JOHOR BAHRU: Hotels and resorts here played their part in spreading the Ramadan joy to the less fortunate, treating them to a sumptuous buka puasa dinners and handing out Raya aid.

Sand & Sandals Desaru Beach Resort & SPA treated some 70 children aged between 10 and 17 years with their teachers and staff to a hearty buka puasa dinner recently.

The children were from Pertubuhan Kebajikan Anak-anak Yatim Islam Kota Tinggi (PKAYI), an organization dedicated to assisting orphaned and impoverished children in Johor.

Smiles were etched on the faces of these children as for some it was their first visit to the resort.

The home was established in 1990 and is located in Kota Tinggi. They provide care, education and guidance for orphans and underprivileged children.

Meanwhile, the resort collaborated with Dash Outdoors to organize this memorable event.

Dash Outdoors is the appointed vendor to run both watersport and team building at the resort.

Present for the buka puasa were Lim Lily Lian, general manager of the resort, Simon M Murphy, director of Dash Outdoors, Mohd Najib Abdullah, the resort’s executive assistant manager, Dato’ Mohamad Mahmood, director of PKAYI and staff of PKAYI.

The children, staff of PKAYI and the resort’s officials broke fast together indulging in a buffet spread prepared by the resort.

The children and their teachers were treated to an array of local delicacies at the resort’s The Shore.

Mohd Najib said the annual charity event was part of the resort’s sharing and caring community commitments programme.

“Meeting the children is rewarding and truly promotes the spirit of Ramadan,” he said.

“We wanted the children to know that we care and remember them during this special season,” added Mohd Najib.

With more than 100 traditional dishes to choose from, the buffet featured a spread of local favourites.

It also offers dishes like bubur lambuk, kambing golek, satay, gulai kawah, rending ayam, murtabak, clamps on ice, nasi beriani, sambal udang and a wide range of desserts.

Lim Lily said the resort continued to give their commitment to the community through this yearly event.

“We hope this gift from our hearts will continue to bring more smiles, joy and happiness,” she said.

She said there is no greater joy than to be able to bring some warmth and good cheer to these children.

“This is just a small, little gesture on our part. But we hope that the joy of sharing spreads on,” said Lim Lily.

“This is an ideal platform for us to spread our values in dealing with social and environmental concerns, as well as in carrying our responsibility as a corporate citizen that cares, and in the most earnest and ethical way, build an all-caring community that transcends racial and religious boundaries,” she stressed.

Meanwhile, Simon Murphy said Ramadan has always been a time of sharing, generosity, compassion and tolerance.

“The programme this evening reflects the goodwill in line with the core values embedded in the resort’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme,” he said.

Muhamad Aidil Hazim Romlee, 17, enjoyed the trip with his friends and thanked everyone with organizing it.

Muhamad Aidil’s father passed away many years ago. His mother is a housewife. He has two brothers and a sister.

“The meal was nice and we had a fun time,” he said in an interview with ApaKhabar TV.

He said it was great to come out and see new things.

He is grateful as it was his second time visiting the resort.

Siti Balkhis Ahmad Tajuddin, also 17, said it was nice to be given the opportunity to come to a resort to break-fast.

“I did not expect the resort to host the buka puasa for us and for this I am grateful to them,” she remarked.

Siti whose father passed away a few years ago has four brothers and a sister.

“There was a great spread of food and it we were really spoilt for choices,” she said.

Before leaving the resort, the children were each given a green packet or “duit raya’ to take home. This initiative of handing out the duit raya was from Lim Lily, Mohd Najib and Simon Murphy.

Lim Lily said the event was about giving back to society and her team looked forward to more such occasions in future.