Latest news with #essentialitems
Malay Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Malay Mail
Living Cost Ministry to ensure SARA aid recipients get wider access to essential items, more Jualan Rahmah planned
RANAU, July 27 — The Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) will collaborate with the Ministry of Finance (MOF) to expand access to essential items for recipients of the Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (SARA) aid. Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali said KPDN had proposed that recipients be allowed to use their SARA aid at mobile Jualan Rahmah MADANI Programme (PJRM) locations, in addition to existing participating retailers. He said, at present, recipients of the Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (SARA) aid could only purchase basic items at 4,152 participating supermarkets and retail outlets across the country, including 470 in Sabah. 'This initiative enables SARA recipients, particularly in rural and interior areas, to use the aid credited to their MyKad to make purchases at mobile PJRM locations,' he told reporters after launching the Sabah Zone KPDN Carnival 2025 here last night. Armizan said the additional RM300 million allocation for PJRM would enable KPDN to increase its frequency nationwide, with a target of 20,000 series throughout this year. 'For Sabah, KPDN is targeting 2,276 PJRM series throughout this year, and as of July 26, a total of 1,089 have already been implemented. We will adopt several approaches to ensure the target is achieved by year-end,' he said. He said the approaches included increasing the range of items offered and enhancing cooperation with strategic retail partners. 'Through these improvements, the people will have more choices. The ministry can no longer act alone as it did in the past. For example, today's PJRM is carried out in collaboration with retail partners,' he explained. Commenting on today's programme, this was the second year KPDN had implemented the programme, adding that six carnival tours would be held across the country this year. 'The carnival in Ranau, held in conjunction with the Buy Malaysian Goods Campaign (KBBM), is the second in the series this year, and we expect around 60,000 visitors throughout the three-day event,' he said. Armizan said that the main goal of the initiative was to bring government services, particularly those under KPDN, closer to the people, especially at the grassroots level. 'The KPDN Carnival 2025 also serves as a catalyst in empowering KBBM through the theme 'Jom Beli Lokal' as part of ongoing efforts to support local products and strengthen the domestic economy. It is also a strategic move to boost domestic economic growth while helping local entrepreneurs and micro, small and medium enterprises expand their market reach. 'At the same time, this initiative provides a platform to showcase the quality of local products, which can become the preferred choice and ultimately reduce reliance on imported goods,' he said. — Bernama
CTV News
22-07-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Local charity rolls out free hygiene kits for families in need
A Simcoe County charity is taking steps to make hygiene more accessible for families struggling financially. Glowing Hearts Charity launched its Hygiene Heroes campaign, providing free hygiene kits packed with essential personal care items to those in need. 'Often budgets only have a small flexible part to it and it tends to be things like hygiene and groceries that can be the first to go when people are tight on funds,' explained Michael Baumtrog, a board member with Glowing Hearts Charity. 'This is the way to provide for those items that are necessary so people can reserve their cash flow for other less flexible areas of the budget.' The kits are customized to fit each household's specific needs and aims to maintain a sense of dignity, especially when money's tight and lead to prioritizing other essentials like rent, food, or transportation over hygiene products. Drop-off Locations Barrie Blue Haven Wellness (July) - 346 Ardagh Rd, Lower Unit BNI Spirit Catchers at Office Inc. (Fridays from 7am to 8:30am until August 15) - 54 Cedar Pointe Dr #1207 BrokerLink (July and August)) - 128 Wellington St. W Unit 1038J6 Nawab's Indian Cuisine (July and August) - 70 Essa Road, Barrie Smiles on Essa Dental - 430 Essa Road Unit 6 Orillia Orillia Chevrolet Buick GMC (July 21 to 25) - 20 Mulcahy Court Orillia Public Library (July and August) - 36 Mississaga St. W. Oro-Medonte The Red Shed Supply Company Ltd. (July and August) - 983 Line 7 South Warminster Tranont Associate (Until August 31) - 20 Demont Drive Wasaga Beach Cutting Edge Salon & Spa (Starting July 7) - 563 River Rd W #1 The Hygiene Heroes campaign is just one of the many initiatives undertaken by Glowing Hearts Charity to reduce barriers and provide support across Simcoe County.
Khaleej Times
12-07-2025
- Health
- Khaleej Times
UAE group supplies urgently requested diapers, baby formula to low-income families
A new campaign titled '5K for Hope Challenge' has been launched by non-profit initiative Hope-Amel UAE to collect and distribute 5,000 packs each of diapers, baby formula, and sanitary pads — three of the most urgently requested items by low-income families in the UAE. The campaign, which began on July 5, aims to provide immediate relief to women and children across the UAE. It will continue throughout July and possibly into the summer. So far, around 100 packages of the three essential items have been collected, with distribution ongoing based on incoming requests. The launch marks the 5th anniversary of Hope-Amel UAE, which began in July 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Initially started as a small effort on a Facebook page to help one family in Dubai, the initiative has since grown into a community of nearly 15,000 members and has supported over 20,000 families nationwide. The start Founder Abbie Kadom said, "Hope-Amel began when I received a message about a family struggling to afford baby essentials. Within minutes of sharing the message with others, everything the family needed was delivered. This moment made me reflect: if we could help one family so quickly, how many more families were silently struggling?" 'We didn't set out to build an organization. It was just one act, one message. And it kept growing,' she added. The current campaign aims to collect three specific items: diapers, formula, and sanitary pads. These were identified as the most commonly requested essentials by families reaching out to the initiative. Kadom explained that the items are expensive and cannot be stretched or substituted, unlike other household needs. 'If we reach 5,000 packs of diapers, that means 2,500 families will receive a full month's supply. And 5,000 cans of formula would mean 1,250 babies will have milk for an entire month,' she explained. The process Each support request is submitted through a Help Request Form, which collects basic information about the family's situation. 'When someone reaches out, they're asked to fill out a Help Request Form, which gives us the key details to assess the situation,' Kadom said. 'Every request is reviewed and verified before any support is offered,' she added. Once verified, the initiative responds by either delivering donated goods directly or issuing e-vouchers in cases of urgency or logistical limitations. All distributions are handled privately to ensure the dignity of the families receiving support. Despite initial challenges, including a small donor base and limited supplies, the initiative gained trust through consistency and transparency, as it does not handle any financial donations and relies entirely on in-kind contributions and volunteer efforts. Hope-Amel UAE also collaborates with local schools, nurseries, and businesses through campaigns such as the Diaper and Formula Drive, the Ramadan Box Initiative, and the Christmas Toy Drive. It has also contributed to national efforts, including the Gaza Relief Campaign in coordination with the Emirates Red Crescent. Kadom emphasized that support is available to families of all nationalities, religions, and backgrounds, provided they can verify their situation and there are resources available. 'Everyone who can provide proof of their situation and demonstrates a genuine need for these items is eligible for help, provided we have the resources to support them,' she said. She encouraged members of the public to participate by selecting items from curated online wishlists shared via the initiative's Instagram page and website. Items are delivered directly to the team and distributed based on demand.
Arab News
31-05-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Pakistan weekly inflation down by 0.81% as prices of essential items remain largely stable
ISLAMABAD: Short-term inflation, measured by the Sensitive Price Index (SPI), lowered by 0.81% in Pakistan, the country's statistics bureau said this week, as prices of most essential items remained stable. The SPI, which comprises 51 essential items collected from 50 markets in 17 cities, is computed on a weekly basis to assess the price movement of essential commodities at a shorter interval of time to review the price situation in the country. While the SPI for the week ending on May 29 decreased 0.81% on a week-on-week basis, it recorded an increase of 0.41% when compared to the same week last year, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). 'During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 14 (27.45%) items increased, 10 (19.61%) items decreased and 27 (52.94%) items remained stable,' the PBS said. A decrease was observed in the prices of electricity charges for Q1 (10.10%), chicken (8.51%), LPG (2.67%), sugar (0.25%), powdered milk (0.20%), vegetable ghee 2.5Kg (0.17%), wheat flour (0.09%), rice (0.07%), garlic (0.05%) and pulse moong (0.01%). The items whose prices increased during the week included tomatoes (4.54%), potatoes (2.94%), eggs (2.19%), onions (2.17%), gur (0.77%), bananas (0.73%), mustard oil (0.34%), pulse mash (0.22%), pulse gram (0.17%), pulse masoor (0.14%) and basmati rice (0.12%). Pakistan's annual inflation rate fell to 0.3% in April, well below the Ministry of Finance estimate of 1.5% to 2%. The central bank forecasts average inflation to be in the range of 5.5% to 7.5% for the fiscal year ending June. Also, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) recorded a 7.5% gain in May on a month-on-month basis, according to the Karachi-based Topline Securities. 'This gain can be attributed to cut in policy rate by 100bps by SBP,' it said in its monthly review, citing improvement in inflation outlook and approval of first review of Pakistan's $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) program as well as the approval of another $1.4 billion under the IMF's Resilience and Sustainability Facility. 'Average daily traded volume and value during the month stood at 566 million shares and PKR28 billion.'
