QI Employees in Malaysia Celebrate Special Needs Learners' Parents and Educators

Life for parents of special needs children or adults can be highly challenging, even more so when these families are from lower income groups. Likewise, although special education teachers are trained and have the compassion to guide the differently-abled, their jobs can be arguably demanding, too. A QI Group Staff Social Responsibility (SSR) event in Pahang, Malaysia, recently focused on celebrating these extraordinary individuals. Twenty-three QI employees spent a Saturday at Pertubuhan Pemulihan Dalam Komuniti (PDK) Bersamamu Karak, a community training and rehabilitation centre in Karak, a town an hour’s drive from Kuala Lumpur. The daycare facility provides academic and life skills classes to young and adult learners with autism and Down syndrome from underserved families living in the town and surrounding areas. The activity-packed day, organised by QI’s social impact arm RYTHM Foundation, kicked off with parents and volunteer teachers participating in several ice-breaking games. They also artfully created earrings, necklaces and facemask adornments using colourful beads with volunteers showing them the techniques. Afterwards, in the spirit of Eid celebrated earlier in the month, the volunteers shared some festive cheer by serving the invitees and their families a sumptuous vegetarian lunch, followed by contributions in cash and kind. Twenty families received RM50 in cash and RM50 in groceries comprising milk powder, tea, flour, sugar, and instant noodles.

Flood Relief Assistance

In a separate SSR activity in April, another group of QI employees spent a day sprucing up PDK Bersamamu Karak following flood damage to the facility late last year. The volunteers gave the centre a makeover, applying a fresh coat of paint to several exterior parts and cleaning the facility. RYTHM leapt into action earlier this year by coordinating a flood relief donation drive within the Group. As a result, employees raised nearly RM40,000 to help PDK Bersamamu Karak and other communities in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor affected by the calamity. The Foundation also contributed numerous essentials to the centre, including physical therapy equipment, furniture, and pre-used items like a refrigerator, water dispenser, book racks and computers. Also read: Malaysia Under Water: QI Employees’ Flood Relief Initiative Raises RM40,000