James Kon
The Pusat Ehsan Al-Ameerah Al-Hajjah Maryam is in discussion with ministries to set up the first-of-its-kind school for the differently abled, said Pusat Ehsan Executive and Operational Trustee Pengiran Datin Hajah Noraini binti Pengiran Dipa Negara Laila Diraja Pengiran Haji Abdul Momin.
She made these comments when the centre received a boost in funding yesterday following donations amounting to BND11,000 from Teng Yun Chinese Temple, local companies and individuals.
Pengiran Datin Hajah Noraini said the centre survives on donations from the public, fund-raising activities and sponsorships, while admitting that during the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak, it “has been a huge struggle (for the centre) as we were about to hold four fun-raising events but were forced to cancel them”.
“I kept wondering how we would be able to keep the centre running when the operational cost is about BND45,000 a month,” she said. “Then, help came in the form of donations. So now, we will be able to stay afloat until the end of this year.”
“With consultants from Singapore, we have managed to come up with a curriculum catered for special needs,” Pengiran Datin Hajah Noraini said. “We want to register our centre as a school but there are many requirements to meet, and other issues to address first.”
The donations included: BND5,200 from Teng Yun Chinese Temple, presented by Chairman of the Executive Committee Lee Eng Ching; BND4,800 from Payung Emas Enterprise, Jimmy, Archlab, MNP Enterprise, Pui and Cityneon, handed over by Cityneon Managing Director Dato Jack Ting; and BND1,000 in personal donation by Dennis Lim of Build Mix Trading.
