Pastor Foo Moy Peng

Kuala Lumpur, 20 November 2006 (Monday) – With the festive season round the corner, most people are thinking about Christmas gifts, but for Pastor Foo Moy Peng, organizing committee chairperson for this year’s Cheras Christmas Celebration of Love Carnival, her organs are the best Christmas gifts she hopes to leave behind when she leaves this world.

Foo said she will be taking the lead this year to sign up for the Organ Donation drive, which will carry on every weekend throughout the whole month of December at the CMC Centre (where Giant Taman Connaught is located).

“We hope more people will join me in making this Christmas meaningful, by signing up at the organ donation drive,” she said. “Why bring our organs with us to the grave, when we can leave them behind as gifts of life for our neighbours.”

Foo said organ donation is the best way to demonstrate the concept of “Love Thy Neighbour”. “With the organ donation drive, we do not look at the colour of the skin nor the religion of a person,” she said. “The organs are God’s gift and they are universal spare parts that can bring new hope to people of any race or religion.”BesiBesides organ donation, there will also be a blood donation drive and health checks for the public. 

The Cheras Christmas Celebration of Love Carnival 2006 will be a beehive of activities, at the CMC Centre, for the Cheras community. The events will have a different focus every weekend - on the children (Dec 9), senior citizens (Dec 10), youths (Dec 16) and the whole family (Dec 17). 

The month-long event will culminate with a Christmas Celebration of Love Concert Finale on Dec 25 from 5pm to 7pm, featuring guest artistes, Francesca Peter and Rao Yan Ting. For details, check out www.lovecheras.com/include/program%20details.pdf.

Foo said one of the main aims of this carnival is to create awareness for the social and welfare organizations in Cheras and, in the process, to promote a caring community. “We want to let our community know where they can find help when they are faced with social ills such as gambling, drug abuse, family conflicts and marginal youth problems,” she said.

The carnival is jointly organized by the Cheras Pastors Fellowship, which represents some 19 churches in Cheras, together with organizations like the CMC Centre, University College Sedaya International (UCSI) and Jubilee Initiatives, a non-governmental organization dedicated to training young people. 

To kick start the month-long series of events, Deputy Home Affairs Minister, Datuk Tan Chai Ho, who is also the Member of Parliament of Bandar Tun Razak, will officiate the opening ceremony, along with a cheque presentation by generous individual and corporate donors on Sunday Dec 3 at the CMC Centre.Foo urged corporate citizens and business owners, especially those operating in Cheras, to come forward and donate to the charity fund. “To date, we are still hoping to receive donations,” she said. “We are appealing to more companies to donate generously for a worthy cause.The beneficiaries are Persatuan Kebajikan Charis, Great Commissions Social Concerns Centre Berhad, Rumah Victory, Charis Community Services Bhd, Jubilees Initiatives and Malaysian CARE.

More information about the event may be obtained from www.lovecheras.com. Corporate donors wishing to present their donations during the Opening Ceremony on Dec 3 may contact Vivien Chong (office tel: 03-91309567).

"Without prejudice to the rights of UCSI the information herein is correct at the time of printing and UCSI reserves the right to make amendments without prior notice."