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| Generous giveaway: Lee (wearing a cap) mingling with pupils of SJKC Yuk Chai after presenting them with 420 school bags donated by EcoWorld Foundation in Kuala Krai. |
KUALA KRAI: It was the night before Christmas and all that the parents and teachers of SJKC Yuk Chai could do was watch in dismay as the floods ravaged the school’s computers, books and stationery.
As the rain fell relentlessly, water inundated the ground floor for three days.
Fortunately, property developer EcoWorld Development Group Bhd came to their rescue, bringing in two mini water tankers and 26 of its staff helped clean up the mud-splattered school.
The team will spend the next three days scrubbing the floor and furniture to ensure that when the pupils get back to school, nothing would be out of place.
EcoWorld Foundation chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye, who joined in the cleaning, gave out 420 school bags to the pupils during a brief ceremony yesterday. He also handed over 10 computers.
“Ecoworld chose SJKC Yuk Chai as part of the foundation’s corporate social responsibility to help people affected by the floods because it has Malay and Indian pupils as well as Chinese students,” Lee said.
EcoWorld Project Management group liaison head Datin Natrah Abdullah, who led the volunteers in the clean-up, said they had to stay at a house about 1km from the school since there was no lodging available nearby.
“We believe that we can finish cleaning up in three days as we have the right equipment,” she said. “We also helped the school management clean hundreds of school chairs and desks with the aid of a generator-powered water jet.
“Our mission is to ensure that the school is spick and span when it is opens on Sunday. In addition, we brought essential goods donated by our housebuyers, comprising rice, flour and cooking oil,” she said.
SJKC Yuk Chai senior assistant Lee Fa Nyet said the school had 358 pupils, including 58 Malays and nine Indians.
“We were helpless when the floods hit the schools and all we could do was watch the computers, books and stationery get soaked,” he said.
“Even the road leading to the school collapsed, completely cutting it off from the main road,” he added. “But the road was repaired by the authorities after the waters subsided.
“We are thankful to EcoWorld for coming to our aid as the school is a semi-government school and we need to recover from the floods for the benefit of the students.”
Source: http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2015/01/10/EcoWorld-comes-to-the-rescue-of-multinational-school/
The Star - Malaysia - SYED AZHAR
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