KUCHING, Feb 10: The Sarawak Breast Cancer Support Group (SBCSG) is appealing to private corporations, especially those from the construction industry, to consider donating their used shipping containers.
Such containers, if renovated properly, can be transformed into temporary shelters for cancer patients and family members who are seeking medical treatment at the Sarawak General Hospital (SGH).
The shelter will be located at Maxwell Road, about 10 minute’s walk from SGH.
In supporting the group, Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister, Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah, said many patients and family members especially those from the rural areas would need an affordable place to stay.
“The centre currently has three containers, which started operating since November last year. They can accommodate about three families at a time.
“Each container provides basic furnishing and from the records, families has stayed between three weeks and three months. Hence, they need more containers to cater for more patients and family members,” she told a press conference here today.
The renovation cost per container ranges between RM80,000 and RM100,000.
Meanwhile, the society’s president Datin Juriah Sulehan said SBCSG was first initiated by one of the survivors together with SGH oncologist and radiotherapy staff in 1993.
The support group was registered with Registrar of Societies as a non-governmental organisation in August 2000. — DayakDaily
