Support NGOs in good causes, Bruneians urged

BRUNEIANS should take the initiative to offer their voluntary support in promoting local non-profit organisations' (NGOs) good causes, rather than wait for the NGOs to hold fundraising activities, said the organiser of a charity event.

Senor Pablo, a blogger and organiser of the Brunei Foodies Go Pink fundraiser for the Brunei Breast Cancer Support Group, said that the event was one of the ways where the public and bloggers could contribute through voluntary work and carry out their social responsibilities.

"Come forward and support them, go out there and allocate some time to help out," he said during the charity event at Casa Esperanza in Rimba yesterday.

The Brunei Foodies organiser hopes that with their support for the Brunei Breast Cancer Support Group, other bloggers and public could emulate this and promote other causes such as diabetes, cancer and autism groups by assisting them with their activities.

More than 30 recipes were collected from the event to be compiled into a book and sold to the public. All proceeds from the book sales will be handed over to the Brunei Breast Cancer Support Group.

"We hope to see more of this, not only bloggers but also whoever wants to come up to us and collaborate in activities and raise more funds," said Masjuwita Hj Abd Hamid, president of the breast cancer support group.

She said that the support group will use the proceeds from the fundraiser to promote more awareness activities and provide breast cancer patients the necessities which some could not afford.

She further urged the public to gather more information about their health, such as going for regular check-ups and searching for information from magazines or the Internet, as it is important to be "medically aware".

"If you know anybody (who has breast cancer) to come seek us, talk to us, to share with us and don't get them to shy away from the public, like secluding themselves, but to come forward instead," she said.

"It is up to the individual to act upon themselves," she added.

The president also expressed her gratitude with the positive turnout at yesterday's event.

She added that the support group would continue to further create awareness in fighting the disease.

Last year, the blog group held a similar fundraising event for the Special Olympics Brunei team, which saw the release of the Foodie Bloggers Recipe Book containing 49 recipes.

Sales from the book amounted to $10,000, which was "beyond out expectations", said Senor Pablo. The proceeds were used to assist the training of athletes in preparation for this year's Special Olympics International World Games in Athens, Greece.

The Brunei Times