LONDON: MERCY Malaysia United Kingdom (MMUK), received a Charity Commendation for the Golden Hearts Covid-19 special award for its charity and voluntary work serving the community during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The London-based medical and humanitarian non-governmental organisation, received the award yesterday from Lord Sheikh (member of the House of Lords) at a virtual event held at The China Exchange London.
The special recognition, under charity category, is the first award received since its establishment in the UK in 2014.
It is an annual event organised by The Chinese Information and Advice Centre (CIAC).
At the height of the crisis where there was a serious shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in the UK for front liners and health workers to deal with the increasing number of Covid-19 patients, MMUK launched a 'Covid-19 UK Front Liners PPE Appeal'.
According to Haliza Hashim-Doyle, Chairman of MMUK, although the organisation was low on funds, their much reduced team, worked on the project from their homes in London and Kuala Lumpur, and raised funds and donations through social media platforms and reached out to corporate organisations and generous individuals for help.
Between April and June this year, MMUK obtained thousands of PPEs including gowns, tyveks, face masks, face shields and gloves from Malaysia, China and the UK.
Malaysian designers such as Mimpi Kita, Yani Bakhtiar and Jovian Mandagie volunteered to sew long sleeved non-woven gowns.
These were delivered by a small team of volunteers to 26 hospitals, health practitioners, care homes, hospices and Muslim cemeteries around the UK.
"MMUK's effort to help many smaller hospitals, care homes and hospices were much appreciated by both the frontliners and the managers of the establishments who were facing a lot of difficulties trying to get hold of PPEs during the height of the pandemic," said Haliza.
She said they wouldn't have achieved the recognition without the help and support of so many people including volunteers, donors, MERCY Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur and the encouragement received from the Malaysian doctors based in the UK.
With the pandemic and the lockdown, came mental health issues.
MMUK-trained counsellors provided support to those who were either living alone and suffering from fear and anxiety due to Covid-19, or those displaying Covid-19 symptoms and had to shield themselves in isolation.
In July this year, with the lockdown restrictions eased, MMUK began collaborating with a mask maker in the UK and a fashion designer in Kuala Lumpur to make, promote and sell Malaysian batik face masks.
"By November 2020, MMUK sold almost 1,000 face masks in the UK, Europe and Malaysia. The sale and donations of reusable, washable face masks for the community and health care workers acted both as publicity awareness for MMUK and fundraising for the charity," added Haliza.