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Ronald McDonald House in Likas Hospital set to open next year

KOTA KINABALU: Families of pediatric patients at Sabah Women and Children's Hospital (HWKKS) Likas, here will soon have Ronald McDonald House facilities to look forward to.

Costing about RM3 million, the fourth Ronald McDonald House in Malaysia will be located within the HWKKS grounds and is expected to open its doors in the first quarter of 2023.

Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC Malaysia) president Datuk Azmir Jaafar said the Ronald McDonald House will be fully equipped with 16 family rooms with complete facilities for families such as a kitchen and dining area, laundry room, lounge, children's playroom as well as a prayer room.

The Ronald McDonald House, he said, is a "home away from home" accommodation facility for families of pediatric patients who are receiving treatment at the hospital.

The facility also provides financial relief to underprivileged families who want to stay at accommodations close to their children at a reasonable cost while seeking medical treatment.

"When it's ready, families will only pay RM5 per night if they can afford it. If they can't, then the hospital and RMHC Malaysia will sponsor them.

"They can stay in the room as long as they need," said Azmir, who is also the Managing Director and Local Operating Partner of McDonald's Malaysia.

He was speaking at a press conference after the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony at HWKKS between RMHC Malaysia and the Ministry of Health (MoH) earlier today.

Present were General Manager of RMHC Malaysia, Mohd Nasri Mohd Nordin; MoH Secretary-General Datuk Harjeet Singh Hardev Singh and HWKKS director Dr. Marcus Netto.

The signing ceremony was witnessed by Sabah Minister of Community Development and People's Wellbeing cum Sabah state Health exco, Datuk Shahelmey Yahya; Deputy Health Minister II, Datuk Aaron Ago Dagang; and Sabah Health Department director Datuk Dr. Rose Nani Mudin.

In his speech, Azmir said the construction of the Ronald McDonald Houses in the country was made possible thanks to the generosity of the public who contributed through the RMHC coin box and self-ordering kiosks located at more than 300 McDonald's restaurants nationwide.

Azmir said RMHC Malaysia has built three Ronald McDonald Houses in Peninsular Malaysia - the first in Malaysia and also in the Asean region located at the Tuanku Muhriz Chancellor Hospital in Kuala Lumpur, which has been operating for over 20 years.

Other Ronald McDonald Houses are located at the Universiti Sains Malaysia Hospital (Hospital USM) in Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, and Hospital Tunku Azizah in Kuala Lumpur.

"These three houses have greatly benefited the community in Peninsular Malaysia, and now it is time for this house to benefit the community in Sabah as well," he said, adding that they are also planning to build the fifth Ronald McDonald House in Sarawak by the end of 2023 or 2024.

He said there are currently more than 370 Ronald McDonald Houses across the globe, providing a place to stay for families with hospitalised children seeking treatment at nearby hospitals and medical facilities.

RMHC Malaysia conducts four main programmes to help Malaysian children, which are the Ronald McDonald House, Ronald McDonald Sensory Room, Gift of Smile, and Back-to-School packs for primary school children from underprivileged families. These programmes encompass the three core pillars of RMHC Malaysia which are Health, Education, and Welfare.

In addition to the RMHC Malaysia coin box, customers can also make donations via the Self-Ordering Kiosks at McDonald's restaurants as well as digital payment channels such as PayPal, Boost, Touch 'N Go e-wallet and e-commerce platform Shopee.

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