PHNOM PENH: The Secretary of State of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Secretary-General of the Disability Action Council, Em Chan Makara, has announced that he will donate 1 million riels of his salary every month until the end of 2023 to Association Music of Disabled People (AMD).

He has stated that he decided to make this monthly donation commitment because he saw the difficulties the association faced during the Covid-19 crisis, which negatively affected the association's revenue.

This announcement was made on Thursday, while the Secretary of State was representing the Minister of Social Affairs, Vong Sauth, when delivering the gifts of Prime Minister Hun Sen and First Lady Bun Rany Hun Sen to AMD, on the occasion of the New Year and in commemoration of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

The President of AMD, Chap To, has said that the pandemic affected the band's work and that the association has no foreign donors and only local helpers, making it very difficult for the association to meet its responsibility of covering the cost of water, electricity and food for its members.

He thanked Secretary of State Em Chan Makara for deciding to donate part of his salary to AMD, saying that the regular monthly donation until the end of 2023 will help to alleviate the difficulties that the association is facing, as well as provide encouragement to its members to continue doing their work.

President Chap To also expressed his thanks to Prime Minister Hun Sen and First Lady Bun Rany Hun Sen, who he said has always taken care of AMD and given several gifts over the course of the pandemic. He also thanked the Minister of Social Affairs, Vong Sauth, for taking care of the association staff when some members had previously become infected with Covid-19.