PETALING JAYA, Jan 10 — When media personality Freda Liu first started contributing to World Vision Malaysia, she only thought about education being a basic right for children. 

She soon learned that it was more than that and 20 years later, her strong sense of responsibility has kept her committed for the long-term when it comes to helping the kids and the communities they live in.

"For World Vision to run a successful programme, it takes anywhere between 15 to 20 years. 

"I wanted to see something come to fruition and be in it for the long-haul,” she said.

Liu added that nutrition also played a part, because children needed enough food to have the energy to learn. 

"It’s all part of a proper infrastructure that’s needed to provide for a village and make them self-sufficient.” 

 

 

Liu is currently preparing to take part in more of World Vision Malaysia’s community development programmes and hopefully meet the kids she has been sponsoring face-to-face for the first time.

She is presently contributing RM260 per month for four children in China, Thailand, and Myanmar.

Liu joins a list of notable Malaysians including former Miss Universe Malaysia Deborah Henry and media personality Owen Yap as World Vision Malaysia advocates focused on freeing children from the vicious cycle of poverty.

The BFM radio host first contributed to World Vision Malaysia’s charity work in 2000 as a way of giving underprivileged children a shot at receiving a proper education.

"Whenever I look back at my own life, I don’t think I could’ve gotten to where I am today without an education.

"It’s rewarding to know that you’re making an impact on people’s lives. 

"When you sponsor a child, you’re not just helping them but you’re helping the village they live in as well.”

Liu has also been to put the inconveniences of modern life into perspective thanks to a heightened awareness of the struggles faced by vulnerable communities.

She explained how her appointment as World Vision Malaysia advocate for water, sanitation, and hygiene has helped her see the privilege of being able to turn on a tap without thinking too much about it.

She added that it was easy for some Malaysians to get angry over first-world problems and take things for granted. 

"Girls are the most affected in communities that lack access to clean water because they are the ones who are tasked with collecting water from faraway sources.

"The time spent on these tasks keeps them out of school and some of them even get attacked or raped while they are out collecting water.”

Liu was met at The Ledge in 1 Utama Shopping Centre where World Vision Malaysia is holding a photo exhibition chronicling 70 years of the organisation’s humanitarian work. — Picture by Choo Choy May

According to Unicef, a staggering 2.4 billion people lack access to basic sanitation services such as toilets and latrines and 800 children die every day as a result of diseases linked to contaminated water and poor hygiene.

With these sobering figures in mind, Liu hopes that more youths, including her teenage son, can step outside their comfort zone and get a firsthand experience of the struggles borne by the less fortunate.

"My son doesn’t balk at ordering food delivery at RM65 and the same amount can do so much to help a child in need elsewhere. It’s good to stop and think about how lucky we are in that sense.

"As much as I can try to impart these values to him, he needs to see it himself. There’s so much you can do as an individual. 

"It’s all about paying kindness forward and seeing what you can do to help other people.”

The roots of World Vision can be traced back to 1950 when Christian missionary Robert Pierce gave his last US$5 (RM20) to a girl who had been abandoned by her family in China.

That same year, he founded World Vision to lend a helping hand to kids who had been orphaned in the Korean War.

The organisation has since given aid in several disaster relief missions including the 2018 Lombok earthquakes in Indonesia and Kerala floods in India.

Thanks to the help of Malaysian child sponsors, 59,000 youths from 14 countries are enjoying the promise of a brighter future by being provided with clean water and sanitation, health and nutrition, education, and child protection.