15 young engineers treat 120 kids to a fun day

What say you on the issue below?

IN THE spirit of giving, a group of more than 15 young Petronas engineers volunteered to spread Deepavali joy to 120 underprivileged children by treating them to a fun-filled day at the Royal Selangor Club, Kuala Lumpur.

Pupils aged 10 to 12 from SJK (T) Thamboosamy Sentul, SK Convent Jalan Peel and SK Puteri Pandan 1 gathered at the historical landmark to celebrate Deepavali under the company’s Sentuhan Kasih programme, which reaches out to the less privileged members of the community during the festive seasons.

Petronas infrastructure and utilities vice-president Pramod Kumar Karunakaran, technology and engineering vice-president Dr Colin Wong Hee Huing and group corporate affairs senior general manager Datuk Mohammad Medan Abdullah presented pocket money, school uniforms, shoes and stationery sets to the children.

Happy giving: Pramod Kumar presenting pocket money to the pupils.

In line with the programme’s objective to enhance knowledge and instil positive values, volunteers prepared and facilitated a series of interactive and educational activities for the children.

The children put up a fantastic show interpretating the educational activities through choral speaking performance, poetry recital and song rendition with the theme “Honour Our Parents Every day (HOPE)”, a result of educational activities conducted in early October by Petronas employees.

Before being feted to a lunch hosted by Petronas, the children also sat for a talk on “Interfaith Unity and Family Unity” by Datuk J. Jegathesan, former deputy director-general of Malaysia Investment Development Authority (Mida) and founding member and advisor of the Friendship Group for Inter-Religious Service.

Fun game: The young guests playing a rubber-band-and-straw game.

The activities were in tandem with efforts by Petronas to fulfil an integral part of its corporate mission which is to broaden and enrich lives through education and experiential learning.

The Sentuhan Kasih programme is also a platform for Petronas employees to nurture their spirit of volunteerism.

Since its launch in 2005, Sentuhan Kasih has become a sustainable community outreach programme that Petronas employees look forward to every festive season.