Sittwe-based charity group appeals for donations

By DMG 31 Mar 2021

DMG Newsroom
31 March 2021, Sittwe

The Shwe Yaung Metta Foundation, a Sittwe-based charity group, is facing difficulties to provide help transporting emergency patients due to fewer donors, executives of the foundation said.

Ko Thargi Lin, vice chair of the organisation, said the foundation is an active group that provides social assistance in Arakan State, including transporting emergency patients, but the foundation is facing some challenges as the price of petrol is on the rise.

“We have donors who pay monthly contributions. Now, the price of fuel is increasing and we need more donors,” he said.

The price of a barrel of oil was K150,000 previously, but has increased to over K200,000, he explained.

“The main intention of the foundation is to be ready for the people at any time. We must rescue people in real time. It is our aim,” Ko Thargi Lin said.

In addition to its ambulance services, the foundation is currently donating drinking water for two monasteries and a village in Sittwe, an IDP camp in Ponnagyun Township, and Tin Nyo IDP camp in Mrauk-U Township.

A branch office has been opened in Yangon to help emergency patients being sent from Sittwe to Yangon for treatment.

The foundation was formed in Sittwe on June 30, 2019, with 10 members, and has grown to more than 50 members, according to Ko Thargi Lin.