The Star, Friday July 13, 2012

Learning to give back

IT WAS a fun day for the children of Rumah Keluarga Kami in Taman Bukit, Kajang when legal firm Zaid Ibrahim & Co (Zico) employees and interns visited them as part of the firm’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme called Step Up.

About 50 employees, trainee associates and interns spent time with the children by playing various games including musical chair and football.

Christina Tey of Rumah Keluarga Kami enjoyed the games and interaction with the interns from Zico.

“I hope to see them again,” the 16-year-old said.

Fun time: Zico interns and employees playing with the children.

 

Zico managing partner Chew Seng Kok said the firm has adopted two homes, the other one is in Puchong.

“Instead of merely giving money, we want to interact with the children,” he said.

According to the firm’s Knowledge Management & Training partner Paul Subramaniam, the firm focuses on children’s organisation for its CSR programmes.

“We want our training lawyers to learn about social responsibility and know that it is not just about work but it is important to give back to the community.

“We visit the home at least once a year but some of them (from Zico) have returned to visit the children on their own,” he said.

Also participating in the CSR programme was Shunsuke Koyama, who hails from Kanagawa, Japan. He and two other lawyers from Vietnam are on secondment to Zico.

“This is the first time I am taking part in a CSR programme, I hope to bring this idea back when I return to Japan and propose it to the company management,” he said.

According to the home matron Caroline Pillai, there are 38 kids in the home, aged between five and 18, who are abandoned or from single-parent families.

She added that the home needs funds as they are expanding.

“We have doctors who volunteer and look into the children’s health,” she said.

To know more about Rumah Keluarga Kami, visit www.ssvprkk.org or call 03-8736 7877.