CHARIS Hospice Penang, after a three-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, will organise its 10th Charity Hunt on March 4 at Setia SPICE Convention Centre for the benefit of the hospice patients and families.
Organising chairman Mah Ting Keong said the Charity Hunt with the theme, ‘Together We Care & Share’, will be a fun-filled event that consists of actually two hunts – the Motor Hunt and the Walk Hunt.
The Motor Hunt will take place from 8am to 11am, and teams of four can participate for a fee of RM400. The Walk Hunt will take place from 9am to 11am, and teams of two can join for a fee of RM180.
“Charis Hospice is a non-profit organisation providing free palliative home care services for patients with cancer and other life-threatening diseases in Penang island, irrespective of race and religion.
“We hope to get the support of 400 hunters and raise RM200,000. We estimated that we need a budget of RM850,000 for this year to keep Charis Hospice running, such as salaries for the staff and the professional nurses to support the work.
“The care of each of our patients costs approximately RM17 per day.
“There is a very urgent need for palliative care and the awareness of it to be made known to the larger community.
“Because of the staffing level and limited resources, we can only provide these services on the island only.
“The services are provided by a team of trained professionals, comprising doctors and nurses since the year 2004,” Mah said at a press conference which was also attended by state Tourism and Creative Economy Committee chairman Yeoh Soon Hin.
Among those present were Charis Hospice Penang board of directors’ chairman Lee Khai, Charis Hospice Penang founder and medical director Dr Oo Loo Chan, board director Kew Chii Shiang, Huntmaster Jay Menon, some staff members and volunteers.
Sharing a brief statistic, Mah said in 2022, the total number of patients that were cared for by Charis Hospice came up to 336 patients.
Out of this number, he said, 70 per cent of them died at home, adding that home death is possible with the support of families, and organisations like Charis Hospice.
Lee Khai thanked Yeoh for his presence to virtually launch the fundraising event, Mah for being an efficient organiser all the years and Jay for his creativity in laying out the routes.
He also expressed his gratitude to the sponsors, supporters and people whom they could count on to help provide the finance to run the organisation.
“Death is a very morbid subject. When we talk about death, we know that in our community, a lot of people still like to pass on at home. And this is something we want to promote.
“Seventy per cent of our patients, according to statistics, died at home. Many would like to do so.
“Since Charis Hospice started in 2004, coming to 19 years now, the unfortunate statistics are that 30 per cent of our patients died within 10 days after coming to us. This is because of a lack of understanding about what palliative care can do for them.
“This (statistic) is not just from Charis Hospice in Penang, or Malaysia, but throughout the world.
“This fundraiser is not just about fundraising. RM200,000 will go a long way to helping Charis Hospice, but more importantly, is to educate the public and make them realise how important palliative care is. We are always looking to expand our services.”
Yeoh applauded Charis Hospice for its noble work and pledged a donation of RM10,000 to the Charity Hunt.
“We, in Malaysia, are in need of palliative specialists; more than 200 palliative specialists to provide the services.
“It is not just about treatment. Charis Hospice also provides mental relief and ultimately increases the patient’s quality of life.
“As the state assemblyman for this area (Paya Terubong), I am glad that Charis Hospice (which is located in the Paya Terubong constituency) is not only providing services to the people here but also throughout the island.
“I hope they can get more manpower to provide services to more people. And I wish the event a success and meet its target,” Yeoh said in his speech.
Dr Oo said events like Charity Hunt are crucial in helping them fulfil their mission and they are grateful to all the participants, sponsors, and volunteers.
She also thanked Setia SPICE Convention Centre as the venue sponsor, and event sponsors such as OCBC Bank, ViTrox Corporation, Grant Thornton Malaysia PLT, Pentamaster Corporation, BSG Property, Agilent Technologies LDA and PC Construction Sdn Bhd.
“We hope to see you at this year’s Charis Hospice Charity Hunt, where together, we can share and care for those in need,” Dr Oo said.
The Charity Hunt is open to all adventure seekers and charity enthusiasts. The closing date for registration is Feb 26 (Sunday).
To register or learn more about the event, please visit http://tiny.cc/CH_Hunt_Reg or call +6011-12466757.
You can also email [email protected] or visit the Charis Hospice Facebook page at Charis Hospice Penang for more information.
Story by K.H. Ong
Pix by Siew Chia En
