Early Raya cheers for 10 poor families

PETALING JAYA: Ten underprivileged families received some early Hari Raya cheers when a charitable organisation paid for their grocery shopping for the festive celebration.
One of the recipients, Zora Diran, said it was a rare opportunity for her to shop for groceries at a hypermarket in Taman Sri Manja on Wednesday.
Her family's income had dropped after her husband's eyesight got worse.
Great Vision Charity Association was joined by 10 students from Inti College in this month's Shopping Buddy programme. It is a monthly charity programme to help ease the underprivileged groups' household burden.
The students helped to raise the funds for the programme by selling cookies in their college.
Before the charity shopping event, several student volunteers and representatives from Great Vision Charity Association visited the families' homes at Pangsapuri Desa Sepakat, Taman Sri Manja to assess their living conditions.
"They were friendly and we were welcomed to interview them," said volunteer Ong Qian Xing. "Most of them are from low-income families and have many children. They feel grateful when they were told that they are going to be recipients of the Rakan Shopping Programme."
The hypermarket also contributed groceries to the families.
Team leader of this event, Celeste Lim Ying Hui, said: "This Rakan Shopping programme is really great as we are able to ease the financial burden of the families, especially during this festive month.
"The volunteers are also able to benefit as they learn about the living conditions of the underprivileged as well as their family. They foster bonds with them and therefore learn what charity is all about — spreading love to others."