KUALA LUMPUR: Through Yayasan Iltizam Banafee, actress Betty Banafe who is also its chairperson, recently organised the Infaq Artis programme to help fellow creative industry players whom had lost their income due to Covid-19 and the stay-at-home order.
The 41-year-old artiste said that the initiative came about after receiving a string of messages needing some assistance in order to continue their livelihood.
The programme is realised with the co-operation from other non-governmental organisations including OKU Sentral, Gabungan Pelajar Melayu Semenanjung, Gerakan Transformasi Anak Seni (GTAS), Persatuan Konsortium Industri Rakaman Malaysia (Irama) and Yayasan Kebajikan Artis Tanah Air (YKAT).
"Imagine getting messages from those lamenting how hard life had been for them due to loss of source income, with some cannot afford baby formula or even fill up petrol into their tanks to come and meet me to get assistance.
"Some were not eligible to get the help offered by Seniman, since they are not from the filming industry," she said in a news report today.
Through Infaq Artis, held last Friday, a total of 150 individuals from the creative industry, such as actors, singers, musicians, buskers and make-up artistes received basic necessities such as cooking oil, rice and other goodies.
Betty also welcomed donations for future initiatives like this.
"I hope to be able to organise this again. Last year, I did one in Johor and this year I've been fortunate enough to organise this here as I've just opened a branch (of the foundation) here in Kuala Lumpur," said Betty who also plans to organise a virtual concert to help musicians whom had been out of work since last year.
"We hope to pay the musicians with the proceeds from the sale of tickets," she explained.