Sunday, August 21, 2011
Its president Datuk Azeez Abdul Rahim said a team of 50 people comprising specialists, volunteers and journalists will land at Mogadishu airport before leaving for Merca in southern Somalia for 10 days.
They will bring along 200 tonnes of food and items donated by Malaysians and are scheduled to return on Sept 8.
“The humanitarian mission will hand out medical assistance, food and clothing to the people of Somalia.
“This is not a one-off project as more aid will come after we leave,” he said at its headquarters here yesterday.
Azeez said it was the first time that the team had extended any form of assistance to the African region and predicted that they would face different types of challenges during their stay.
“We are looking at a region which is pirate-infested and not politically stable,” he said.
He also noted that the team needed more female doctors in the mission.
“Twenty-five out of the 30 specialists are men,” he said.
“In Somalian culture, women do not socialise with men, and we hope that more female doctors would join our team.”
President of Udubland Ibrahim Abdullahi Addo, who attended the press conference, thanked Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and the club for the aid.
“We will assist the team when they are in Somalia,” he added.
Source: the star