• SAY Patron, D.Y.T.M. Raja Muda Selangor, Tengku Amir Shah Ibni Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah Alhaj hosts iftar with Sunway Group for children

For some 300 orphans from around Selangor and stateless children of Sekolah Jalinan Bimbingan Kasih, the festive season came early as Sunway Group hosted them for a fun-filled day in conjunction with the upcoming Hari Raya Aidilfitri yesterday.

The children were specially selected by the Selangor Youth Community (SAY Community) and Yayasan Islam Darul Ehsan (YIDE) with half of them from four orphanages, namely, Pertubuhan Pendidikan Anak-Anak Yatim Selangor, Rumah Kebajikan Raudhatul Al-Faeez, Pertubuhan Kebajikan Anak Yatim Darul Ehsan Malaysia and Pusat Jagaan Pertubuhan Kebajikan Ehsan Ash-Shakur and the other half from Sekolah Bimbingan Jalinan Kasih, a school set-up for stateless children by the Ministry of Education. 

The evening began with much merriment as the volunteers and children delighted everyone by trooping to Sunway Pyramid Mall, hand-in-hand for a joyful shopping spree at AEON, Sunway Pyramid Mall. The volunteers were from the Sunway Group, SAY Community, and the Football Association of Selangor (Selangor FA) who acted as the children’s foster brothers and sisters for the day and fitted the children out with their selected baju raya.

Following the baju raya shopping session, the happy children were then led to the Sunway Resort Hotel and Spa where another treat awaited them. 

World Pastry Cup 2019 winner Chef Patrick Siau and his team from the Sunway University Culinary School hosted a Food Heroes game session to educate the children on practical ways to reduce food waste and consume food in a sustainable manner as well as teaching the children how to decorate cupcakes. The children were also entertained by a clown with a unique balloon sculpting session.

The children were then treated to a special iftar meal with Selangor Youth Community founder and royal patron, D.Y.T.M. Raja Muda Selangor, Tengku Amir Shah Ibni Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah Alhaj who was the evening’s guest of honour.  

As everyone broke fast together, SAY Community’s very own crooner, Muhammad Ardani bin Mohamad Rais, staged a delightful performance with melodious renditions of the festive favourites such including Anuar Zain’s Suasana Hari Raya, M Nasir’s Salam Dunia and Sudirman’s Balik Kampung. His performance was followed by a Raya song performance by the students of Sekolah Bimbingan Jalinan Kasih. 

At the end of the evening, Selangor Youth Association Patron, D.Y.T.M. Raja Muda Selangor, Tengku Amir Shah Ibni Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah Alhaj; and Sunway Group’s top management, Sunway Group Deputy Chairman Tan Sri Datuk Seri Razman Hashim; his wife, Puan Sri Latiffah Kamaruddin; Sunway Group EXCO member Puan Sri Susan Cheah; and Sunway Group Executive Vice President of President Office Evan Cheah sent off the children with duit raya, prayer mats and cookies completing the day for them. 

Sunway Group Brand Marketing and Communications Senior General Manager, Jane Poh said, “The programme is a part of the month-long #sunwayforgood Raya Cheer 2019 community outreach which aims to aid 11,520 underserved Malaysians in B40 groups. To ensure that we are reaching out to those who need it the most, we work with various partners to identify the beneficiaries of the #sunwayforgood Raya Cheer outreach across the nation. In total, the effort will involve more than 450 volunteers from the Sunway Group.” 

The project includes the distribution of 7,000 packets of bubur lambuk, installation of eight rice automated teller machines (ATM) with more than 8,000 kgs of rice, various iftar barakah sessions, and packed food distribution to the homeless for individuals and B40 groups spread across Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Perak, Penang and Johor, where Sunway Group has built, served, and remains as part of the communities.  

Partners for the project includes state governments, NGOs and community centres including the Perak State Government, the Penang State Government, Yayasan Kebajikan Negara, Selangor Youth Community, Malaysia Red Crescent Society, Lembaga Zakat Selangor, Jabatan Agama Islam Wilayah Persekutuan and committee members of various mosques.

This is the largest single Hari Raya initiative yet for the Sunway Group which has celebrated festive seasons with underserved communities over 17 consecutive years since 2001 including Chinese New Year, Hari Raya, and Deepavali. To date, Sunway’s festive cheer programmes have touched over 100,000 lives.  For more details about Sunway Group’s mission to drive the 2030 UN Sustainable Development agenda, please log on to : www.sunwayforgood.com.