Malaysians promote human dignity

WEST Australian charitable organisation, the Malaysian – Singaporean Catholic Community of Australia (MSCAA) has initiated a move to restore the human dignity of the less fortunate members of our community.
Latest statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) indicate that the number of people who suffer from a range of hardships is now more acute as average living expenditure continues to increase disproportionately higher than wages. According to a 2009 report by the Western Australian Council of Social Services (WACOSS), “WA household costs associated with basic living expenses between 2006 and 2008 increased by approximately $132 per week (23 per cent) while average wages only increased by $61 (10.7 per cent%).”
WA was ranked the wealthiest State in 2008-09 with gross State per capita income exceeding $70,000 as reported by the ABS.
MSCCA founder Fr Roy Pereira said WA boasts immense wealth, yet “the irony of it is that there is a sizeable number of individuals and families who do not have access to the basic needs of life”.
“What is more heartbreaking is that these problems are not beyond us if only more of those who have the means demonstrate the human virtue of generosity,” he said. “The absence of such basic living needs leaves some adults and many children vulnerable.
“A high number of women and children are defenceless victims of physical and psychological abuse. For many, the effects of such experiences manifest themselves in self-damaging behaviour which threatens their own well-being and sometimes that of others.”
The MSCCA is inviting corporations and affluent members of WA to participate in an effort to heal the wounds of their fellow citizens and not to be paralysed by the human tendency to over-analyse the question of who deserves their generosity when deliberating a decision to support the cause. It is not merely a matter of legality but one that reaches far deeper; it is the innate nature of human beings to show compassion, an MSCCA statement said.
“Man-made laws have often been found inadequate in offering an equitable share of public goods but moral conscience compels us to respond to our true calling, to be charitable to those who are in need,” it continued.  
As part of the organisation’s effort to foster the well-being of this community, it is organising a special event on 2 July.
The aim of the event is to reveal the truth of the situation facing this community and to win the support of the State’s most respectable corporations in building a sustainable base of resources that will be responsibly directed towards addressing these challenges.
“We are not asking for fancy wants to be satisfied but rather the needs of this community. We seek resources to offer relief to those who are suffering greatly,” Fr Pereira said. “We try to keep the children in school, feed families, offer shelter from danger, create employment opportunities and maintain a positive environment that will go a long way in breaking their cycle of despair.”
The MSCCA’s current projects include support for Indigenous Australian youths, and high-risk youths and families encountering severe domestic circumstances.
Its mission of charity was envisioned by a group of individual residents of WA and Fr Pereira.
The MSCCA extends assistance to Catholics and non-Catholics alike who are confronted by acute hardships. “A restless conscience will not tolerate apathy and a beating heart will not refuse compassion for those who are in his midst,” Fr Pereira said
For more information about the MSCCA and the
2 July event, contact Fr Pereira on 0417 936 449 or email frroy@mscca.org.au.