In line with the state government's aim to create a caring community, Juita brought cheer to 100 needy families in conjunction with Deepavali
FIFTH-former Vanisree Sashi Kumar, 18, lives with her grandmother and goes to school in Pasir Gudang.
This teenager loves children and aspires to be a nurse. Aware that her mother, Vimala Kannaiah, 41, works hard to earn a living, Sashi is diligently studying to achieve her ambition, and hopes to make their lives more comfortable someday.
Iswari Rajendran, 19, works at a playschool in Johor Jaya and is taking child-education training courses to improve her skills.
She lives with her mother, Puspalatha Sambasivam, 34, and grandmother, Nagamah Rangasamy, 62, a diabetic who needs to use a wheelchair because of a recent fall.
These women were among 100 low-income families at the Deepavali event organised by Juita, in cooperation with JPMM DUN Permas (the coordinating body for the Permas state constituency), MIC Tebrau and MIC Pasir Gudang on Oct 16.
Single mothers and their children, the underprivileged and handicapped, all supported by Juita, gathered in the Multi-purpose Community Hall in Permas Jaya to receive Deepavali goodwill gifts.
Arriving in wheelchairs, on crutches and, for the blind, with the help of family members, the recipients happily received their gifts from Professor Datin Paduka Dr Jamilah Ariffin, Juita's President and wife of Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman.
Juita, also known as Badan Amal Tenaga Isteri Wakil-wakil Rakyat Negeri Johor, is an NGO actively involved in community welfare projects for women and children in Johor.
Its members are wives of Johor State Assemblymen, State Executive Office members, members of parliament and Senators, as well as Assemblywomen and female State Executive Council members.
In line with the Johor State Government's aim to create a caring community through holistic development, Juita has implemented 13 welfare projects in Johor initiated by Jamilah since 1995.
Utilising the concept of "smart partnerships," the projects helping needy single mothers and children are the result of cooperation between state departments, NGOs and the private sector.
Jamilah said Juita's 13th project, the Educational Incentive Project, is an on-going effort with the Johor Education Department.
In this project, poor, deserving students of all races in the districts in Johor receive educational incentives.
This year, selections were made from among Standard 5 students who achieved first to seventh positions in their class.
Next year, Standard 6 students achieving first to fifth positions will be rewarded with incentives as Juita continues to challenge students to raise the bar of excellence in their studies.
Juita's 14th project aims to provide aid to the Orang Seletar indigenous people in various villages in Johor.
Jamilah said Juita plans to upgrade community halls, improve jetties, provide skills training and paint homes.
She encouraged corporations and socially responsible individuals to contribute to a RM 1 million trust fund so that the indigenous people would benefit from its dividends.
"I guarantee that the trust is secure," she said,, citing a similar trust fund established for the Sinar Juita Children's Shelter, a home for abused children and abandoned babies.
She said the dividends from the trust fund had helped to pay for the university education of deserving students and for the maintenance of buildings.
In view of the current trend of single parents leaving their children in the care of grandparents to work full-time, Jamilah said Juita's next project will be to teach grandparents how to care for their grandchildren.
With the nation's aging population on the rise, the younger generation will also be taught to take care of the elderly.
She urged those who did not live with their parents to go home and celebrate festivals with their elderly relatives as it meant a great deal to them.
Juita distributed RM200 each to 10 recipients.
Gifts in kind, totalling RM4,000, were presented to each recipient in the form of a beautiful sari for the festive season.
In addition, the MIC Divisions of Tebrau and Pasir Gudang gave away 5kg bags of rice and food hampers consisting of items such as cooking oil, canned food and biscuits.
Also present at the event were Johor MIC chairman Datuk K. S. Balakrishnan, M. Asojan, Johor State Unity, Human Resources, Science, Technology & Innovation chairman M. Asojan, members of parliament, MIC representatives and Juita members.
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