Hello again everyone! wow…this blog is really taking off. Its great to see so many have written in and are following us…if you’re tweeting about this …please dont stop!!
So, whats new at Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) since we’ve last posted comment – well, for one, we’ve been snowed under with projects coming out of our ears!!
Last year, it was “we’re sorry we are not able to continue with our CSR (corp social responsibility) and thus we’re pulling out and cancelling all projects…”
This year, its “hey, we would like to work with you on a small scale project to help raise funds”!
Dont get me wrong… we’re not complaining! We’re lapping it up when it comes to fundraising as we need all the cash we can get to stay afloat to tide us over until The Pixel Project launches – if you’ve been reading the previous posts, you would get a general idea of how The Pixel Project came about!
Late last year was a trying time – and i mean it when i say trying! – for all of us at WAO. We came down with a shortfall of RM600,000 (RM = Ringgit Malaysia) and many, like i said before, closed their fundraising drive. Companies in Malaysia ceased operations and literally shut down sending multitudes of people out of work! It was a global disaster but it was worse for the NGOs since we literally “thrive” through donations in cash and kind from the public.
So, what was supposed to be a really good year turned out topsy-turvy and sent everyone into a spiralling frenzy! On came the major donation drives, the pledge letters asking public to (at least) donate RM100 monthly or whenver they can…we initiated a fundraising dinner towards december to end the year with a little bit of a “bang” if not anything! hoping that we would be able to make enough money to keep us going for 2009!
Even with all the effort put in by our members, volunteers and staff, realisation slowly seeped in that we may be on the verge of shutting down our one and only child care centre which we’ve kept alive all these years for the chidlren of our ex-residents! Thus, staff agreed to take a 10% paycut to lengthen the “lifespan” of the organisation. It was a hard decision for some as many had their own family commitments but, solidarity paved the way.
And as the story goes…its been such and we’re now (as said before)…having our hands full with fundraising projects. We’re hoping that this would help us keep us going for next year as we race against time to ensure that we do not compromise our services for the many women and their childen who have come to us for help.
Here’s to the successful launch of The Pixel Project in early 2010!
..”if you have come to help me, you are wasting your time. But, if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together “
– Annie Varghese, Project and Administration Manager, WAO
