PUNCAK ALAM: Eco World Foundation today extended its Students Aid Programme (SAP) to seven new schools in Selangor. A total of 153 new students will now benefit from the programme which supports the education needs of children from poor families.

The new addition of seven (7) schools brings the total number of schools adopted by the Foundation to 134, with 33 schools located in Selangor. Currently, the Foundation supports 2,753 primary students under the SAP.

Set up on 7 May 2014 under the auspices of Eco World Development Group Berhad (EcoWorld Malaysia), the Foundation serves as the Group’s charitable arm in providing assistance to underprivileged Malaysians. The Eco World Foundation SAP was launched the same year on 24 September.

“We are delighted and honoured to have YB Senator Datuk Chong Sin Woon, Deputy Minister of Education II to launch the SAP in seven new schools today. The show of support from the Ministry of Education is an affirmation of the SAP’s objective which is to keep poor students of all races in school,” said Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye, Chairman of Eco World Foundation.

Lee added that as a caring corporate company, EcoWorld is happy to be able to render assistance to communities in areas where it has projects. “Through Eco World Foundation, we are fulfilling our corporate social responsibility by reaching out to those in need as we strongly believe education has the ability to transform lives.”

Currently, the SAP reaches out to students in eight states namely Perlis, Kedah, Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Johor, Pahang and Sabah. With a budget of RM5 million a year, the SAP practices a holistic approach by addressing every aspect of a primary student’s basic education needs, from equipping them for the new school year and arranging meals in school to paying their school and tuition fees.

The seven new adopted schools are:

• SK Saujana Utama (24 students)
• SK Bukit Kapar (30 students)
• SJK (C) Ijok (12 students)
• SJK (C) Chung Wah (20 students)
• SJK (C) Ying Wah (15 students)
• SJK (T) Bestari Jaya (29 students)
• SJK (T) Methodist (23 students)

Lee explained that one of the core activities of the Foundation is to help disadvantaged Malaysians improve their quality of life, focussing on promoting education which is a key element in breaking the cycle of poverty.

“With assistance given out through the SAP, we also hope to reduce the burden of the parents so they can focus on work while their children are taken care of in school,” Lee added.

Besides the quantitative aspects, the Foundation is also interested in the qualitative aspects of a student’s life. It provides group dialogue sessions with students and parents, motivation camps for Standard 6 students and Career Talk for post-SPM students, as well as home visits to give motivational support to the student and their family. The home visits are done by the Eco World Foundation Volunteers Club which comprises over 300 staff of EcoWorld from the Klang Valley, Iskandar Malaysia and Penang.

Students who achieve good results in their UPSR examinations are eligible to apply for a continuation in the SAP to secondary education and subsequently to tertiary level as well. Currently there are about 400 secondary students and 37 tertiary students continuing under the SAP after their primary education.

Present at the launch today were the Foundation’s Board of Trustee members Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Mohd Radzi bin Sheikh Ahmad and Philip Mathews along with EcoWorld Malaysia’s Board of Directors, senior management and business associates, and also officers from Education Department.