HEINEKEN Cares feeds the needy

As of 31 August 2021, 3,800 families across Malaysia have received food aid through the HEINEKEN Cares programme. The HEINEKEN Cares programme, which started on 26 July, looks at providing food aid to communities affected by job or income loss caused by the pandemic. With the help of eight non-governmental organisations and social enterprises, HEINEKEN Cares has channelled food aid to assist vulnerable communities throughout Malaysia.

Kupi Kupi FM in collaboration with Sabah Human Development and Empowerment Association (SAHDEA), distributed food baskets to musicians and entertainers in Sabah who fell into unemployment as a result of the pandemic.

Under strict adherence to the SOPs, distribution booths were set up at several locations across Sabah, with some offering drive-thru services while others offered in-person pickups to cater to the different needs of the beneficiaries. By the end of the distribution, 400 food baskets were distributed, seeing 2,000kg of rice, 800kg of cooking oil, 400 trays of eggs and other essential groceries going towards assisting members of the community through these challenging times.

General Manager of Kupi Kupi FM, Lester Calvin Miol said, “Kupi Kupi FM is honoured to be a part of the HEINEKEN Cares Program. The entertainment industry has been suffering silently in this pandemic. With this current initiative, we would be able to assist those in the entertainment industry, many of whom have been unemployed for the past two years due to the lockdown.”

Meanwhile, fellow partner PWD Smart Farmability has been focusing on distributing ethically farmed and organic fish and vegetables. To date, the social enterprise has distributed over 900 organic fish and 1,800kgs of vegetables to a wide range of orphanages, front liners in hospitals and other affected communities.

“Since the start of the pandemic, we have seen a rising number of people in need of help and support. By channelling organic fishes and vegetables, we can scale up nutrition among needy families to improve their immunity,” said Dr Billy Tang, the founder of PWD Smart Farmability.

HEINEKEN Cares also partnered with Soroptimist International Damansara (SID) to help B40 families located in Kampung Jawa, Klang. Essential food items comprising rice, eggs and cooking oil, among others, were delivered to the families in need.

“The pandemic has caused severe loss of lives and livelihoods, and many are struggling to feed their families. Through the HEINEKEN Cares programme, we will be able to provide food aid in the form of essential groceries to over 150 people from hardcore poor families, including single mother households or people living with disabilities,” said Dr Saradha Narayanan, the National Representative Malaysia – Soroptimist International Southwest Pacific (SISWP) & Past President – Soroptimist International Damansara.

The Make It Right Movement (MIRM), on the other hand, has distributed 3,000 grocery bags to several communities through its FreeMakan project, an emergency pandemic response curated by MIRM to support vulnerable communities in overcoming humanitarian crises such as food poverty.

The grocery bags were distributed to communities located across Klang Valley, Kedah, Perak and Johor, with each grocery bag containing essentials such as rice, cooking oil, flour and other prepackaged food items. The beneficiaries included B40 families and Orang Asli families in Labis and Gelang Patah, Johor.

CEO of MIRM, Brian Lariche said, “The pandemic has hit many B40 families to the point where some families are surviving on almost nothing. The collaboration with HEINEKEN Cares supports the families with basic provisions to ensure they have a daily basic meal.”

To help mitigate the negative impacts of a prolonged lockdown, HEINEKEN Malaysia launched HEINEKEN Cares, an initiative combining employee wellness to with community purpose. Through the programme, for every 1,000 steps a HEINEKEN Malaysia employee takes, HEINEKEN Malaysia will commit 1 meal to a person in need, with the ultimate goal of achieving 150,000,000 steps for 150,000 meals for vulnerable communities across Malaysia. The HEINEKEN Cares programme is administered by SPARK Foundation, HEINEKEN Malaysia’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) arm.

The programme brings together eight organisations across Malaysia to deliver food aid to communities most affected by the pandemic. HEINEKEN Malaysia will reach out to its regional sales team to collaborate with its business partners in the coming months to bring HEINEKEN Cares to the regions.

Further information on HEINEKEN Malaysia’s sustainability and initiatives can be found at HEINEKEN Malaysia’s official website: https://www.heinekenmalaysia.com/ or SPARK Foundation’s official website: https://sparkfoundation.com.my/

Feel free to get in touch with the HEINEKEN Cares partners listed above to help the needy
Malaysians:

• Kupi Kupi FM – http://kupikupifm.my/
• PWD Smart Farmability – hhtps://www.facebook.com/pwdsmartfarmability/
• Soroptimist International Damansara – http://www.sidamansara.org.my/
• Make It Right Movement – https://www.makeitrightmovement.com/