perak is still under Phase 2 of the National Recovery Plan (NRP) and a large number of students have yet to obtain their COVID-19 inoculation. Schools are only reopening in stages for states under Phase 3 and 4.
“The data plan we’re providing costs RM30 monthly (RM360 yearly) and the tablets cost RM700 each. As such, each student will receive RM1,060 worth of assistance through this.
“We would like to extend our request to call on more willing individuals, parties or sponsors to join hands with us in the ‘Reach Out’ project,” Daniel expressed.
Contributions may be made to KCBI’s Maybank account under the name Kiwanis Club of Bandaraya Ipoh (account number 508319584509).
For more information, contact Daniel Lim at 012 461 6676.
Follow KCBI’s activities on their Facebook page at Kiwanis Club of Bandaraya Ipoh, Malaysia.
Chris Teh
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