BERITA KAMPUS
Issue
Written on 1st May 2024
COLLABORATION OF ELS AND BELAS TO SUPPORT AND INSTIL CARES OF MINDEN
Cat food and treats were donated by the members of the English Language Society (ELS), BELAS and volunteers of the Live, Love, Meow! event. (Source by Sumayya Fauzi)
MAIN CAMPUS, 1ST MAY - Live, Love, Meow! a charity-based event was held by the members of the English Language Society (ELS) of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) along with the collaboration of BELAS on April 27th, Saturday from 9 am to 12 pm at Minden 11800, D18.
According to the project director of the event, Nur Syazwani Mohammad Syukri, the main purpose of the event was not only to raise funds to support the cats of Minden but also to foster awareness of the well-being of the cats while building a sense of love and connection towards them.
“Aside from raising awareness on strays, this is also a charity-based event since we wanted to raise funds to support the cats of Minden. With the funds we received, we wanted to make this event more laid-back so that students could spend their time playing with the cats after a long hectic week,” said Nur Syazwani.
“As of now, we are grateful that the event went well and the funds we collected are way beyond my expectations since we could afford kibbles and some of those expensive cat treats. We managed to achieve our main goal and most importantly, foster strong love and connection for strays among the students of USM,” said Nur Syazwani.
Nur Syazwani also stated that the team could not have done it without the collaboration with BELAS in organising the charity event that grew merrier with the support of volunteers and participants.
“We collaborated with BELAS, a cat-loving club known for their continuous efforts of saving strays and raising awareness of their well-being. We believe that our collaboration with BELAS is suitable since our event is cat-themed this year,” said Nur Syazwani.
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Students participating in the feeding session with the cats and kittens of Minden during the Live, Love, Meow! event. (Source by Sumayya Fauzi)
The secretariat of BELAS, Aiman Abdul Halim, stated that BELAS is an acronym for Believe, Empathy, Love, Affection and Salvation which aligns with their sole intention of saving the strays around the university.
“We have conducted various activities and events that emphasize raising awareness of the well-being of stray cats. For instance, in 2023, we had an exhibition called “Oyen: Cerita Tentang B.E.L.A.S.” held at the university’s museum where we gathered efforts to portray the reality of a stray’s life and how they are often overlooked or not getting the attention they deserve by society lately,” said Aiman.
“We have other upcoming events as well. As of now, we are doing our best to save as many strays as we can because our main target is to reach 0 strays. Although there may be some strays here and there, we want to ensure that they are still under our care regardless,” said Aiman.
Aside from the collaboration with BELAS, Aiman stated that the event even presented the saved kittens and they were being put up for adoption.
Balqis Faqihah Rajak, a postgraduate from the School of Management stated that she has volunteered for almost a year and that it could be challenging looking after the cats at times.
“It is not easy to look after the strays because some people bring them in without financial support or donations. With the funds we received, not only do we need to support their food and litter but also spay or neuter them to avoid overpopulation, which is undeniably an issue right now,” said Balqis.
“From the event and collaboration between BELAS and ELS, we can now visualize the next step we must take to support the well-being of these cats and strategically plan on saving them in the future,” said Balqis.
Students of the event spent time playing with the kittens that were put up for adoption. (Source by Sumayya Fauzi)
Text: Sumayya Fauzi/ Photo: Sumayya Fauzi
Created on: 1st May 2024
