Malaysian NGO Hosts ‘Ramadan Garage Giveaway’

MyWelfare gives food, clothes and toys to some 500 Rohingya Muslim refugees.
Afif Adree - Kuala Lumpur
2016.06.23
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Rohingya refugees wait outside the Selayang offices of Malaysian NGO MyWelfare, as it opens its doors for its Ramadan Garage Giveaway program, June 19, 2016. [Afif Adree/BenarNews] Afif Adree/BenarNews

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A woman chooses clothes being given away to refugees by Malaysian NGO MyWelfare at its offices in Selayang, June 19, 2016. [Afif Adree/BenarNews] Afif Adree/BenarNews

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A Rohingya boy eyes a loaf of bread being offered to him as he emerges from the building with a sack of rice, June 19, 2016. [Afif Adree/BenarNews] Afif Adree/BenarNews

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Due to the overwhelming crowd of refugees, a Rohingya women and her children have to wait outside the offices of MyWelfare, June 19, 2016. [Afif Adree/BenarNews] Afif Adree/BenarNews

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A boy looks down at the crowd gathering for the Ramadan Garage Giveaway, June 19, 2016. [Afif Adree/BenarNews] Afif Adree/BenarNews

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A Rohingya girl sits on a sack of rice and holds a stuffed toy animal given to her at MyWelfare’s Ramadan garage program, June 19, 2016. [Afif Adree/BenarNews] Afif Adree/BenarNews

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A woman shows her UNHCR-issued refugee ID card while exiting the Ramadan Garage Giveaway program, June 19, 2016. [Afif Adree/BenarNews] Afif Adree/BenarNews

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A boy holds a box of Legos that he picked up from the toy section at the Ramadan Garage Giveaway program, June 19, 2016. [Afif Adree/BenarNews] Afif Adree/BenarNews

In Malaysia, the holy month of Ramadan is known for its spirit of giving and sharing. Everyone from ordinary folks to employees and managers at companies spread this spirit in the majority Muslim nation by providing less fortunate people, such as orphans and homeless citizens, meals with which to break their daily fasts.

Now, several Malaysian NGOs and individuals are shifting the focus of their Ramadan-time charity to refugees. This week, the Malaysian International Welfare and Humanitarian Organization (MyWelfare), a local NGO, opened its doors to some 500 Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar, who have fled religious persecution in that country and are among 151,560 refugees and asylum seekers registered in Malaysia, according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

During weekends in Ramadan, MyWelfare gives away food, clothes and toys to refugees through its Ramadan Garage Giveaway program. On June 19, hundreds of Rohingya refugees, who are not housed by UNHCR but live in the Kuala Lumpur area and hold refugee cards issued by the U.N. agency, converged on the offices of MyWelfare in the K.L. suburb of Selayang to reap the blessings of the NGO’s generosity.

The idea is to help refugees meet their most basic needs during the month of fasting and the Eid ul-Fitr holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, MyWelfare community advisor Ustaz Rafik told BenarNews.

“The main objective of the organization is to facilitate all refugees, not only the Rohingya refugees. Everyone is welcome,” he said.

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