MUHAMMAD Syafiq Mobin is an assistant manager for marketing, communication, and corporate social responsibilities at a local bank.
When he is not at work, the 33-year-old generously dedicates his time to volunteering.
He explained: “It started in 2010, right after graduating from university. My good friend’s mother was the one who opened the orphanage, known as Raudhatul Alfaeez, and I volunteered there as a welfare manager, and have maintained that role until today.
“The orphanage was initially located in Gombak, but we had to move due to a tragic incident where the building was burnt down, completely.
“So, we are now located at a temporary location in Keramat, while we are rebuilding the old place, which is on our own land. However, Covid-19 has halted the rebuilding process.
“When we first started, we had five to six boys, then it expanded into 30 boys, which is quite a big number. We don’t plan to grow bigger as we plan to focus on the kids, and we want to ensure that they each get enough attention.”
Syafiq’s initiative of providing aid to those in need was given recognition by the current United States secretary of state Mike Pompeo, through Twitter.
“Our target was RM10,000, and within two weeks, we actually managed to accumulate around RM30,000. We distributed the funds to approximately 160 families around Malaysia, according to their needs.
“It has not stopped there. Since the public has been continuously supplying funds, we could afford to come up with many more alternatives to provide aid to even more people.”
Syafiq began getting involved in welfare work at a young age, and he hopes to see the younger generation put more effort in positively impacting society.
“If you look on social media, most teenagers are wasting time on less important things. I believe that the younger generation should gain more awareness, and learn to be more active in volunteer work, and that is what I try to influence my peers to do.”
Meanwhile, Syafiq recalls how his journey into charitable giving started.
“My mother indirectly instilled the interest in welfare work into me while I was growing up. Whenever we went out, and we saw people on the street asking for food or money, my mum set a great example by always donating. Then, when I gifted money to my mum for her birthday, she would ask me to donate it to the needy instead. So, that eventually became a habit for me.”
