00:00For nearly three decades, a call to serve has been a lifeline for sick refugees and
00:05asylum seekers in Malaysia, providing medical care and shelter to the most vulnerable.
00:11But in January, everything changed. A sudden 2 million ringgit a year US funding cut brought
00:18ACTS to the brink. Now, it's struggling to stay afloat, needing over 100,000 ringgit each month
00:25to keep two convalescent homes, a clinic, and mobile teams running. ACTS began in 1998 when
00:34Father Paul Das, then an assistant parish priest at St. Francis Xavier Church in Patalingjaya,
00:40gave shelter to two refugee families at the Jesuit house in Section 5, an Iranian family
00:46with a newborn suffering from a heart defect and a Congolese couple expecting a child.
00:51That simple act of compassion sparked something greater. Volunteers like Rosemary Chong stepped
00:58in and helped transform it into a movement. ACTS later launched mobile clinics, opened the
01:04Arrupe Clinic in Brickfields where refugees could safely seek treatment, and built two
01:09sanctuaries in Batu Arang to care for the chronically ill. With early support from the United Nations
01:15High Commissioner for Refugees and Jesuit Refugee Service, ACTS expanded across peninsular Malaysia.
01:23But by 2007, international funding began to shrink, and UNHCR support was gradually reduced.
01:30A US State Department grant in 2010 helped restore stability, until it was abruptly withdrawn in January
01:372025, part of a broader rollback of US foreign aid. This crisis is not just ACTSs to bear. It reflects a
01:47global retreat in humanitarian aid, where children go unvaccinated, mothers miss prenatal care, and bedbound
01:54patients are left without relief. You can help restore care where it's needed most. Donate, organize a
02:01fundraiser, volunteer your skills, or share this story, and stand with those who've never stopped serving others.
02:16Frankie Dacruz and Danish Rajareza, FMT.
Comments