The 2022/2023 academic session has started for students in Malaysia and amidst new norms such as face masks, frequent hand sanitizing and physical distancing, students, especially those from underprivileged families, are faced with the added strain of rising cost of school supplies. A new set of school uniform, shoes and a school bag can be hard to accommodate in a household where every ringgit has to be accounted for.
To ease their burden, ABB in Malaysia reached out to 90 schoolchildren from around three schools in Subang, Selangor, namely Sekolah Kebangsaan USJ 2, Sekolah Kebangsaan Seafield 3 and Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan USJ 8. The students received a contribution comprising necessities such as a complete set of school uniform, bag, shoes, stationery items as well as face masks.
“After a prolonged period of disruption, students are brimming with excitement to start the new academic session. But for families who are living on tight budgets, preparing for their children to return to school can be stressful,” said R Narayanan, Country MD, ABB Malaysia Sdn Bhd and Senior Vice President, Asia, ABB Motion Business Area.
“Our contribution eases the financial burden for such families but beyond that, we want to make it special for the children too. Apart from basic items such as uniforms and shoes, they receive a colourful schoolbag each with different compartments for books, water bottle and other materials. The whole intention is not only to help the children be prepared and ready for school but to instill in them the right motivation to thrive,” he added
Initiated in 2009, the annual outreach program has benefited more than a thousand students to-date. Every child, regardless of their financial background, deserve happy memories of their time in school and ABB’s contribution goes a long way towards making this possible for deserving children.
