JARO celebrates Chinese New Year

The Johor Area Rehabilitation Organisation (JARO) committee, staff and volunteers kept their annual tradition of celebrating Chinese New Year with a sumptuous lunch at the New York Hotel Johor Baru recently.

JARO chairman, Datuk Jimmy Low Boon Hong, helping
to serve JARO staff at the Chinese New Year lunch

They were joined by well-wishers including representatives from the five Chinese dialect groups in the Johor Baru Chinese community who shared their goodwill by presenting the gift of ang pau to the Jaro staff.

Jaro celebrates Chinese New Year, along with Hari Raya Aidil Fitri and Christmas, every year with its staff, who are artisans with disabilities.

Founded in 1952 as a rehabilitation centre for TB patients, JARO has evolved into an established charity with a sheltered workshop where people with disability are trained and employed in the book-binding, basketry and tailoring sections. 

Their book-binding section continues to receive job orders not only from local customers but also from an international clientele who appreciate the fine quality of their work.

“JARO has been able to train and provide employment to our disabled staff for the past 65 years through the support of generous donors and sponsors,” said JARO chairman, Datuk Jimmy Low Boon Hong.

JARO staff receiving ang pau from JARO well-wishers

Low leads a committee of socially conscious aprofessionals to manage the charity which also has a gift shop that sells quality handicrafts.

He expressed his appreciation for the well-wishers’ loyal support and generosity and also thanked the New York Hotel management for their kind sponsorship of the Chinese New Year lunch with JARO.

JARO not only provides jobs and enables their staff to receive a fixed income, but through annual festive events and social outings, they have the opportunity to interact with the community.

Low was pleased with the success stories where trained JARO staff were able to leave the sheltered workshop and find employment in the private sector.

Besides enjoying the sumptuous buffet spread in this annual outing for JARO staff, the highlight of the event must be the presentation of ang pau from well-wishers.

Also present at the event were representatives from Think City, a community-based urban regeneration body and subsidiary of Khazanah Nasional Berhad, who are working with JARO for the sheltered workshop to be upgraded to offer a better working environment to its staff and more employment opportunities to the disabled.

A JARO well-wisher presenting ang pau to the staff

Marlborough College Malaysia master, Robert Pick and his wife were also at the event and he shared about the college’s participation with JARO in a two-fold outreach.

Besides sending some 20 students to JARO fortnightly to do volunteer work there, Marlborough College Malaysia also held fund-raising events to donate the sum of RM12,000 to JARO recently.

“Part of my responsibility as master of Marlborough College is to involve our students with the needy in the local community,” said Pick, who added that their students also participated in events with schools for special children and a home for the aged.

JARO is run on an annual government grant and public donations, the bulk of which goes towards staff salaries and operation costs.

To make a tax-exempt donation email: jarokraf@hotmail.com or visit JARO at Jalan Sungai Chat, JB.  It is open Sunday to Thursday from 8am to 5pm daily.