Second Ronald McDonald House gets RM 440,000 from RMHC Charity Golf Tournament

Second Ronald McDonald House gets RM 440,000 from RMHC Charity Golf Tournament

Last week, we attended the RHMC Charity Golf Tournament media sharing session at Tropicana Golf and Country Club. RMHC Charity Golf Tournament raises RM440,000 for construction of second Ronald McDonald House at Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia in Kelantan. There will be also additional pledges in cash and in kind from business partners and public will go towards realising funding target of RM4 million.

From media session, we learned more about Ronald McDonald House Charities and we also hear from the families who are staying in the house.

What is Ronald McDonald House Charities?

For your information, Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) Malaysia was established in February 1990 as a non-profit organization with the mission to create, find and support programs that directly improve the health and well-being of under-privileged children in Malaysia.

It is a house for families with children under 18 years old to stay while receiving treatment from the hospital. The Ronald McDonald house is located within the hospital compound and parents can apply for the stay if the child is having medical treatment in the hospital. Parent can stay with their child in Ronald McDonald House during the whole treatment period in the hospital. There is no time limit for staying in Ronald McDonald House as it depending on the treatment period of time in hospital. There will be a small nominal fee charged for families staying in the house. Do check out the video we recorded for more information on the second Ronald McDonald House and testimonies from the families.

In the last 28 years, RMHC Malaysia has positively impacted more than 20,000 children’s lives in the areas of Health, Education and Welfare with funding in excess of RM 20 million.

Other RMHC initiatives that will be carried out this year include the Back-to-School programme where up to 20,000 students from urban low-income families will be given new school supplies for the 2019 school session; the Gift of Smile programme that sponsors children to undergo cleft lip surgeries; and the building of more Ronald McDonald Sensory Rooms that will benefit special needs children.

The second Ronald McDonald House will be built at Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (Hospital USM) in Kubang Kerian, Kelantan. It is scheduled to be completed and ready to welcome families during the first quarter of 2019. The families are already expressing their eagerness at having affordable accommodation spaces while their children seek long-term treatment at Hospital USM.

Profesor Dato’ Dr. Ahmad Sukari Halim, Hospital USM Director & USM Health Campus Director, said that the new Ronald McDonald House would be extremely beneficial because many families who have ill children seeking treatment at the hospital are from low-income groups.

“As much as possible, we want these families to stay close together as the treatment process can be long and stressful. Some families have to travel from faraway locations which could sometimes take up to two hours. With the soon to be completed Ronald McDonald house at Hospital USM providing affordable accommodation for the family, the parents’ primary focus can be channelled towards supporting their child’s treatment and recovery at the hospital,” he said.

The new Ronald McDonald House will serve as an affordable and comfortable accommodation space for family members of children seeking long-term medical treatment at Hospital USM or other local hospitals nearby. More significantly, the new Ronald McDonald House is also expected to benefit those travelling from other states nationwide, since only a nominal fee is charged for families to utilise facilities like comfortable bedrooms, dining area, play area, kitchen, laundry area and many more.

Puan Mimi Faizah Lee Abdullah has been staying at the first Ronald McDonald House which is in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre since 2005. According to her, the benefit of having an affordable accommodation is immeasurable especially when her daughter and grand-daughter undergo cancer treatment at the hospital.

“It can be a painful and terrifying process for a young child seeking treatment, so for us to be close by their side is comforting for them and also parents staying at Ronald McDonald House can help each other to cope emotionally,” said Mimi Faizah.

Members of the public and McDonald’s customers can also play their part in this ongoing initiative by dropping their donation into the RMHC donation boxes at all McDonald’s restaurants nationwide. In case you are wondering how the RHMC donation boxes looks like, it is usually located at the payment counters like this. A small donation and contribution will help the needy families and children.

In addition, donations can be made via direct bank transfers or online donations via PayPal. Further details are available at https://rmhc-malaysia.my/get-involved/make-a-donation/.

For more information on RMHC and Ronald McDonald House, please visit https://rmhc-malaysia.my/.

Wilson Ng