Lions Club Petaling Jaya collaborates with Tune Protect for Project Sunshine

Distribution of 300 food baskets to the blind and visually impaired under the patronage of the MAB

14 October 2021, KUALA LUMPUR – In conjunction with the World Sight Day 2021 today, Lions Club Petaling Jaya collaborates with Tune Protect Group Berhad (“Tune Protect”) in Project Sunshine to distribute food baskets to the blind and visually impaired under the patronage of the Malaysian Association for the Blind (“MAB”). A total of 300 food baskets amounting to RM30,000 will be distributed by the MAB to the blind community in Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya through this collaboration.

There are nearly 2,000 blind and visually impaired in Klang Valley and major towns of Malaysia who work as freelance masseurs or reflexologist on daily wage. The forced shut down of these massage and reflexology centres due to the pandemic lockdown since March 2020, totalling 325 days of closure, has put these blind masseurs in much difficulty. MAB has been distributing food baskets with the help of donations from individuals, corporations and service clubs and have reached out to the blind community with nearly 9,000 food baskets and over 38,000 hot meal packs since the start of the pandemic.

George Thomas, Chief Executive Officer of the MAB said, “We are indeed happy to have corporate organisations and service clubs like Tune Protect and Lions Club Petaling Jaya extending assistance to MAB in reaching out to the needy. Though the economic sector has gradually re-opened, there is still a number of the blind and visually impaired who require assistance.”

Project Sunshine is a CSR programme by Tune Protect which started in July this year. Through this programme, Tune Protect has distributed more than 500 food baskets to homes and families in the Klang Valley. The idea of Project Sunshine is to bring some sunshine and hope to white flag homes and individuals, and to the organisations that support them by donating food boxes containing food essentials to temporarily help sustain the lives of these beneficiaries.

Yap Hsu Yi, Chief People & Culture of Tune Protect said, “When we first got together with the Lions Club Petaling Jaya, they were very supportive of the idea of our Project Sunshine and would like to do their part in contributing these food boxes to the needy. Understanding that the Lions Club Petaling Jaya has a long-standing relationship with the Malaysia Association for the Blind (MAB), we mooted the idea for them to channel the contribution to the blinds and visually impaired who have been impacted by the prolonged lock down due to the pandemic.”

The World Sight Day originated in the year 1990 through an initiative of the Sight First Campaign of Lions Club International Foundation (LCIF). It is celebrated annually on every second Thursday of October with the aim of raising public awareness on the global issue of avoidable blindness and visual impairment. Lions Clubs all around the world continue to celebrate and promote the eye health and prevention of blindness. ‘Love your eyes’ has been chosen as the theme this year to encourage the public at large to have regular check-ups for their eyes.

Statistics in Malaysia still shows that there are many who have needlessly became blind due to several causes. Cataract ranks first as the major cause of blindness, followed by glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy where the latter two have multiplied in numbers, contributing to adult blindness.