By Olivia Condous
Rahayu Johan is a member of the Human and Moral Development Centre Inc (HMDC), a not-for-profit group that works to support muslim and multicultural Melton residents. She spoke with Star Weekly reporter Olivia Condous about the work of the organisation to support the Melton community, including the recent Ramadan Project initiative which supported local families.
How did the Melton Human and Moral Development Centre come to be?
The rising number of new migrants, residents and families in the Melton suburbs that required assistance to integrate into the community was brought to our attention. Most of the families come from a limited English language background and they tend to isolate themselves from the community due to their weaknesses. They need support in completing forms, getting to know the available amenities and even integrating themselves with other community members in Melton. We also noticed that the existing Melton residents that are elderly, single parents and low-income families required support from other community members.
How can the local community better help new residents and migrants to feel welcome?
We hope that with our projects, we could unite the new and existing residents to support each other. With the existing and emerging community needs, our dedicated volunteers come together to form HMDC with the vision to empower a sense of social responsibility in the community for Melton residents. Our primary aim is to be the bridge to elevate and support the humanitarian and moral development. If we could get more financial support such as grants, there could be more projects that we can provide. Our finance is very limited as it is mainly from community donations.
Why is it important to have community initiatives like the Ramadhan Project?
Ramadan is the most precious month in the Islamic calendar (Hijri). This year, we had our Ramadhan from 3rd April till 2nd May 2022. It is a month where we are encouraged to be closer to Allah and to all His creations. We are also encouraged to be united and help the poor both economically and spiritually. Thus, it is very rewarding act in Ramadan to offer Iftar (sunset meal to break fast) to those who are fasting. We had three Ramadhan Projects this year. For the first one, we provided iftar food to four musollah (a place to pray since there is no mosque) in Melton twice a week. We also hosted iftar for the community at Medina Musollah in Melton. Thirdly, we collaborated with Melton Sisters Picnic Group to provide iftar every Sunday to HMDC recipients, who are low income families that reach out to us for support, in Melton.
