FMBA to support ‘Project Shepherd’

Dominic Choi (left) and Rutger Verschuren

The French Macau Business Association (FMBA) will host its Charity Gala Dinner on January 20 to raise funds for another project of Architecture Sans Frontiérs (ASF) Macau, “Project Shepherd.”

In a press conference yesterday, FMBA chairman Rutger Verschuren announced that the eighth edition of the Gala Dinner will be themed “Le Grand bal Masqué de Versailles.”

“Guests will be led into a grand masquerade ball filled with the glorious and artistic ambiance of Versailles,” he informed the press, adding that musical and dance performances would also be given during the ball.

Similar to last year, FMBA partnered with ASF Macau, a local charity organization, to aid in renovating the infrastructure of a local association, Cradle of Hope.

This year, with the assistance of FMBA, ASF Macau will utilize the funding to renovate parts of the Good Shepherd Sisters Center.

The center is a non-profit charity in Macau for women and their young children living with disadvantage.

Verschuren said 350 people have confirmed their attendance to the gala. Yet, he was careful when questioned on the expected funds that would be raised next Friday. The FMBA president told the media that the Gala Dinner is hoping to raise funds totaling over MOP50,000.

“Project Shepherd” is looking to revamp the center in a bid to enhance the indoor environment and improve the interior lighting of the site.

The outdoor terrace and play area will be improved by the restoration of garden hardware and play equipment.

ASF Macau founding president Dominic Choi informed the press that the organization is expecting the overall project to take nine to 11 months and cost around MOP110,000.

“As soon as we have the funding, we’re going to start the planning because we have initiated the budget estimated by overlooking what can be done. […] I would imagine the construction can start just before summer time,” said Choi.

Yet according to him, the association is still searching for a contractor that could offer cost-effective planning.

Choi noted that this upcoming project has been initiated last year, however due to limited funding, they prioritized their 2016 project, “Project Cradle.”

Meanwhile, Choi noted that ASF Macau is also looking at coordinating with other local associations to provide accessibility to disabled residents.

“Another [big project] we still want to look for is the accessibility [of the disabled] but this is on our own priority list [but] it’s not as simple as doing renovations. It involves planning, it’s a much wider issue,” Choi remarked.

ASF Macau is currently collaborating with a local school to help raise funds for “Project Nepal,” a humanitarian project aimed at building eight classrooms in the province of Sindhupalchok, an area affected by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake.

Partnering with ASF Nepal, Choi noted that each classroom would roughly cost USD10,000.

FMBA’s Charity Gala Dinner will be held at MGM Macau.