Captain Ritzerwan (third left), Samin (third right), MASwings officers and staff in a group picture with the children on their arrival from Lahad Datu.
KOTA KINABALU: MASwings made the dreams of 37 children from three orphanages under Yayasan Dakwah Islamiah Malaysian (YADIM) Sabah come true when it flew them on a return trip to Lahad Datu.
The children were from Rumah Anak Yatim As-Sakinah in Papar, Rumah Anak Yatim Al-Aman in Beaufort and Yayasan Kebajikan Suria in Tuaran.
They were flown to Lahad Datu on Saturday where they stayed the night before flying home yesterday.
On hand to welcome them home yesterday was MASwings chief executive officer Captain Ritzerwan Rashid who later told a press conference that it was the third time the airline and Yadim Sabah had flown children from the orphanages it manages to other districts in Sabah.
“In 2011, we flew the children to Tawau and last year, it was to Sandakan. We will continue supporting Yadim’s ‘Program Penerbangan Prihatin’ for as long as MASwings operates in Sabah,” Captain Ritzerwan said.
The program aims to contribute to the community through meaningful partnerships benefiting the underprivileged and those from the remote areas in Sabah and Sarawak.
“Apart from being fun and exciting for the children, we hoped that the educational trip has been an eye-opener for the children as we wanted to expose them to different surroundings and give them new knowledge.
“For MASwings, we want to open up their young minds to a new world as part of motivating them to aim higher in life,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, Yadim Sabah chairman Samin Ongki said that Yadim manages five orphanages in Sabah, namely, Rumah Anak Yatim Tambunan, Rumah Darul Bakti Kota Belud, Rumah Anak Yatim As-Sakinah in Papar, Rumah Anak Yatim Al-Aman in Beaufort and Yayasan Kebajikan Suria in Tuaran.
There are about 300 children from ages five to 16 years old staying in these orphanages, he said.
“Through Yadim’s ‘Program Penerbangan Prihatin’ with MASwings, we hope to motivate these children to study hard so that they can get a good education and better life which will also mean that they can travel by air again.
“These children come from poor single parent families and for many, it is the first time they have ever flown in an airplane. So hopefully they will be motivated to study harder so that they can afford to fly again in the future,” he said.
Samin also expressed Yadim’s gratitude to MASwings for its continued cooperation and support of its ‘Program Penerbangan Prihatin’.