SMEC extends support to minority school children in Vietnam and cancer education in PNG

SMEC recently approved two donations as part of its commitment to making a positive social impact on communities in Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

SMEC recently approved two donations as part of its commitment to making a positive social impact on communities in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Approvals for the two donations were secured through the assistance of the ASEAN/SEA & Pacific CSR Committee.

Improving kindergarten facilities for children in Vietnam

SMEC’s donation in Vietnam is in partnership with the Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation, a local non-government organisation that offers disadvantaged children and families a chance to turn their lives around. The funding will be used to construct a 20 sqm multipurpose room and a 6 sqm sanitation facility for 34 children at the Ma Lung Hamlet kindergarten in Ha Giang province. The multipurpose room will be provided with kitchenware and furniture whilst the sanitation facility to be built will have separate rooms for boys and girls.

Currently, the kindergarten has only two classrooms, with the kids having to occupy a narrow corridor to have lunch and no proper water system to ensure hygiene for them. Ma Lung Hamlet has around 100 families belonging to the H’mong ethnic minority group in Vietnam.

Raising cancer awareness in Papua New Guinea

The Papua New Guinea donation, was given to the PNG Cancer Foundation (PNGCF) to help in its efforts to reduce the threat and impact of cancer, which has a high prevalence in the country, through education and awareness programs. Called the Healthy Teens School Program (HTSP) and Community Outreach & Prevention Education Program (COPEP), the objective is to educate students and empower individuals to make healthy lifestyle choices in life.

SMEC’s funding will be used to provide logistical support needed for the two programs in six primary schools in Morobe and Madang provinces to be conducted by health educators (doctors and medical students). It is expected to benefit as many as 6,000 students, teachers and community members.

Children at the Ma Lung kindergarten in Vietnam having lunch in the narrow school corridor.

A student answers a questionnaire during a cancer awareness session in Papua New Guinea.