| Ishan Ibrahim |
THE number of students entering the Pusat Ehsan Al-Ameerah Al-Hajjah Maryam programme is increasing which has resulted in needing more staff, Pusat Ehsan’s Secretary and Finance Officer Pauline Chew said.
“There were about 4,000 patients for rehabilitation services from August 2017 to July 2018. This is an increase from the previous years, resulting in a hike in the running costs,” she said in an interview with the Weekend Bulletin.
Pauline also spoke on the challenges of maintaining an efficient system and programme that cares and caters to individuals with special needs.
She said the cost of maintaining and providing services of this charity organisation is quite substantial, with running costs each month amounting over BND45,000 to BND50,000.
The bulk goes to paying the salaries of the staff at Pusat Ehsan branches in Bengkurong and Kuala Belait and the rest to paying utility bills, she said.
The new additional building of Pusat Ehsan, built from public donations and contributions, has also added to the costs, with electricity bills, water bills, maintenance and other costs each month, Pauline said.
“We have much to be thankful for, as food and drinks provided at Pusat Ehsan are largely from public and company contributions,” she added.
Pauline said Pusat Ehsan is fortunate that charity events are held annually to raise funds.
“The annual contribution by Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah also helps us a lot,” she said.
She said the annual Charity Polo and Charity Golf events also contribute to the coffers of Pusat Ehsan.
There are also donations and contributions from the public, but has become irregular since lately.
“We desperately need more money to maintain Pusat Ehsan,” Pauline said.
“I believe the generosity of the public will see us through, as we will strive hard to raise funds through charity events,” she said.
Pusat Ehsan will hold a Charity Golf event in November and a Fun Evening event at Jerudong Park Playground in December.
“These charity events will help us raise funds,” she added.
“Specialists and experts also help us,” Pauline said citing an example where Singaporeans helped in the training programme.
“We have also sent our staff to train at local organisations,” she said. “We also have doctors from UBD training our staff as well as students from various educational institutions who volunteer,” she said.
Pauline said as a result of these activities, the children at Pusat Ehsan are provided quality education, training and physical rehabilitation.