SHAH ALAM: Cerebos (M) Sdn Bhd recently donated RM10,000 each to two skills training welfare groups for the disabled — Beautiful Gate Foundation for the Disabled, and Society of Families of Persons with Learning Difficulties (Perkobp).

The company which manufactures the Brand’s range of health and wellness products made the donation through Brand’s “Gift of Love Campaign”.

General manager Koh Joo Siang said the group believed in sharing.
“We want to share by giving deserving non-governmental organisations a financial boost so that they can continue their good work.

“We can also help the organisations to upgrade their facilities which are essential for training and educating their members,” he said.

In four years, Cerebos has raised a total of RM60,000 for the two organisations. This includes the latest donation of RM20,000.
Beautiful Gate Foundation executive director Sia Siew Chin said: “The disabled, who are often seen as a burden to their families and society, are always looking for opportunities to be treated fairly.

“They yearn for education and training opportunities to be able to gain employment so that they can be independent and self-sufficient,” she said.

Sia said the foundation worked with the private sector and relevant ministries to train the disabled to enhance their skills and help them integrate into society.
Perkobp president Peter Phang said the donation would go into the organisation’s building fund.

He said Perkobp was seeking donations from individuals and corporations to realise its dream of relocating within the next two years.

The new state-of-the-art Cerebos factory is equipped with ramps, handrails and a lift which make the facility wheelchair accessible. These facilities will make it easier for disabled people to visit the facility and also allow the company to employ disabled staff.

KUALA LUMPUR: The physically challenged community in Kepong Baru finds it dangerous to use the flyover which links Kepong Baru and Taman Menjalara

The bridge was built to ease the traffic congestion in the area.

The disabled residents living in the area are forced to use the road daily because the pedestrian paths on both sides of the flyover are too high for them to get onto in their wheelchairs.
The paths, which are safer to use, are more than 5cm high.

The gradient of the slope going up the flyover is too steep for a person using a manual wheelchair, while those using electric wheelchairs or scooters also have trouble getting over the road divider to cross to the opposite sides of the flyover.

“We can’t go from one side of the flyover to the other without cars and motorbikes honking at us.
“It is very difficult, especially during peak hours. It is a hazardous and frightening experience which we have to face daily,” said Hee Yong Wah, 48, who is wheelchair-bound and has been living at the Beautiful Gate Foundation for the Disabled centre in Kepong Baru for 20 years. The centre has 15 residents who are all wheelchair-bound.

Kepong Community Service Centre head Yee Poh Ping, together with City Hall officials from the Public Works Department and the Urban Transport Department, visited the site yesterday.

“The issue has been brought up to City Hall’s attention. We hope the officials will look into the matter seriously and find a solution as soon as possible for the wheelchair-bound community here,” said Yee.

KLANG: The Japanese government donated RM155,000 to Beautiful Gate Foundation for the Disabled for its “Project for Installation of Recycling Bins for the Disabled” at the Pandamaran Chinese Methodist Church, recently.

Among those present were the Japanese ambassador to Malaysia Masahiko Horie, Selangor executive councillor Ronnie Liu, Klang Municipal Council deputy president Mohd Ikhsan Mukri, Beautiful Gate chairman Mok Jet Chuan and Beautiful Gate executive director Sia Siew Chin.

Beautiful Gate Foundation is a welfare-based organisation which provides services to people with disabilities. The 50 recycling bins from the donation to Beautiful Gate Foundation Klang centre will be able to expand the work skills training of 40 disabled persons who are supported by the foundation. – By Farhana Syed Nokman

KUALA LUMPUR: Caring Malaysians showed that they had big hearts by taking part in the “Be An Angel Campaign 2010″ at the Archdiocesan Pastoral Centre in Jalan Robertson, here, recently.

The volunteer training camp provided opportunities for participants to understand the plight of the disabled and be trained to help them.

The camp also helped people with disabilities (PWD) to learn how to communicate with able-bodied people.
On the final day of the three-day event, celebrities, members of the public and volunteers sang songs, participated in a sharing session and attended a prize-giving ceremony. Prizes were given to the best camper, best disabled camper and best team.

“The main objective of the camp is to break barriers between the disabled and society,” said pastor Sia Siew Chin, executive director of the Beautiful Gate Foundation for the Disabled.

“We do not have funds to employ enough full-time workers for all our homes.
“The camp was also held to recruit volunteers for our seven Beautiful Gate centres,” she said.

The Methodist Church set up the Beautiful Gate Foundation in 1993.

Fifty people, 24 PWD and 15 committee members took part in the camp.
Soo Wincci and Cindy Chen, winner and first runner-up of the Miss World Malaysia 2008/2009 respectively were among the participants.

Jeanie Lee, singer, William Lee and Eerven Teoh, co-hosts of the TV2 show What Say You? were also present.

Able-bodied participants were made to use wheelchairs, blindfolds and eat with their hands bound so that they could gained a better understanding of the trials and tribulations that the disabled go through daily.

“We need volunteers to give tuition to students at our centres on subjects like English and educate them to be tech-savvy by showing them how to use computers.

“Basically, we welcome any contribution from the public that is knowledge-based.

“We also need volunteers to help organise fund-raising dinners and other charity events.

“Volunteers are also needed in our recycling department, to help collect recyclable items such as bottles and tins which can be sold to generate extra income for our homes,” Sia said.

The campaign includes an “Angel At Work” segment” in which volunteers have to spend at least 30 hours helping out at Beautiful Gate homes or in fund-raising activities in six months.

She said the organisation was grateful to former Wanita MCA chief Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun who had been donating money to the campaign since it was launched by her in 2005.

“She donated RM5,000 for the campaign this year,” said Sia.

Chee Khiong, 25, who has cerebral palsy, was named the best camper in the person with disability (PWD) category.

Dionito C. Tararoc, who is deaf and mute, used sign language to say he had enjoyed playing the role of a villain who bullied the disabled in a sketch.

Tararoc was clearly delighted when he received a note that said: “Handsome boy, please keep on fighting!”

This was in a segment where participants wrote encouraging messages to another participants.

Those who wish to help can call 03-7873 6579 or 03-7875 8609, e-mail info@beautifulgate.org.my, or go to www.beautifulgate.org.my.

New straits times: http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/12nvc/Article

MOBILE TROOPERS: Participants of the ‘Konvoi OKU 2009’ heading towards Pasar Seni LRT station in their wheelchairs Pic: Khairull Azry Bidin

The participants — ages ranging from 15 to 60 years — gathered at Berjaya Times Square as early as 8am, where they were divided into several groups.

Excitement filled the air prior to the flag-off, with many participants looking eager while they waited for instructions from the event coordinator, Heap Hope Angels.

“I’m excited to be part of this event,” said 43-year-old Chan Yoke Sin. “I hope it will create awareness among the people that we too can travel around like the others.

“At the same time, I also get to meet many friends. I have not met some of them, who are also here, for many years!”

The convoy was flagged off by Society and Welfare Department director-general, Datuk Meme Zainal Rashid, and the first pit stop was the Pasar Seni LRT station.

At the station, participants went around collecting donations from members of the public, who responded sportingly. The procession then embarked on the Light Rail Transit (LRT) from Pasar Seni to KLCC LRT station – to highlight the need to make public transportation accessible to all disabled persons.

The convoy had lunch at KLCC before heading back to Berjaya Times Square. They arrived at their final destination around 3pm.

Organised by the Beautiful Gate Foundation for the Disabled, in collaboration with Society of Independent Living for Disabled Persons and D to D services, the event was the first of its kind.

About 156 volunteers — from various NGOs and higher learning institutions — helped out at the event.

Event coordinator Sean Lai said that the event was an eye-opener “Hopefully, the convoy was able to show that the disabled are able  to think independently regardless of the severity of their disability.”

Have wheels will travel

EASY RIDER: Fatimah’s wheelchair has a siren

KUALA LUMPUR: When Fatimah Palaney Abdullah, 54, received word about the Konvoi OKU 2009 — where  disabled persons embarked on a convoy around the city — the little woman was naturally excited.

“I’ve always loved travelling,” quipped Fatimah. “I travel to and from Setiawangsa to Bangsar every day, so  I’m used to moving about. But it’s more fun to do it with more people!”

But how does the pint-sized Fatimah, who suffers from osteogenesis imperfecta — a condition where one’s bones are brittle and weak — travel around the city so easily despite her ailment?

It is with the help of her electronic wheelchair which she purchased for RM9,000 with hard-earned money.

Fatimah earns money through her simple business outside TMC supermarket in Bangsar, where she sells a variety of items; from cartoon stickers for children to socks and earrings.

On Aug 5, The Malay Mail published a heart-warming piece about how Fatimah’s grit and determination helps her deal with daily challenges.

“For many years, I saved up to buy this electronic wheelchair. Now, I am very proud of it,” said Fatimah, who
bought the wheelchair early this year. “I don’t have to trouble people any more as I can go about on my own.”

All sorts of wheelchairs were spotted at Konvoi OKU 2009 — electronic and manual alike — but Fatimah’s  ‘ride’ stood out the most.

That’s because her wheelchair is equipped with a flashing siren, blinking rear lights and is adorned with cartoon stickers. It also has a loud honk.

“I specially asked for my wheelchair to have a flashing siren. The siren is used to alert other people, so they notice me. I think mine is the most special one here,” beamed Fatimah proudly.

Her wheelchair is a locally-manufactured model, produced by a group of disabled persons with 20 years of personal experience in the use of wheelchairs.

PETALING JAYA: For the sake of a proper education, they have to go through terrible hardship — like attending school in diapers or urinating in bottles.

Gan Mun Wai, 13, from Ipoh and Kenny Lee Man Jun, 13, from Klang are students with special needs studying at SMK Sri Permata near here. Until recently, the school had no toilet facilities for such students.

“We want to achieve our dreams,” said Mun Wai.

Mun Wai, who has suffered from spina bifida (split spine) since birth, was forced to wear pampers to school while Man Jun, who has muscular dystrophy had to urinate into a bottle before pouring it into the toilet.

Special kids: Gan Mun Wai (behind in green tie), Ooi Wai Chong (with a red school bag), Kam Yu Choi, Leong Yao Wen and Kenny Lee Man Jun, getting ready for school.

However, 10 months after both Gan and Lee started starting going to the school, it managed to secure additional allocation to modify a store room into a disabled-friendly toilet.

School principal Ong Hock Thye said the Petaling Utama district education office approved the RM15,000 allocation after several follow-ups.

Next year, another student with special needs, Song Pei Xuan, will be joining the boys in the school.

Pei Xuan has also faced great difficulty in completing her primary school education in SS2 near here.

She had to wear diapers to school and a maid would have to change her diapers during recess everyday as the school also did not have a disabled-friendly toilet.

All three are currently staying at Beautiful Gate Foundation for the Disabled in SS2 and they are sent to school everyday by a disabled-friendly van.

They are among six students — three in primary schools — who are staying at the foundation.

Three other boys, Kam Yu Choi, Leong Yao Wen and Ooi Wai Chang, are currently attending other schools which do not have toilet facilities for students with special needs.

The Star: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/12/6/nation/5243181&sec=nation

SIMPLY captivating. This best summed up the dance performances by a group of wheelchair-bound persons with their able-bodied partners in a fund-raising concert in Penang.

It was also a night of fun for the 33 disabled persons on wheelchairs as they ‘danced’ and swayed to the rhythmic beats of the songs with their partners at the event held at the Jit Sin Independent High School in Bukit Mertajam.

The audience clapped along as the performers captivated them with creative dance movements that were specially choreographed for wheelchair-bound persons to perform with able-bodied partners.

Themed ‘Creativity Beyond Limitations’, the three-hour long concert was pre- sented by members of the Beautiful Gate Foundation For the Disabled (BGF).

The dancers performing from their wheelchairs.

BGF executive director Sia Siew Chin said the show was aimed at creating awareness that disabled persons on wheelchairs were part of the nation’s rich multi-cultural society.

In the show’s first segment, BGF presented a cultural dance showcasing eight disabled boys and girls on wheelchairs together with their partners in matching traditional costumes.

Next was a segment called Joyfulness in Life where nine disabled persons and their accompanying volunteers performed a dance skit to the upbeat numbers Macarena and YMCA.

During this item, one of the disabled persons suddenly fell off the wheelchair and struggled to get back on it.

Rock and roll: BGF members show that onw can have fund and style even on a wheelchair.

“This skit is to depict the difficulties that disabled persons have to face in life.

“But, with perseverance and determi-nation, they can succeed in the end,” Sia explained.

Subsequently, four disabled persons on wheelchairs and volunteers participated in separate ballroom dance items, namely the rock & roll, samba, rumba and cha-cha.

“This item is to showcase that disabled persons can also live together and enjoy life with other able-bodied persons,” Sia said.

Four children, aged between seven and 14 years, later took part in a disabled children’s wheelchair dance presentation, where they used sign language to relate heartfelt messages through two Mandarin songs.

And, after visually impaired singer Daniel Yap belted out three melodious Hokkien numbers, the BGF Performing Arts Troupe members regrouped for the finale where they invited the audience to join them in a freestyle dance.

Earlier, pastor Lee Lip Hock from the Bukit Mertajam Chinese Methodist Church (BMCMC) presented a cheque for RM153,039 that was raised from the concert’s ticket sales and sponsorship to Sia. BMCMC was the event co-organiser.

“We will use the money to buy teaching aid and as well as equipment and amenities for disabled youths at our BGF Kampar Centre in Ipoh, Perak,” said Sia.

Also present was State Youth, Sports, Women, Family and Community Deve-lopment Committee chairman Lydia Ong Kok Fooi.

For details on BGF, visit their website at http://www.beautifulgate.org.my/

Source from: http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2009/7/31/north/4371706&sec=north

By YIP YOKE TENG

DO YOU know that local councils in Malaysia are paying 40% to 70% of its annual access tax for rubbish disposal?

That is to say, a large chunk of your money has to be used to deal with rubbish. And, if everyone takes that small step to start reducing waste production from home, we can put that whopping sum for better social and physical developments.

A simple way to do so is to make your own eco enzyme that acts as an effective cleaning agent, replacing soaps and detergents made of chemicals that pollute underground water, then rivers, and eventually the entire ecology.

You can learn how to do that from the Justlife Group at The Star’s Green Day Celebration 2009 slated for this Sunday from 8am to 3pm at the Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM), Kepong.

 This is how we do it: Low showing a Star employee how to make eco enzyme at home.

The company, Beautiful Gate Foundation for the Disabled and Section 19 Petaling Jaya Residents’ Association, with the support of Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) and Danish International Development Assistance (Danida), have embarked on a project promoting the use of eco enzyme.

It will also conduct an “Earth-Saving Diet” presentation from 10am to 11am on that day.

“Just remember the 1:3:10 proportion. To make the eco enzyme, prepare one portion of brown sugar, three portions of fruit peels or vegetable dregs in relation to 10 portions of water and put them all into an air-tight container,” the company’s communication executive Connie Low said during a demonstration held at The Star’s headquarters recently.

The evenly mixed contents are then left for fermentation over three months. The cover has to be opened once everyday during the first month to release gas.

According to Low, eco enzyme can be used as detergent, dish cleanser, natural antiseptic, air freshener and even for pet care and pest control.

“It can significantly reduce waste produced from our kitchens,” she said.

Technical advisor Dr Theng Lee Chong from Danida also gave some insight on the country’s solid waste management.

He said even though recycling efforts in Malaysia had beefed up over the past few years, more could be done for the ailing planet.

The Star’s Green Day Celebration 2009 to take place mainly at the FRIM football field will be abuzz with activities to spread the message of ‘’Go Green, Live Green”, the theme this year.

There will be guided nature trails, canopy walks and tree climbing demonstrations conducted by the Malaysian Nature Society and FRIM.

BonusLink will run a variety of activities with sand art for children being among the highlights while Philips energy-saving bulbs will be given away at The Star booth on the day.

The Permanis Recycling Stop will give away Revive canned drinks for recycled newspapers, Skateline will show how to do in-line staking while WWF Malaysia will collect signatures in support of its ongoing turtle campaign.

The Drum Circle, BRATS and Kuntum will also be there to sizzle up the atmosphere. Suria FM and TV3 will provide live entertainment with prominent artistes Malaysian Idol Farah Asyikin and Fazli Zainal and Akademi Fantasia artiste Aizat taking the stage.

As for the RED FM’s Morning Breakfast Crew, it will be promoting its popular campaign “Shake Our Hands to Win 10 Grand with JD & Dilly!” at the venue.

Better still, there’s a Car Boot Sale for you to do some shopping. FRIM has taken up six cars while the others had been made available to the public. Interested parties can contact 03-6279 7591/ 7577 (Hazlin/ Salmah) to register.

The event is open to the public free of charge. Visitors are encouraged to take public transport as parking bays are limited, and do come wearing green to show your love for Mother Nature.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/6/4/gogreenlivegreen/4041226&sec=gogreenlivegreen

By TAN CHENG LI

Enthusiasts claim that garbage enzyme works its magic indoors and outdoors. But not everyone is convinced of its benefits.

IT IS every housewife’s dream – a multipurpose cleaner that is all-natural, environment- friendly, non-toxic, free of synthetic chemicals and best of all, can be made from kitchen scraps.

Sounds too good to be true, right? But many who have made and used this cleaner swear by it. Making this wonder cleaner merely involves fermenting kitchen waste with brown sugar and water for three months. The resulting brown, vinegary solution is commonly called garbage enzyme and is diluted with water for use – and it appears to be able to work miracles.

Testimonies on its uses appear endless: to do the dishes and laundry, mop the floor, scrub the toilet and bathroom, remove stubborn stains, for body care, as deodoriser and antiseptic and to clear blockages in pipes and drains. It will even repel ants, mosquitoes, cockroaches, lizards.

Using citrus fruit waste will lend a pleasant scent to the garbage enzyme.

In farms, garbage enzymes have found use as a natural pesticide, herbicide, fertiliser and odour remover, and is also added to animal feed to improve digestion of livestock. And in the garden, it will make your plants flourish, bloom and fruit. Prisca Loke can testify to that. “Because of my busy schedule, I never had time to take care of my plants and they looked horrible. But after I sprayed them with garbage enzymes, they grew lush and started flowering. That converted me into a garbage enzyme user,” says the assistant human resource manager.

Loke now relies on garbage enzymes for many of her household chores. She finds it effective in removing grease from pots and pans and kitchen counters, as well as stubborn stains from her children’s white school shirts (she soaks them in diluted enzyme solution before the normal laundering).

Most of what she knows is from experimenting and sharing experience with friends.

“I could not find any scientific analysis on the enzyme on the Internet but from my personal experience and talking with friends, I find that the enzyme is useful.”

She has tried fermenting different fruit wastes since all will produce different enzymes, and some might be more effective for certain tasks than others. Ever willing to share her knowledge, Loke has given demonstrations on enzyme-making to her colleagues at Sunrise Bhd and residents of Sunrise Mont Kiara in Kuala Lumpur.

Enzyme evangelists

Dr Joean Oon uses diluted enzyme solution to clean vegetables.

Poultry seller Tan Yew Leong has also turned enzyme-advocate after seeing how it has reduced foul odours emanating from the Section 17 market in Petaling Jaya, Selangor .

“The market used to smell as the council only cleans it once a week or once a month by spraying water. Since we started spraying the enzyme (diluted with water) daily, it is not so smelly and there are fewer flies. The drains are also cleaner,” says Tan who has been making full use of vegetable and fruit discards at the market.

His home is filled with about 100 tanks, both big and small, of fermenting waste.

“Some other hawkers are also making the enzyme themselves after seeing its effectiveness,” says Tan, who provides free enzyme for cleansing of the market. He also sells the solution by the bottles but thinks it best that people make it themselves as they would reduce their waste.

Tan uses the enzyme liberally at home. “About 70% of the cleaning at home is now done using the enzyme, for mopping the floor and cleaning the toilets and bathroom. My family has reduced the use of chemicals and there are no more cockroaches in my house,” says the satisfied user.

The benefits of garbage enzymes is said to extend beyond the home. Apparently, when enzyme-laced wastewater flows down kitchen sinks and bathroom pipes, it supposedly continues to work its magic in drains, sewers and eventually, streams and rivers. This idea has spurred a project to get some 10,000 households in Petaling Jaya to produce their own garbage enzyme for home use.

The Danish-funded project by Section 19 Residents Association, Justlife (an organic food chain) and Beautiful Gate Foundation for the Disabled, will see enzyme-making demonstrations for residents’ associations and other community groups in the next five months. In Thailand, households’ use of garbage enzymes is said to have helped keep some streams clean.

“When people use the enzyme to clean dishes and do the laundry, the discharged water will finally end up in ponds and streams, so indirectly cleaning up the water bodies,” says Lee Lih Shyan, senior assistant director of the Local Agenda 21 programme at Petaling Jaya City Council. This approach benefits the environment more than that of pouring drums of garbage enzymes into ponds and rivers to cleanse the water bodies as practised by some communities in Penang. Lee says cleaning up ponds and rivers this way is an exercise in futility if pollution is not stemmed at the source.

“Such efforts will not be effective unless there is a group producing the enzyme in large quantities and continuously pouring it into the river. There is no point in doing it once or twice,” he says.

Where is the science

But exactly how and why this miraculous solution works is unclear. Even its advocates can’t quite explain the science behind it.

“There have been tests done but all the information is in Thai. I do not have the resources to get them translated into English or to research into how it works. And I’m not a chemist, so I don’t know how to explain it.

All I can say is that people have used it, and it works,” says Penang-based naturopathy practitioner Dr Joean Oon, Oon had learnt about garbage enzymes from its originator, Dr Rosukon Poompanvong, a pioneer of Thailand’s organic farming movement and a Food and Agriculture Organisation award recipient for her work in using fermented organic waste for crop fertilisation, pest protection and livestock feed.

Scientists spoken to say it is the microorganisms present in waste that produce the enzymes. The fermentation produces acetic acid, characterised by its vinegary smell, and it is the acid that gives the solution its cleaning prowess; vinegar, after all, is a traditional household cleaner.

The usefulness of enzymes has long been known. Enzymes act as catalysts – they increase the rates of chemical reactions.

In the human body, enzymes help in digestion and other bodily functions.

In wastewater treatment, enzymes accelerate decomposition of organic substances.

Enzymes have also found their way into commercial goods: in detergents, they improve the cleaning performance while in cleaning solutions, they eat away organic material that clog up pipes.

While the cleansing ability of garbage enzymes can be explained, claims on its other abilities seem pretty far-fetched – for instance, its role in repairing the ozone layer and in reducing global warming. Its proponents say ozone generated by the enzyme solution will bind with heavy metals in the air to reduce global warming. The ozone will also react with other elements such as nitrogen and sulphur to form nitrates and sulphates, which make good plant nutrients.

The science behind these claims, however, is sketchy. It does not help that the few documents available from Oon have been poorly translated into English from Thai. In Internet chat groups, some have censured the claims, especially the one about repairing the ozone hole. It is argued that ground-level ozone is unstable and will break into oxygen before it has any chance to migrate to the stratosphere (10 to 48km above sea level) to form the beneficial ozone layer that prevents harmful UV radiation from reaching the Earth.

Also, ground-level ozone (it results when nitrogen oxides and organic gases, emitted by automobiles and industrial sources, react with air) is a toxic gas and irritant, and causes smog. In recent technologies, ozone is used to disinfect water as well as sterilise air and certain foods but the amount of ozone produced in garbage enzymes is so low that it would have little effectiveness.

Possible toxins

Sewerage plants do rely on beneficial bacteria to break down waste but no one knows for sure if the flushing of garbage enzymes down the toilet, as advocated by its proponents, would not lead to ill effects in the long term.

Likewise, flooding lakes and rivers with enzymes might be harmful if too much is used – it might well deplete oxygen levels in the water due to higher organic matter. Also, the anaerobic fermentation involved (the enzyme is made in an air-tight container) will release methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Dr P. Agamuthu, a professor in waste management at Universiti Malaya, has questions too regardin g garbage enzyme. That the solution is beneficial for plants does not surprise him as it is rich in nutrients from the sugar.

However, he is wary about using the solution in the shower and to wash dishes and food. “Since it involves fermentation of waste, there might be pathogens in the mixture. In normal composting of solid waste which is water-free, temperatures can reach to 65°C to 70°C, and this will destroy most pathogens. Fermentation, however, will never reach this temperature, especially when water is added.”

He is uncertain if it is the enzymes, or other chemicals that are doing the job. To clear these doubts, Agamuthu intends to conduct his own tests with the enzyme to see what it contains and its effect on plants and soil.

Following the barrage of criticisms, Oon has decided to stop linking garbage enzymes with ozone depletion and global warming – but only because she is stumped when asked to explain the scien ce. She adds that she does not urge people to pour the enzymes into rivers to clean waterways – that was done initially just to create an activity and to promote public awareness.

Sincere in wanting to encourage green practices, she now expounds on only one aspect of garbage enzymes: “It makes good use of kitchen waste which would otherwise end up in landfills and generate methane, a potent greenhouse gas. It is something that housewives can do. And the enzyme also reduces our reliance on chemical cleaners, detergent and fertilisers.”

Ambiguities aside, the garbage enzyme movement has found quite a following and many attest to its efficacy. Still, until more tests are done on its contents and long-term effects, it might be wise to use it judiciously.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/4/7/gogreenlivegreen/20090406185815&sec=gogreenlivegreen

MNRB Holdings Berhad (MNRB) and its wholly-owned subsidiary company, Malaysian Reinsurance Berhad (Malaysian Re) celebrated Chinese New Year with 43 disabled people of Beautiful Gate Caring Centre in Petaling Jaya recently.

They donated RM5,000 to the home and presented food hampers to the residents.

Beautiful Gate Caring Centre was established in 1995 and is located at No. 29, Jalan SS2/59, Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan.

For details on the home, call Edward Lee Sui Fat at 03-7873 6579 or 017-884 3366.