SMARTER Brunei is organising a charity event called the "SMARTER
Brunei Charity 17-Hill Challenge 2013" which is scheduled to take place
on February 3.
A press conference was held yesterday at the
Brunei Autism Centre for Adults (BACA) in Jangsak to provide more
details on the event.
The hill challenge is a unique event
founded by SMARTER Brunei President Malai Hj Abdullah Malai Hj Othman in
2007 where he and other participants climbed five hills at Bukit
Shahbandar. The following year, he led other participants in a charity
hill climb event covering seven hills.
This year's challenge will
see participants face hill climbs in seven different locations within
the Brunei-Muara area. It will be a one-day event with two phases, and
will begin at 7am and is estimated to end at 4.30pm.
The first
phase will take place at Bukit Shahbandar, where Malai Hj Abdullah will
lead the participants in climbing 11 hills, to symbolise the struggles,
ups and downs and sacrifices parents of autistic children have had to
experience.
After Bukit Shahbandar, participants will make their
way by car to the next phase, which begins at Bukit Mentiri, followed by
Bukit Serdang in Kota Batu, Bukit Pancaran in Pintu Malim, Taman
Peranginan Tasek Lama, Markuching in Belimbing and finally Tasek
Sarubing in Subok.
"These six hills symbolise the struggle and challenges we will face in the next six years and more," said Malai Hj Abdullah.
Apart from the hill climb challenge, other games and activities will be held at its final pit stop in Tasek Sarubing.
"I
am hoping that some of the participants will join me from start to
finish but if they can't then they can just join me on one or two of the
challenges."
"I don't want people to raise funds for us while we
(SMARTER committee) just sit down. We want to work for the funds, we
want to join the event, which is why we are encouraging other parents to
join in as well."
The event is organised by SMARTER to raise funds to support its operations.
"We need to make around $45,000 to $50,000 a month to sustain our operations, which is why we will take any help given."
The
operational costs include rental fees, salary for staff and therapists
and more. According to Malai Hj Abdullah, the centre has about 100
members who pay a fee of $120, which is not enough to depend on.
SMARTER
hopes that this year's event will attract participation from the
general public as well as invited agencies and companies.
To join
the "SMARTER Brunei Charity 17-Hill Challenge 2013", participants only
need to pay $20 per person. Participants will also receive a free
t-shirt and an entry into a prize draw.
For more information,
please call SMARTER at 2654812 for its BACA Jangsak centre and 2661830
for its Sengkurong centre. The Brunei Times
