On the 17th of December, The ASEAN CARES initiative successfully delivered food and hygiene kits, this time reaching out to the refugees and migrants in Malaysia.

Sponsored by 3M, supported by United Way Worldwide and ASEAN Foundation; EcoKnights through our Project BUMI: Meet the Needs initiative, will reach out to 1700 underrepresented communities in Malaysia to aid individuals who are going through food security and hygiene-related crises. 

The community kids and adults were also taught proper self-hygiene care such as hand-washing and wearing a face mask via on-site demonstration and public engagement. 

The distribution engagement in KL was also attended by ASEAN Foundation Executive Director Dr Yang Mee Eng and EcoKnights Programme Director Fadly Bakhtiar. 

Let’s continue to do our part by practising the proper SOPs, so we can keep ourselves and our loved ones healthy.

To find out more about ASEAN CARES, you may click here.

The programme supports at-risk communities by providing food packages, ready-to-use hygiene kits and access to safe and gender appropriate sanitation facilities. Along with that, it aims to create awareness about COVID-19. 

This virus is highly contagious, and thus it is our responsibility to practice social distancing with others while maintaining our self-hygiene.

According to UNICEF , we should wash our hands for a minimum of 20-30 seconds to effectively kill the coronavirus. Here’s a quick step-by-step guide on how to keep your hands clean! 

One of the main ways that COVID-19 spreads is through respiratory droplets that people expel when they talk, sing, cough or sneeze (UNICEF). Since it is not possible to maintain physical distance in certain situations (eg. in lift), it is crucial to wear a mask properly. Here is a short step-by-step guide on how to wear a mask!

As we live in an unprecedented time, it is crucial for us to take care of our hygiene. This includes the importance of taking care of female hygiene during the menstrual cycle. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to take care of your menstrual hygiene.

Sponsored by 3M , supported by United Way Worldwide and ASEAN Foundation;  EcoKnights through our Project BUMI: Meet the Needs initiative, will reach out to 1700 underrepresented communities in Malaysia to aid individuals who are going through food security and hygiene-related crisis. 

Let’s continue to do our part by practising the proper SOPs, so we can keep ourselves and our loved ones healthy.

To find out more about ASEAN CARES, you may click here. 

As the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia rages on with daily cases surpassing 1000 (statista, 2020), it’s easy to become desensitised to the effects of this outbreak, especially to the communities that are more vulnerable. Let’s continue to do our part by practising the proper SOPs so that we can keep ourselves and our loved ones healthy.

According to UNICEF, we should wash our hands for a minimum of 20-30 seconds to effectively kill the coronavirus. Here’s a quick step-by-step guide on how to keep your hands clean!  

Sponsored by @3M, supported by @unitedwayworldwide and @aseanfoundation; Ecoknights through our Project BUMI: Meet the Needs initiative, will reach out to 1700 beneficiaries who underrepresented communities in Malaysia to aid individuals who are going through food security and hygiene-related crisis.

Find out more about ASEANCARES here.

Media Kit link: bit.ly/ek-aseancares-2020-mediakit

17 December, Kuala Lumpur – The passionate group of young people from the environmental NGO, EcoKnights, have travelled back to Kuala Lumpur from their recent trip to Pasir Gudang, Johor after meeting with 300 indigenous Seletar community, aiding them with food supplies and hygiene kits. 

Through the implementation of ASEAN CARES, which is made possible by 3M as the main funder of the program, with the support of the United Way Worldwide and the ASEAN Foundation, EcoKnights has since helped over 1,000 at-risk individuals and communities in Malaysia who were deeply affected by the pandemic. 

“It’s important that 3M holds true to its core values during this pandemic by supporting our communities and improving lives. The projects with United Way form part of a $20 million commitment made by 3M at a corporate level to support COVID-19 relief projects globally, and we’re grateful that some of this funding is helping the most vulnerable people in society impacted by the COVID-19 crisis in Malaysia during these exceptional times,” said Mr. GT. Lim, Country Leader of 3M Malaysia.  

The event in Kuala Lumpur (KL) marked the fourth checkpoint of item distribution after visits to Selangor, Johor, and Sabah by the appointed civil society organization, EcoKnights. The KL event was graced by the presence of Dr. Yang Mee Eng, Executive Director of ASEAN Foundation, Fadly Bakhtiar, Programme Director of EcoKnights, representatives from the Women for Refugees, as well as the EcoKnights team and fellow volunteers. 

In retrospect of the hardship that Malaysians went through during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the EcoKnights team was driven to provide fundamental essentials geared towards the specific needs of the KL beneficiaries, including infant care for mothers who are in need of diapers and wet wipes.

“ASEAN CARES embodies the commitment voiced by ASEAN Leaders during the Special ASEAN Summit on COVID-19 and the Special ASEAN Plus Three Summit on COVID-19, which calls for a coherent, multi-sectoral, multi-stakeholder and whole-of-ASEAN community approach in combating the pandemic. We seek to engage all parties, from multinational society to local communities, to work together in delivering large-scale COVID-19 relief aid to those that are marginalised and in desperate need. Through this initiative, we hope that private and public sectors will join hands together to do our part to reduce the suffering of the people due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.” Executive Director of ASEAN Foundation, Dr. Yang Mee Eng said.

Women for Refugee is the outreach partner of EcoKnights for the ASEAN CARES programme – KL edition, and is an NGO that aids refugee women and communities in Malaysia. Their mission is to equip these groups with literacy and technical skills to build refugee communities that are resilient and have access to education as their basic human rights. 

“We are adamant about creating a new narrative around community service: it’s important to honour the people and communities we serve. At WFR, our women are not our charity cases, they’re our stakeholders. They have bought into us just as much as we buy into them – dignity remains at the center of what we do,” expressed Davina Devarajan, co-founder of Women for Refugees.

Close to 160 daily supplies and hygiene kits were distributed to approximately 200 beneficiaries from the Kuala Lumpur region which comprised of refugees, migrants, and the urban poor. Held at an open garage space in Selayang Baru, the beneficiaries also underwent an educational workshop that highlighted health and safety measures on how to prevent the further spread of the COVID-19 virus, through a 30-45 minute demonstration by the EcoKnights team, specifically on the proper hand-washing method and the importance of wearing face masks. 

“We give emphasis on the health and safety measures for ASEAN CARES. This is evident from the educational Training for Trainers workshop, in which EcoKnights conduct a live demonstration on hand-washing steps and the importance of wearing a face mask as hygienic care needs to be given the utmost priority among Malaysians, especially during a global pandemic. We hope that today’s group of beneficiaries are empowered and able to persevere through this difficult time… We also hope that through our digital campaign, the public will become more conscious about the plight of the underrepresented communities and be encouraged to take action that can lessen the burden shouldered by these groups”, expressed Fadly Bakhtiar, Programme Director of EcoKnights.

Recently, on the 12th of December, EcoKnights also managed to fulfil the aid distribution in Sabah, through its outreach partner, Future Alam Borneo. Over 1,000 individuals benefited from this distribution including 170 families that comprised of communities from Kg. Mangkalinau and Kg. Forest in Sandakan, and Kg. Bahagian and Kampung Bogaya Baru in Batu Sapi. 

Future Alam Borneo is a not-for-profit society that focuses on environmental awareness and sustainability among communities. Through ASEAN CARES, the communities from Sandakan and Batu Sapi, Sabah not only received proper food supply and hygiene kits, but they were also given educational materials and safety tips on how to prevent COVID-19 from spreading further through the EcoKnights’ Training of Trainers program. 

ASEAN CARES aims to provide access to food and basic hygiene for vulnerable individuals and groups within Malaysia such as families with children, people with disabilities, women-headed households, elderlies, refugees, migrants as well as pregnant and lactating women. The final distribution location by EcoKnights for the ASEAN CARES programme will be in Banting, Selangor. 

Notes to Editor:

1. EcoKnights distributed 300 food supply and hygiene kits to 300 indigenous Temuan individuals at Bukit Lanjan, Selangor (First Phase) on 18 and 21 November respectively. 
2. Another 300 kits were distributed to 300 indigenous Seletar individuals in Pasir Gudang, Johor (Second Phase) on 6 December, reaching out to 4 Seletar villages in total.
3. A total of 300 kits were distributed within the Sabah region (Third Phase), further benefiting approximately 1,000 individuals in total. 
4. Another 158 supply sets were distributed to refugees, migrants, and the urban poor (B40) of Kuala Lumpur (Fourth Phase), benefitting close to 200 individuals of these groups. 
5. The final distribution (Fifth Phase) will be held in Banting, Selangor to benefit underrepresented groups of refugees, migrants and the urban poor within the Selangor area (tentative date is 22^nd December 2020).
6. More information about Project BUMI: Meet the Needs humanitarian aid under ASEAN CARES is retrievable at this link: https://ecoknights.org.my/asean-cares/

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About EcoKnights®

EcoKnights® is a not-for-profit environmental organisation that provides and delivers development and environmental interventions to communities, government agencies, learning institutions, and companies to mobilise and catalyse the stakeholders towards sustainable development across trans- and interdisciplinary fields to build bridges towards achieving sustainable communities and companies across five main pillars. Each pillar helps to strengthen the legacy of EcoKnights as it empowers the Knights to ideate, create, run and organise meaningful projects to impart a long-lasting sustainable and economic impact on the country. More information about EcoKnights is available on its official website at ecoknights.org.my

About 3M

At 3M, we apply science in collaborative ways to improve lives daily. With $32 billion in sales, our 96,000 employees connect with customers all around the world.

About United Way

United Way fights for the health, education and financial stability of every person in every community. Supported by 2.9 million volunteers, 8.1 million donors worldwide and $4.8 billion raised, United Way is the world’s largest privately funded non-profit. We’re engaged in nearly 1,800 communities across more than 40 countries and territories worldwide to create sustainable solutions to the challenges facing our communities. United Way partners include global, national and local businesses, non-profits, government, civic and faith-based organizations, along with educators, labour leaders, health providers, senior citizens, students and more. 

About the ASEAN Foundation

Three decades after ASEAN was established, ASEAN leaders recognised that: there remained inadequate shared prosperity, ASEAN awareness and contact among the people of ASEAN. It was of this concern that ASEAN leaders established ASEAN Foundation in Jakarta, Indonesia, at ASEAN’s 30th Anniversary Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 15 December 1997. The ASEAN Foundation is an organisation from and for the people of ASEAN. The Foundation exists because of one vision: to build a cohesive and prosperous ASEAN Community. As an ASEAN body, the Foundation is tasked to support ASEAN mainly in promoting awareness, identity, interaction and development of the people of ASEAN.

About Project BUMI: Meet the Needs

Project BUMI is EcoKnights’ sustainability-driven project that aims to uplift underprivileged communities from poverty and empower them towards sustainable living. The goal is to ensure basic necessities are made available to all communities throughout the country. This includes a continuous supply of electricity, clean water and an internet connection, alongside access to basic healthcare and education for the communities.

______________________________________________________________________________

*For media inquiries, you may contact Ms. Fara at fara@ecoknights.org.my or 011-2321 0492

Media Kit link: bit.ly/ek-aseancares-2020-mediakit 

6 December 2020, Pasir Gudang, Johor – A group of young volunteers and dedicated members from the environmental NGO, EcoKnights continue their COVID-19 relief mission to benefit another 300 indigenous people from the Seletar community as part of the ASEAN CARES program. This noble humanitarian work is made possible by 3M as the main funder of the program, with the support of the United Way Worldwide and the ASEAN Foundation. 

As humanitarian needs soar high during the COVID-19 pandemic, ASEAN CARES aims to provide access to food and basic hygiene for vulnerable individuals and groups within Malaysia such as families with children, people with disabilities, women-headed households, elderlies, refugees, migrants as well as pregnant and lactating women.

“It’s important that 3M holds true to its core values during this pandemic by supporting our communities and improving lives. The projects with United Way form part of a $20 million commitment made by 3M at a corporate level to support COVID-19 relief projects globally, and we’re grateful that some of this funding is helping the most vulnerable people in society impacted by the COVID-19 crisis in Malaysia during these exceptional times,” said Mr. GT. Lim, Country Leader of 3M Malaysia.   

As Malaysia is hit by the second wave of the pandemic, EcoKnights, as one of the appointed civil society organisations from Malaysia, has now distributed a total of 600 supply kits to indigenous people in Selangor (Temuan) and Johor (Seletar) regions. They are further targeting to widen the scope next to the Sabah, Pahang and Kuala Lumpur regions.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has hurt a lot of people, especially the underprivileged communities like the Seletars. Assisting them in fulfilling their basic needs can ensure that they’ll be able to at least continue a decent life just like the rest of us. This is what sustainability is all about,” expressed Amlir Ayat, Vice President of EcoKnights. 

The event distribution saw the presence of Amlir Ayat, joined by Mohd Yazid Bin Beram from the Department of Orang Asli Development (JAKOA) Malaysia, head of representatives of the Seletar community as the beneficiary, as well as EcoKnights’ volunteers and organizing committee.

The Seletar community’s main source of livelihood depends on marine and coastal biodiversity as 80% of the villagers work as fishermen, and they are also commonly known as Orang Laut (Sea People). 

“Even before the COVID-19 transpired, the community has faced environmental ramifications from urban development and polluted waters – further risking their source of livelihood. Now that the state is under the mandate of the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO), the situation may be detrimental at an even greater extent,” added Amlir who has been actively engaged with the Seletar community in the past.  

From today’s distribution at Balairaya Kg. Orang Asli Kuala Masai, five villages among the Seletar community benefited from the program which is Kg. Telok Jawa, Kg Kuala Masai, Kg Pasir Puteh, Kg Telok Kabong, and Kampung Orang Asli Pasir Salam. 

“ASEAN CARES embodies the commitment voiced by ASEAN Leaders during the Special ASEAN Summit on COVID-19 and the Special ASEAN Plus Three Summit on COVID-19, which calls for a coherent, multi-sectoral, multi-stakeholder and whole-of-ASEAN Community approach in combating the pandemic. We seek to engage all parties, from multinational society to local communities, to work together in delivering a large-scale COVID-19 relief aid to those with desperate needs and to marginalised groups through this programme. Through this initiative, we hope that private and public sectors will join hands to do our part in reducing the suffering of the people due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic,” Executive Director of ASEAN Foundation, Dr. Yang Mee Eng said.

In addition to the provision of fundamental care of food and hygiene kits, the community underwent training sessions (known as Training of Trainers) with EcoKnights on the safety and health measures of COVID-19 prevention. This included an interactive demonstration of the 20-second rule of hand-washing as well as the mandatory decree of properly wearing face masks to prevent the spread of the disease. 

Notes to Editor:

1. EcoKnights had distributed 300 food supply and hygiene kits to the Desa Temuan community at Bukit Lanjan, Selangor (First Phase) on 18 and 21 November respectively. 
2. This 300 item distribution at Pasir Gudang completes the Second Phase covering the Johor region.
3. The next distribution will be tentatively targeting the area of Pahang, Sabah, and Kuala Lumpur.
4. More information about Project BUMI: Meet the Needs humanitarian aid under ASEAN CARES is retrievable at this link: https://ecoknights.org.my/asean-cares/

-End-

About EcoKnights®

EcoKnights® is a not-for-profit environmental organisation that provides and delivers development and environmental interventions to communities, government agencies, learning institutions, and companies to mobilise and catalyse the stakeholders towards sustainable development across trans- and interdisciplinary fields to build bridges towards achieving sustainable communities and companies across five main pillars. Each pillar helps to strengthen the legacy of EcoKnights as it empowers the Knights to ideate, create, run and organise meaningful projects to impart long-lasting sustainable and economic impact to the country.

More information about EcoKnights is available on its official website at ecoknights.org.my

About 3M

At 3M, we apply science in collaborative ways to improve lives daily. With $32 billion in sales, our 96,000 employees connect with customers all around the world.

About United Way

United Way fights for the health, education and financial stability of every person in every community. Supported by 2.9 million volunteers, 8.1 million donors worldwide and $4.8 billion raised, United Way is the world’s largest privately funded non-profit. We’re engaged in nearly 1,800 communities across more than 40 countries and territories worldwide to create sustainable solutions to the challenges facing our communities. United Way partners include global, national and local businesses, non-profits, government, civic and faith-based organizations, along with educators, labour leaders, health providers, senior citizens, students and more. 

About the ASEAN Foundation

Three decades after ASEAN was established, ASEAN leaders recognised that: there remained inadequate shared prosperity, ASEAN awareness and contact among the people of ASEAN. It was of this concern that ASEAN leaders established ASEAN Foundation in Jakarta, Indonesia, at ASEAN’s 30th Anniversary Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 15 December 1997. The ASEAN Foundation is an organisation from and for the people of ASEAN. The Foundation exists because of one vision: to build a cohesive and prosperous ASEAN Community. As an ASEAN body, the Foundation is tasked to support ASEAN mainly in promoting awareness, identity, interaction and development of the people of ASEAN.

About Project BUMI: Meet the Needs

Project BUMI is EcoKnights’ sustainability-driven project that aims to uplift underprivileged communities from poverty and empower them towards sustainable living. The goal is to ensure basic necessities are made available to all communities throughout the country. This includes a continuous supply of electricity, clean water and internet connection, alongside access to basic healthcare and education for the communities.

___________________________________________________________________________

*For media inquiries, you may contact Ms. Fara at fara@ecoknights.org.my or 011-2321 0492

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – EcoKnights, with support from 3M, United Way Worldwide and ASEAN Foundation is on a mission to aid at-risk communities, especially the vulnerable groups in Malaysia who are severely impacted by COVID-19, through Project BUMI: Meet the Needs as part of the ASEAN CARES programme.

With an ambitious pursuit of reaching out to the underprivileged individuals in Malaysia and Thailand, a total funding of USD 160,000 from 3M has been pledged to support over 10,000 deserving communities in Malaysia and Thailand combined.

“It’s important that 3M holds true to its core values during this pandemic by supporting our communities and improving lives. The projects with United Way form part of a $20 million commitment made by 3M at a corporate level to support COVID-19 relief projects globally, and we’re grateful that some of this funding is helping the most vulnerable people in society impacted by the COVID-19 crisis in Malaysia during these exceptional times,” said Mr. GT. Lim, Country Leader of 3M Malaysia.   

United Way Worldwide International President, José Pedro Ferrão, commented: “On behalf of United Way Worldwide, I am pleased to partner with the EcoKnights, one of the ASEAN CARES partners, to help the community in Malaysia, hit hard by COVID-19. This pandemic is a new challenge for all of us, but I trust that we can respond to food-security issues and more by mobilizing community’s caring power together. We look forward to working with the EcoKnights and ASEAN Foundation to bring much-needed relief and long-term recovery to vulnerable communities in Malaysia.”

For the activation of the ASEAN CARES program in Malaysia, 3 local civil society organizations (CSO) were appointed, namely EcoKnights, Trees and the Lost Food Project. As one of the appointed local CSO from Malaysia, the youth-led non-governmental environmental organization, EcoKnights, is geared up to meet the needs of 1,700 underrepresented individuals in Malaysia, covering the region of Pahang, Selangor, Sabah, Kuala Lumpur, and Johor.

This shall not be the first time that the local NGO EcoKnights joined forces with ASEAN Foundation in a socially- and sustainability-driven action project, in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

“ASEAN CARES embodies the commitment voiced by ASEAN Leaders during the Special ASEAN Summit on COVID-19 and the Special ASEAN Plus Three Summit on COVID-19, which calls for of a coherent, multi-sectoral, multi-stakeholder and whole-of-ASEAN Community approach in combating the pandemic. We seek to engage all parties, from multinational society to local communities, to work together in delivering a large-scale COVID-19 relief aid to those in desperate needs and marginalise group  through this programme. Through this initiative, we hope that private and public sectors will join hand together to do our part to reduce the suffering of the people due to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic. ” Executive Director of ASEAN Foundation, Dr. Yang Mee Eng said.

ASEAN CARES aims to provide access to food and basic hygiene for vulnerable individuals and groups such as families with children, people with disabilities, women-headed households, elderlies, refugees, migrants as well as pregnant and lactating women.

The first food supply and hygiene kits distribution by the EcoKnights team and volunteers set off at Kampung Bukit Lanjan to over 20 representatives of the Temuan community (e.g., Head of family), to be further delivered to 170 families with children, and 130 deserving individuals inclusive of people with disabilities, the elderlies and lactating mothers.

Project BUMI is EcoKnights’ sustainability-driven project that aims to uplift underprivileged communities from poverty and empower them towards sustainable living. The goal is to ensure basic necessities are made available to all communities throughout the country. This includes a continuous supply of electricity, clean water and internet connection, alongside access to basic healthcare and education for the communities.

More information about Project BUMI: Meet the Needs humanitarian aid under ASEAN CARES is retrievable at this link: https://ecoknights.org.my/asean-cares/

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ABOUT ECOKNIGHTS®

EcoKnights® is a not-for-profit environmental organisation that provides and delivers development and environmental interventions to communities, government agencies, learning institutions, and companies to mobilise and catalyse the stakeholders towards sustainable development across trans- and interdisciplinary fields to build bridges towards achieving sustainable communities and companies across five main pillars.

The pillars are CSR and Partnership, Public Outreach, Community Development & Education (CDE), Rehabilitation, Restoration and Conservation (RRC) as well as Youth Development & Volunteerism (YDV), supported by Sustainability Communications. Each pillar helps to strengthen the legacy of EcoKnights as it empowers the Knights to ideate, create, run and organise meaningful projects to impart long-lasting sustainable and economic impact to the country. More information about EcoKnights is available on its official website at ecoknights.org.my

About 3M

At 3M, we apply science in collaborative ways to improve lives daily. With $32 billion in sales, our 96,000 employees connect with customers all around the world.

About United Way

United Way fights for the health, education and financial stability of every person in every community. Supported by 2.9 million volunteers, 8.1 million donors worldwide and $4.8 billion raised, United Way is the world’s largest privately funded non-profit. We’re engaged in nearly 1,800 communities across more than 40 countries and territories worldwide to create sustainable solutions to the challenges facing our communities. United Way partners include global, national and local businesses, non-profits, government, civic and faith-based organizations, along with educators, labour leaders, health providers, senior citizens, students and more. 

About the ASEAN Foundation

Three decades after ASEAN was established, ASEAN leaders recognised that: there remained inadequate shared prosperity, ASEAN awareness and contact among the people of ASEAN. It was of this concern that ASEAN leaders established ASEAN Foundation in Jakarta, Indonesia, at ASEAN’s 30th Anniversary Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 15 December 1997. The ASEAN Foundation is an organisation from and for the people of ASEAN. The Foundation exists because of one vision: to build a cohesive and prosperous ASEAN Community. As an ASEAN body, the Foundation is tasked to support ASEAN mainly in promoting awareness, identity, interaction and development of the people of ASEAN.

______________________________________________________________________________

*For media inquiries, you may contact Ms. Fara at fara@ecoknights.org.my or at 011-2321 0492