RAYA HAMPERS: A patient (left) receiving her Hari Raya hamper from Louise.
KUCHING: Anti-Tuberculosis Association Sarawak (ATAS) is appealing to the state government to review their annual grant with the view to increase it.
Its president Datin Louise Lincha Kanyan said while they were thankful to the state government for giving them the annual grant they were also hoping that the amount could be increased somewhat.
Without disclosing the amount of government grant the association was receiving annually, she said the amount was ‘rather too little’ for them to carry out their annual activities.
“We have various programmes in mind but most of them could not get through due to financial constraints. Everybody knows that it needs money to do anything these days.
“For instance, to organise some awareness campaigns in schools, villages or longhouses, we need some refreshment to bring along and this is where we will certainly need some money,” she said.
She said that since ATAS was a non-profit making body it was relying heavily on financial assistance from the government to be functional and also to achieve all their objectives.
She said this after presenting Hari Raya hampers to 45 tuberculosis (TB) patients at ATAS Clinic in Jalan Masjid here yesterday.
The association, which was formed in 1951 by Wee Kheng Chiang, provides moral support to TB sufferers and tries to assist them through whatever means possible.
“We also conduct awareness talks and TB screening in both urban and rural areas, schools, higher learning institutions, and workplaces of TB patients,” Louise said, adding that they also gave away hampers during other major festivals such as Chinese New Year, Gawai Dayak and Christmas.