| Wani Roslan |
ROUGHLY 5,000 orphans registered under the Community Development Department (JAPEM) will have something to smile about this coming Hari Raya Aidilfitri after receiving donations from JAPEM.
The donation presentation, organised by JAPEM and the Brunei-Muara District Office in collaboration with Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD), took place at the International Convention Centre in Berakas yesterday.
The donations were meant to lighten the financial burden of the orphans and provide them with extra funds for new clothes or miscellaneous items for Hari Raya.
In the Brunei-Muara District, 3,212 registered orphans received the donations during yesterday’s ceremony. Orphans from other districts will receive their share of the donations in separate presentation ceremonies in their respective districts. These donation funds were officially handed over to the respective district officers during the ceremony yesterday.
A total of $250,000 from the National Orphans Fund, $80,300 from the Brunei-Muara District Orphans Fund, and $150,000 from BIBD were collected and distributed to registered orphans nationwide.
The donations were presented by Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Bahrin bin Abdullah, Minister of Development and Chairman of BIBD Board of Directors, and his spouse Pengiran Datin Hajah Noorsiah binti Pengiran Hamdan; and Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi bin Haji Mohd Yussof, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, and his spouse Datin Hajah Kalshom binti Haji Suhaili.
Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi bin Haji Mohd Yussof, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports presenting donations to recipients during a ceremony at the International Convention Centre in Berakas yesterday
Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi bin Haji Mohd Yussof, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports presenting the donation to a recipient during a presentation ceremony at the International Convention Centre in Berakas yesterday. More than 3,200 registered orphans received donations at the ceremony, which also saw the presentation of awards, rewarding orphans who excelled in their studies
Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Bahrin bin Abdullah, Minister of Development and Chairman of BIBD Board of Directors presenting the donation to one of the recipients
Datin Hajah Kalshom binti Haji Suhaili, spouse of the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports presenting the donation to a recipient
Pengiran Datin Hajah Noorsiah binti Pengiran Hamdan, spouse of the Minister of Development presenting the donation to a recipient. – PHOTOS: BAHYIAH BAKIR
During the ceremony, BIBD also presented the Outstanding Students Encouragement Scheme Awards to orphans who excelled in the 2016 Primary School Assessment (PSR), GCE ‘O’ Level and ‘A’ Level examinations.
The top-performing PSR students received $500 cash vouchers; GCE ‘O’ Level top performers received cash vouchers of $800, while top-achieving GCE ‘A’ Level students each received a $1,000 cash voucher.
One of the recipients of the Outstanding Students Encouragement Scheme Awards, 12-year-old Nozaeem bin Jaini, told the Bulletin that his achievement of 5A’s in the PSR examinations was due to his attending tuition and extra classes.
Meanwhile, 13-year-old Sazalina Norainah binti Salehuddin, who also obtained 5As in the PSR exams, said; “It was always my goal to obtain 5As and the award motivates me to do better in the future.”
The Bulletin also spoke to the mother of one of the donation recipients, eight-year-old Nur Nazratun Hadrina binti Hadanan from Kampong Tanah Jambu.
“She has been receiving the donations since two years ago and usually it will be used to buy items for Hari Raya, with the remainder of the funds put into her savings for future needs. Alhamdulillah for the assistance given for the orphans,” said the mother.
Another donation recipient was nine-year-old Mohd Fauzi Rezqulah bin Abdullah Shahairul Anuar. Her mother, Roziawati binti Mat Daud, also said that the donation will be used to purchase only what he needs for the upcoming festive season, while the rest of the funds will be put into his savings.
The ceremony saw a recitation of verses from the Al-Quran and its translation, and the readings of Tahlil, Doa Arwah and Doa Selamat.
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