Financial aid for 180 underprivileged pupils from Semenyih schools

The Star, Friday May 24, 2013

By CHOO WOON LIM
woonlim@thestar.com.my Photos by ROHAIZAT DAUS

New bags: (From left) Setia EcoHill Sdn Bhd GM Tan Hon Lim, Lee, SJK(C) Sin Ming Semenyih headmaster’s representative Kong Choi Fern and SP Setia Foundation CEO Captain (Rtd) Datuk Liew Siong Sing presenting the new school bags to pupils.

 

ABOUT 180 pupils from six primary schools in Semenyih will receive aid under the Setia Adoption Programme (SAP), a programme by the SP Setia Foundation to champion education for underprivileged students.

The schoolchildren, who were presented with new school bags and stationery sets at SJK(C) Sin Ming, Semenyih, recently, will be getting educational assistance worth RM900 to RM1,000 annually for the duration of their primary education.

The aid will cover basic educational needs such as tuition fees, computer fees, school uniforms, stationery, school bags, books and food from the school canteen.

The pupils are from SK Semenyih, SK Bandar Rinching, SJK(C) Sin Ming Semenyih, SJK(C) Kampung Baru Semenyih, SJK(T) Ladang Semenyih and SJK(T) Ladang Rinching.

“The objective of the programme is to reduce the financial burden of poor families.

“We hope that by providing the assistance, the children will be able to do better in their studies without worrying about their financial problems,” said SP Setia Foun-dation chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye.

He added that the move to reach out to deserving students was part of the organisation’s belief that education played an important role in helping to train and produce good citizens for the country.

Choosing Semenyih students for the programme was also in line with the upcoming launch of its Setia Ecohill project in the region.

“We are not only developing the area but ensuring that people in the neighbourhood and its surroundings will benefit from the programme,” said Lee.

Founded in 2000, the SP Setia Foundation has spent about RM23.4mil for the adopted children, benefiting more than 8,400 students at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels.

It spends RM3mil a year on the SAP programme alone.

With the addition of the latest 180 adopted pupils, the SAP has funded a total of 2,825 underprivileged primary pupils from 129 schools.