Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | Asia Samachar | 18 April 2015
United Sikhs (Malaysia) had a media launch of its Good Will Walk on April 17 to create awareness about food poverty and to collect food and funds for the first Malaysian Food Bank.
A team of 10 walkers will be joined by celebrities, the general public, members of the Malaysian Armed Forces and other non-government organisations (NGOs) in the 750 km Good Will Walk from Kampung Wang Kerian, Perlis to Melaka, it said in a statement released yesterday.
From 19 April and ending on 23 May, the trek will last 35 days as participants aim to raise awareness of the plight of the homeless and poor, to raise donations and 200 tonnes of non-perishable food items for the newly registered Malaysia Food Bank Organization (MFBO).
United Sikhs humanitarian aid coordinator and Malaysian Food Bank director Rishiwant Singh said that apart from the main cause, the walk was also about getting people together for the cause.
He said in all the years that disasters had struck in Malaysia, especially with the Malaysian floods in December 2014, the collection and dissemination of aid was always an uphill task.
“In every disaster we have gone for during the last 10 years, United Sikhs has been helping out victims by funds raised on the spot. It doesn’t take one or two days; it takes about 5 days to be ready” he said in the statement. “So we decided that there is a need to have a stockpile. It’s about how we can get the food and funds before disasters happen. That’s how we came up with this.”
The walk will raise funds and collect food for the first Malaysian Food Bank, the statement added.
Source: http://asiasamachar.com/2015/04/18/good-will-walk-to-set-up-first-malaysian-food-bank/