KUALA LUMPUR: Private hospital company Columbia Asia organised a fairyland-themed diabetes awareness run at Taman Botani Negara in Shah Alam on Sunday.
The Columbia Asia Magical 5K Diabetes Awareness Run, was a 5km family fun run held in conjunction with World Diabetes Day, which falls on Nov 18.
"This year, some 1800 runners took part including families with young children.
"This CSR (corporate social responsbility) effort by Columbia Asia supports diabetic children under the auspice of Diabetes Malaysia," said the company in a statement.
The event managed to raise RM20,000 for diabetic children under Diabetes Malaysia. This is the sixth year that Columbia Asia has held a Diabetes Awareness event in aid of the NGO.
"Diabetes is a life-long disease so managing it is essential. Although patients get insulin at no charge from government hospitals, they still need to buy their own monitoring equipment that consist of glucometers, strips, needles and lancets.
"They need these items on a daily basis to check their blood glucose level. For underprivileged families, this could be a struggle," said the company.
During the event, Diabetes Malaysia assistant general secretary K.S. Maniam received a mock cheque from Columbia Asia – South East Asia chief executive officer Kelvin Tan.
Tan flagged off the runners along with Columbia Asia regional general manager (Region II) Tom Lim and Columbia Asia regional general manager (Region I) Engku Marina Engku Hatim.