THE CHRISTMAS CHARITY TREE IS LIT UP AND OPEN TO DONORS AT
SHANGRI-LA HOTEL, KUALA LUMPUR
The Christmas Charity Tree 2014 is now beautifully lit up in the
Main Lobby of the Shangri-La Hotel, Kuala Lumpur. The lighting ceremony was
performed on 4 December by the hotel’s General Manager Manfred Weber, assisted
by the parents of the 10 children with severe heart ailments who will benefit
from the funds raised from the tree.
Witnessing this event were over 100 disadvantaged children from
Tasputra Perkim and Pusat Penjagaan Kanak Kanak Cacat Taman Megah, children
from the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) and hotel
guests.
The carollers burst into song as the tree dazzled with the lights
and there was applause from the children and others present.
The Christmas Charity Tree is an annual charity project titled
“Embrace the Gift of Life” initiated by the Shangri-La Hotel, Kuala Lumpur to
aid children suffering from serious heart ailments and who need surgery.
As expected each year, the Christmas Charity Tree is a huge draw.
This year it has the theme – Merry Nutcracker Joy Ride. Splendidly crafted
sugarpieces of Nutcracker soldiers and trains, made by the hotel’s pastry
artists, are stacked up on a conical steel structure to form the 12-foot-tall
Christmas Tree.
The sugarpieces are for sponsorship by donors, each for a minimum
donation of RM1,000/-. The donors’ names or company logos will be prominently
displayed against each sugarpiece.
The Christmas Charity Tree 2014 has 10 tiers, with Nutcracker
soldiers and trains on alternating tiers. Nutcracker soldiers crown the topmost
tier. A unique feature this year is that the tiers with trains on them rotate
on the tree.
The lighting up of the tree was preceded by a tea party for the
children, complete with clown and balloons, at the hotel’s Lemon Garden Cafe.
Mr Weber also distributed Christmas angpows to all the children.
Since 1985 the
hotel has helped hundreds of critically ill children and raised more than RM3
million through this Christmas Charity Tree. This year,
the funds raised from the Christmas Charity Tree will benefit 10 children:
Three-year-old
Muhammad Aiman Loang Abdul Rahman suffers from severe congenital heart disease. He needs surgery to repair
TOF, a cardiac anomaly that
refers to a combination of four related heart defects. Surgery cost is
RM50,000. His father Muhammad Adam Loang Abdullah, a freelance consultant,
earns RM4,200 a month. His mother Rahimah Rahim is a housewife.
Four-month-old Cayenne Chiam Jia Yin has Atrial
Ventricular Septal Defect or two large holes in the heart. She needs surgery to
correct the heart defects which
costs RM50,000. Her father Chiam Shiun Cheng is a marketing executive earning
RM2,600 a month. Her mother Yeo Siew Hua is a housewife.
Three-year-old Cheah Chai
Thong suffers from hole in the heart, blockage of
blood vessel to the lungs and possible abnormal origin of one of the blood
vessels supplying the muscle of the heart. She needs surgery that costs about
RM46,000. Her father Cheah Theng Joo services computers and earns RM2,500 a
month. Her mother Heng Ai Hwa is a housewife.
Three-year-old Jesu
Jeyapragas suffers from a hole in the heart and the
blood vessel to the lungs is blocked. He needs surgery costing RM48,000. His
father Jeyapragas Thavamtoo is a salesman and earns RM3,343 a month. His mother
Christina Saras A/P Ramasamy is a housewife
Two-year-old Mariyam Nur Yaasin
Yusrin suffers from PDA, a persistent opening
between two major blood vessels leading from the heart, and pulmonary valve
stenosis. She needs Pulmonary Valvuloplasty and PDA occlusion, surgery which
costs RM42,000. Her father Yusrin Abd Kadir, a driver, earns RM1,700 a month.
Her mother Riyanti Sansumarti is a housewife.
Six-month-old Muhammad
Hafiy Thasyiq Mohd Taufik has been diagnosed with
an absent connection between two right-sided chambers (tricuspid atresia). He
needs multiple stages of palliative operations, which cost RM20,000. His father
Mohd Taufik Md Sarip is an ICT
technician earning RM767 a month. His mother Norhaiza Suhaimi is a housewife.
19-month-old Muhammad Fiqh
Ar Rayyan Mohd Fathmiza suffers from a hole in the
heart, the complete absence of the tricuspid valve, and TGA (transposition of
the great arteries). He needs a cardiac cath and Glenn shunt. The surgery cost
is RM48,000. His father Mohd Fathmiza Yusof is a teacher earning RM1,900 a
month. His mother Noor Ain Ismail is a housewife.
One-year-old Emily Wong Le
Ting has been diagnosed with Tetralogy of Fallot or
congenital heart defects that change the normal flow of blood through the
heart. She needs surgery that costs RM48,000.
Her father Wong Kwai Meng works in a textile factory, earning RM2,125 a
month. Her mother Cheng Soon Giok is a housewife.
One-year-old Sean Max Siow
Shi Jie has been diagnosed with Ventricular Septal
Defect (VSD) and a hole in the heart. He
needs surgery to close VSD, that costs RM40,000. His father Siow Kat Siong
earns RM3,000 a month. His mother Chong Lee Ling is a housewife.
10-year-old Muhammad
Hakimi Idris has been diagnosed with Tetrology of
Fallot or congenital heart defects that change the normal flow of blood through
the heart. He needs surgery that costs RM35,000. His father Idris Baharom is a
bank officer, earning RM3,736 a month. His mother Rozzinah Yahya is a
housewife.
Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts remains committed to
operating in an economically, socially and environmentally responsible manner
while balancing the interests of diverse stakeholders.
In striving to be a leader in corporate
citizenship and sustainable development, a corporate-level CSR Committee drives
the company’s initiatives in the strategic areas of stakeholder relations,
environment, health and safety, supply chain and employees. Under the umbrella of sustainability,
Shangri-La’s social responsibility programme consists of the two elements of
“embrace” and “sanctuary.”
Embrace
focuses on Shangri-La’s Caring People Project, which aims to promote the
highest level of education and health support in underprivileged communities. In sanctuary, the programme concentrates on
Shangri-La’s Care for Nature Project, which promotes the conservation and
restoration of biodiversity. For more
information, please access the CSR section on www.shangri-la.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment