“My hard work, I am sorry to say, is going down the drain. As of today the money in the bank is only $6,960. Our overhead is $24,000. I don’t know how to pay our salary for the staff. We have 15 members who have not paid a total of $19,000.” “We have members who use our overtime services, who should pay our staff directly, but have not. I can’t go robbing the bank, I can’t go climbing hills, I can’t go running. I’m already old. I’m a 58 year old man. I’m not young. So please, because if I have to close down, those 15 families will be the first ones to be expelled.” Pleaded Malai Abdullah source; Borneo Bulletin (via Senor Pablo: Embarking on the SMARTER Journey)
I don’t know why SMARTER never get proper full support from the relevant authorities. Somehow the other charities are always favored even by other local companies or organisations when it comes to donations/support. Is it because handicapped individuals are more important than autistic kids? Is it because they think that autistic kids looks normal so eventually they’ll be fine when they grow up? I have been asking these questions and many more on why SMARTER is always having to support themselves since they existed.
Some Brunei bloggers/Twitterers are planning to do a charity drive soon but this is all just short term plans. Eventually SMARTER will need more funds again to stay open. It seems for now, they are in a never ending battle..
Source: world-of-pablo.blogspot.com