Gratitude is in the giving: Indeed, a gratitude to the One and Almighty.
The smile on your face is our fulfilment.
Mission
Uplifting the dignity of the less fortunate through giving and sharing.
The Beginning
Nor Aini Foundation was founded in 1997 by Nor Aini Ali who is also the founder of Midas Paradigm and Midas Touch. It is an endeavour to bring to life the philosophy of philanthropy that she believes in and cherishes — the reflection of which is expressed through the values, vision, and mission of the Foundation. If Midas Paradigm and Midas Touch are her revenue-generating vehicles, the giving and sharing are channelled through the Foundation. To her, the fulfilment out of giving and sharing is the smile brought to, and the glint of happiness reflected on, the faces of the less fortunate helped by her.
The Backdrop
The Foundation is a story of a sensitive human soul touched and moved by the socio-economic disparities in the society we live in, and their consequential ills and iniquities. Already infused in her the spirit of entrepreneurship and the meaning of frugality (through her late mother) since her younger days, it was her late teacher who had shown and taught her the ‘geist’ of giving and sharing. She sees the many ironies and paradoxes in the society we live in today — the singular reflection of which is the material acquisitiveness and greed of its members: the more they have, the less they care — to give and share. And, they are antithetical, if not an anathema, to the spiritual values that she was brought up with. Already a score in the present century, yet the ironies and paradoxes are no different from what they were during the decades of the last. Child abuses, wife beatings, single mothers, neglected and abandoned old parents (apart from the heinous crimes of the killing of unborn child out of wedlock and other atrocities) are on the rise at a scale that can be deemed to be alarming. It is her belief that the psychological scars left on the victims can be deep-seated. The probabilities of the problems, if left uncared and untreated, being passed on to those close to the victims are great. Those close to the victims can, in turn, become potential perpetrators — thus, the viciousness of the vicious cycle. And, she sees that the ‘gated’ mind of many can be likened, metaphorically, to the gated communities that they live in. Our society today, in her view, has lost the noble values of the old — where the members cared for, and took care of, one another. In other words, the ‘Gemeinschaft’ (‘kekitaan’) that we were yesterday has increasingly given way to the ‘Gesellschaft’ (‘keindividuan’) that we are today.
The Breadth
The Foundation is independent from any form of external funding. It is Nor Aini Ali’s belief that giving and sharing can only be meaningfully true through internally-generated funding. The breadth of its reach, given its funding resources, is primarily focussed on target groups that are close and dear to her heart. They are:
the aged (especially those neglected or abandoned by their children);
abused housewives and single mothers; and,
children (‘handicapped’ and terminally ill).
Apart from the disbursement of direct financial aid, the Foundation provides programmes that are specific to the target groups. Loneliness, depression, and melancholia are a few of the psychological ailments and traumas affecting the aged and abused housewives — compounded by dented, if not low, self-esteem and sense of abandonment and betrayal. Experts are engaged to counsel them on how to overcome such ailments and traumas. In the case of single mothers, motivational talks, including vocational advice and guidance, are offered to empower them to be financially and economically independent.
And the Story Continues...
Nor Aini Ali’s dream is to acquire a piece of land amidst lush foliage with a clear-water stream running through it — to provide shelter and care for the aged and abused housewives and single mothers. The latter, in turn, would be trained to take care of the former. Another of her dream to complete the story is to pass down the values of giving and sharing to her children and the children of the present generation to bring back the ‘Gemeinschaft’ that we were yesterday.
It was Descartes, the French philosopher, who had once said to sum up the premise of his philosophy: “Je pense, donc je suis” (I think, therefore I am). But, the premise of Nor Aini Ali’s to turn the Foundation into a story of success can be summarised as: “je rêve tout le temp, donc je suis” (I dream all the time, therefore I am).
