Malaysians who wish to help the needy are encouraged to fly a purple flag in solidarity. – Picture courtesy of JagaKita.co
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 7 – Most Malaysians are quite familiar with the white flag movement, which started a few months ago amid the full lockdown.
The movement aimed at helping lower-income families whose livelihood was severely affected due to the Covid-19 pandemic and prolonged movement restrictions.
In response, neighbours, non-governmental organisations and even businesses came together to offer help, providing food and other essentials.
To keep the momentum alive and get the movement going, local developer Reza Razali set up a website called KitaJaga.co to bridge the gap between those who need help and those who wish to help.
Although the movement had a good start, Reza said it eventually saw a significant decline in participation.
“Initially, we had 29,195 people registered to donate via Kita Jaga but only 3,990 have actually done so.
“Many donors dropped off as they cited health and safety concerns in having to manage the deliveries.”
With that in mind, Reza said they recently launched the Purple Flag Movement to encourage the generous Malaysians to keep the spirit of giving back alive.
Reza said the initiative aims to overcome the health risk challenges as there will be a team to manage the pick-up and deliveries.
“In that case, we can effectively bridge the gap between the donors and recipients.
“By doing so, we hope to encourage more folks to come forward to help, even those who have dropped off.”
Reza said since they kicked off the purple flag campaign in early September, they have managed to help 53 recipients.
However, he said there are still many more white flags unanswered.
“In the areas where the initiative has been launched, we encourage everyone who can help to step forward with their donations and we will ensure it gets to those who need it.”
According to Reza, the number of white flags on KitaJaga.co outnumbers purple flags at a ratio of 17:1.
“This shows the pressing need for more donors to come forward and help those in need by ensuring their pleas do not go unnoticed.”
The JagaKita.co website is designed to bridge the donors with the needy community. – Picture courtesy of JagaKita.co
Those who wish to extend a helping hand to those in need may register at KitaJaga.co and simply pin a virtual purple flag to your location.
You may then prepare your donation such as daily necessities before the Purple Flag team collects the donation from you to pass to the homes with white flags.