PETALING JAYA: Poignant messages from children of survivors of domestic violence wrapped up the 26km walk by senior journalist Purwaiz Alam to raise funds for Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) last Saturday.
The children, aged between five and 16, made thank you and birthday cards to show their gratitude to Alam for bringing attention to domestic violence.
Alam, who turned 61 on Nov 28, raised more than RM14,000 in addition to the RM11,000 collected by WAO that is struggling to keep its programmes and shelters running.
WAO head of programmes, Joanne Melissa Wong, said 13 kids, including children of Rohingya and Somali refugees, took the time to write their personal messages. Some of the children are in the shelter while others have recently moved out but are still receiving childcare support from WAO.
Wong added that the children were overcome by the act of kindness and have realised the importance of spreading joy and positivity, and that the walk helped highlight the plight of the brave women and children who took the big step to walk away from domestic abuse to start life afresh.
Alam, who completed the walk around the jogging track at Subang Ria recreational park in Subang Jaya in just over five hours, said, “I was overcome with emotion when I started reading the cards. Simple but meaningful words. There was so much love in what they wrote. It was the best birthday present ever because no amount of money can buy love.”
Both Alam and Wong completed the 25km at about the same time and walked an extra 1km to thank their supporters.
The staff of news website Twentytwo13 that organised the event, and WAO led by their president Yee Pek Mei, also took part in the walk.
This isn’t the first time Alam, the senior copy editor for Twentytwo13, has taken part in a charitable event. He had previously shaved his head in 2014 and 2015 to raise funds for children with cancer, and went homeless for two nights in 2015 to raise donations for the hardcore poor with charity group, ‘We Love, We Care, We Share’.