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By WANI MUTHIAH
JUST like every other festival celebrated in the country, Deepavali is a time of caring and sharing for all Malaysians. With this aim in mind, non-governmental organisation Community Development and Integration Initiative (CDII) organised a charity event for three Tamil schools at SRK (T) Simpang Lima in Klang recently.
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Here you go: Bhupat Rai has a few words with a pupil as businessman Ramesh Kodammal hands over a bag of rice.
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The main sponsor for the event was the Gujarati Association of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor (GAKLS), which donated 100 packages of monthly groceries and edibles to needy students from the three schools. The other two recipient schools were SRK (T) Simpang Empat and SRK (T) Bukit Raja. Recipients were also treated to a scrumptious brunch sponsored by Kapar division MCA youth chief Datuk Song Kee Chai.
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Helping hands: Kolej Damansara Utama students helping to pack the goodies before distribution.
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The other main donor was TPL Frozen Meats Sdn Bhd proprietor L. Arumugam. Sri Andalas assemblyman Kamala Ganapathy as well as several other individuals also made small contributions, which will be used to purchase stationery for the students at the beginning of the new school term.
According to SRK (T) Simpang Lima senior assistant Susila Devi Thangavelu, most of the poor students were not able to purchase necessary stationery like pens, pencils, colour pencils, poster colours and paintbrushes. "Buying them these items at the start of the new term would be a blessing indeed," she said. Also present to help out at the event were 20 students from Kolej Damansara Utama's engineering faculty.
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Digging in: Some of the recipients enjoying the brunch after receiving their gifts.
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Student Layton Mothy, 21, from Botswana, said it was the first time he had participated in such an event and that it was a wonderful experience for him. Fellow student Bong Kok Yew, 18, understood the importance of the distribution as his family had received similar help when he was in primary school. Before presenting the donations, GAKLS president Datuk Bhupat Rai Premji said the association always regarded helping the needy as one of its priorities.
"It is during times like these that we have to share with those who are less fortunate than us," he said. The association is well known for its philanthropic activities and distributes monthly groceries to hundreds of needy families during Deepavali every year.
