KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 2): Alpro Foundation, the charity arm of prescription pharmacy chain Alpro Pharmacy, is collaborating with a local savant artist to raise funds for the autism community in the country.

In a statement, Alpro Foundation chief executive officer (CEO) Ostwin Paw Yen Thng said the foundation is working with artist Wan Jamila Wan Shaiful Bahri to launch the limited-edition "Alpro X ARTJAMILA" wet wipes which feature three unique illustrations done by Wan Jamila.

A savant is a person affected with a mental disability (such as autism) who exhibits exceptional skill or brilliance in some limited fields.

For every bundle of wet wipes sold, 60 sen are donated to the National Autism Society of Malaysia (NASOM).

Paw said that to date, Alpro had sold over 21,000 packets of the products and successfully raised around RM13,000 in support of children from the autism community.

He said teenager Wan Jamila first embarked on the arts industry in 2017 and had since gone on to win multiple awards and recognition, even earning international acclaim for many of her artworks and paintings.

The limited-edition 'Alpro X ARTJAMILA' wet wipes.

Meanwhile, NASOM chairman Julian Wong said autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is often misunderstood to be a disease, when in reality it is not.

“People with autism are just like any one of us, except they are blessed with abilities to perceive and express things differently,” he said.

On Alpro Foundation’s other upcoming initiatives, Paw said that the organisation is currently looking to provide educational support and welfare for underprivileged children through the "Growing Stars Project".

“To secure the education of students affected by the pandemic, our latest project aims to raise RM1.3 million to support at least 1,000 households with a tablet and Internet data package,” he said.