APU Charity Drive, which ran from 23rd March to 6th April 2023, successfully raised RM14,038.90 thanks to kind donations from the APU community.

Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation (APU) successfully raised RM14,038.90 for the ‘Türkiye-Syria earthquake victims’ which channelled to Mercy Malaysia in their effort to serve humanity.

This donation collection is done through the APU Charity Drive, which is an Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) event hosted by APU that serves local and worldwide communities.

The APU Charity Drive was organised by four schools led by Ms. Khurshid Abdul Jabbar, and supported by Dr. Dewi Octaviani, Ms. Ir. Jacqueline Lukose, and Dr. Nennie Trianna Rosli from School of Technology (SoT), School of Computing (SoC), School of Engineering (SoE) and School of Business (SoB) respectively.

With the encouragement received from Senior Head of School of Technology (SoT), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Thang Ka Fei, RM14,038.90 was collected through walk-in’s collections held at Atrium and classrooms. This collection was made possible by the efforts of 19 student volunteers.

APU held a mock cheque handover ceremony for MERCY Malaysia on 20th April 2023, which was handed by APU Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Ho Chin Kuan to MERCY Malaysia’s Deputy Executive Director Mr. Hafiz Amirrol.

Ms. Khurshid delivered welcoming remarks, which were followed by Prof. Ho’s speech which he emphasised the need for organisations to contributing to ESG and CSR activities for the improvement of societies both locally and globally.

He spoke to the student volunteers about the importance of managing their academic and social commitments in order to contribute to society’s needs.

The mock cheque was then handed over to MERCY Malaysia, followed by a speech by Mr. Hafiz, a closure by Ms. Khurshid, and a group photos session.

Smaa Mohamed Fawzy, Tan Xue Qiang, Alvin Joshy, Yusuf Karamoglu, Ghaarib Khurshid, Brenna Lo, Jasmine Lawrence, Lim Min, Yap Ai Ling, Chang Zun Ni, Ralph Rowland, and Muhammad Uzair Saleem were among the 12 student volunteers (out of 19) that attended the event.

Ms. Khurshid, who represented the APU Charity Drive, extended special thanks to Mohammad Bilal, the student volunteer lead who devoted considerable time and effort.

“APU extends its heartfelt appreciation and gratitude to all student volunteers for a wonderful occasion through their valuable time and effort,” she said.

The APU Charity team would also like to thank APU Chief Operating Officer Mr. Gurpardeep Singh for his recommendation to hold the mock cheque handover, Assistant Manager, Student Affairs Ms. Hashanna Abdul Halim, and her team for booth management, Mr. Jerry Ling Lih Kai and the team for an excellent mock cheque design, the AV team, and, most importantly, all donors who generously donated.

On 6th February 2023, a huge earthquake struck central and southern Türkiye as well as northern Syria. It was one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded in Türkiye-Syria history.

Over 53,500 deaths had been confirmed as of 1st March 2023: over 43,500 in Türkiye and 8,400 in Syria. A severe snowstorm delayed rescue attempts by covering the rubble and causing the temperature to plummet.

Because of the low temperatures in the area, any survivors, especially those stuck under the wreckage, are extremely vulnerable to hypothermia. The earthquake caused $84.1 billion in property destruction, making it the fourth greatest earthquake loss in recorded history.

To assist those in afflicted areas, Mercy Malaysia has implemented the Türkiye-Syria 2023 Earthquake Emergency Response Plan and their emergency medical team (EMT) has been verified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as one of the EMT Global Classified teams in the Type 1 Fixed category.

Mercy Malaysia is the first Asian non-governmental organisation (NGO) to be part of self-sufficient teams ready to deploy to health emergencies around the world if the need arises.