The Lynas Malaysia Back-to-School programme has supported the education goals of local communities around Kuantan, Pahang each year for the past 13 years. This year, 18 local schools participated in the programme.
The Back-to-School programme was designed to provide low-income families with practical assistance in the form of school uniforms, shoes, bags and stationery supplies.
Vice president of people and culture at Lynas, Mimi Afzan Afza, said, “Education has always been an important component of our community outreach. Our Back-to-School programme has run for 13 years without fail, even during the challenging years of the Covid-19 lockdown. We are proud to say that this year, 700 families have benefitted from the programme through the 18 participating schools. This represents the highest number of schools participating since the programme started over a decade ago.”
Lynas cares for its local communities and takes an active role in building better communities. The company aims to share the sustainable benefits of its operations by making a positive contribution to local employment, skills and education, health and wellbeing, and the environment.
Budget 2024 saw the Madani Government placing education at the forefront, which highlights the importance of human talent development and Malaysia’s goal of improving its Human Development Index currently ranked 62nd in the world. With the Back-to-School programme, Lynas Malaysia hopes to encourage children in local communities to learn and pursue further education and provide assistance to local families to ensure they can send their children to school.
Mimi Afzan said, “Education is important. We understand that there are those who feel the burden and we want the children within the local communities near us to be happy when they attend school as that will contribute to better results and ultimately a better community.”
She also highlighted that in Malaysia 98 per cent of the company’s workforce are Malaysians, out of which 73 per cent come from local communities in Pahang and another 20 per cent are from Kemaman, Terengganu, which is close to the border of Pahang.
Mimi Afzan concluded, “The Back-to-School programme is a targeted approach to ensure the surrounding communities are resilient now and the next generation is stronger. This year the programme ran over three days with (the) participation of Lynas staff from all levels of the organisation, to whom we express profound gratitude for their invaluable efforts in the success of the programme.
‘’It is important that our team understand they are not only producing critical components for high-tech global supply chains but are building the local community as well. We would also like to extend our appreciation to the management of Sekolah Kebangsaan Chengal Lempong, who have been very supportive of our activities and granted us the opportunity to organise the Back-to-School programme in their school grounds, here in Kuantan.”
The 18 schools participating in the 2024 Lynas Back-to-School programme included:
- Sekolah Kebangsaan Chengal Lempong
- Sekolah Kebangsaan Pelabuhan
- Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (Cina) Semambu
- Sekolah Kebangsaan Sungai Baging
- Sekolah Kebangsaan Balok
- Sekolah Kebangsaan Balok Baru
- Sekolah Kebangsaan Balok Makmur
- Sekolah Kebangsaan Beserah
- Sekolah Kebangsaan Sungai Karang
- Sekolah Kebangsaan Cherating
- Sekolah Kebangsaan Tanjung Lumpur
- Sekolah Kebangsaan Kampong Baharu Felda Neram 1
- Sekolah Kebangsaan Felda Neram 1
- Sekolah Kebangsaan Sungai Ular
- Sekolah Kebangsaan Air Putih
- Sekolah Kebangsaan Jabor
- Sekolah Kebangsaan Lembah Jabor
- Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (T) Ladang Jeram
In addition to the Back-to-School programme, Lynas Malaysia continues to contribute to local community children’s centres and pre-schools.
Source: Lynas Malaysia (Press Release)
