Dr Rosliwati Yusoff
KUCHING: Befrienders Kuching has seen greater awareness of its service since its hotline was launched a year ago, says its president Dr Rosliwati Yusoff.
“I think our achievements so far have been remarkable because while we can see there are many non-governmental organisations (NGOs) being set up, they’re slow in their movement.
“But that’s not the case for Befrienders Kuching,” she commented when asked about Befrienders Kuching’s achievements after operating for a year.
The NGO was set up in Jan 10 last year and its hotline began operation later on Aug 1.
It has over 100 members and 35 active volunteers, managing the hotline service from 6.30pm to 9.30pm daily.
“We need to have at least two volunteers every day to handle the hotline service and until now, we manage to provide our service to the public every day without fail,” said Dr Rosliwati.
With the recent launch of its email service, she pointed out that more people had been emailing as some would prefer to write in to voice out their frustrations and challenges, instead of talking over the phone.
However, Dr Rosliwati stressed that greater awareness and more outreach campaigns were still necessary to inform the public about the avenues available whenever they were facing difficulties or emotional distress.
“We also have a membership drive campaign held in shopping malls as we are trying to recruit more volunteers to help us with the helpline,” she added.
On the anniversary fundraising dinner this Aug 10, Dr Rosliwati expressed her gratitude to the good Samaritans and companies for answering the call for donations to cover Befrienders Kuching’s operating expenses.
The hotline can be reached daily via 082-242800.
Alternatively, send emails to [email protected] or go to http://www.befrienderskch.org.my. Services via WhatsApp will be available in the near future.