Coming together as one to help the needy

The monsoon which hit the East Coast states of Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang in December and January caused the worst flooding to hit our country in decades.

Feb 06, 2015

By Anna Thong
The monsoon which hit the East Coast states of Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang in December and January caused the worst flooding to hit our country in decades. It was total devastation and destruction. Hundreds of homes were lost and thousands of people left with nothing, with Kelantan being the worst hit.

The parish of St Thomas, Kuantan, under the leadership of Msgr Mitchel Anthony Joseph, VG, who is also the Director of Archdiocese Office for Human Development (AOHD), came together to respond to the disaster. An East Coast Flood Relief Centre was set-up in the church to collect donations in cash and kind for the flood victims.

The AOHD office in Kuala Lumpur organised the “East Coast Flood Relief Donations Drive 2014” in collaboration with St Thomas Church. Once the goods were brought in from AOHD, there was a team to collect, unpack, repack, drive and distribute the aid to the flood victims in the remote and interior areas.

Most of the times, we reached out to migrants, refugees and Orang Asli who were not aided by the government.

There were also other centres set up to facilitate the giving of aid: one in Raub and Kuala Lipis by Fr Andrew Kooi, a centre in Mentakab by Fr Ferdinand Magimay, a centre in Kemaman and Kuala Terengganu by Fr Phillips Muthu, a centre in Cameron Highlands by Fr Eugene Benedict. There was also a centre in Kota Bahru organised by the FMM nuns.

The essential relief supplies collected from the parishioners of St Thomas and friends and what was received through AOHD from the many parishes in the Archdiocese were mainly bottled drinks, dry and canned food, baby formula, noodles, rice, biscuits, toiletries, diapers, sanitary pads, and also medical kits. Some cash and cheque donations were collected too. We had a total amount of RM59,100.00 cash for the first stage of the flood relief operation. The total expenditure was RM17,117.00.

Besides the above, the recent second collection for the flood victims from the parishes of the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur amounted to RM212,961.90. This sum has been released to the Church of St Thomas Kuantan for restoration and rehabilitation projects jointly carried out by the priests in the affected areas (Fr Eugene Benedict, Fr Phillips Muthu, Fr Ferdiand Magimay, Fr Andrew Kooi and Msgr Mitchel Anthony).

The parish priest of St Thomas, Msgr. Mitchel said, “This is our time and moment to love without partiality, to give without looking where he is from or what he is doing or has done... we just give! This is our faith. This is the faith of our Church!”

We thank our Heavenly Father for guiding us throughout our mission in helping the flood victims. It was indeed a humbling and faith-filled experience for every one of us here. We are also very grateful to all who responded warmly and contributed generously towards our mission. Many believers from so many churches responded and acted during this difficult and tough time. It spoke volumes of their love and concern for the unfortunate ones.

We will continue our service because we love God and all humanity.

We are all Malaysians and we care for one another.

In Manek Urai, Kelantan...

By Melissa Silva
“I wanted to go because I have never done something like this before. It’s definitely a new experience for me. I wanted to experience the environment and to know how the people were suffering in Kelantan and to help out in any way I could. The experience was both eye opening and humbling. It was a new and good experience for me too for this was my first time aiding in a flood mission. While our job was to help the people in cleaning their houses, the stories and experiences that were told to me by the people were definitely humbling but it was good to see and especially to witness the effort and spirit displayed by those affected. I felt happy and relieved that I got to do a good deed for those who are in need of desperate help. It was an experience I wouldn’t hesitate to do again.”


In Terengganu, volunteers help to clean the houses.

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