A firm believer in the corporate
social responsibility motto of ‘Doing Well, Doing Good’, Woh Hup (Private
Limited) strives to be a good corporate citizen by providing opportunities for
employees to engage in local and overseas charity work and give back to the society.
Spanning over the course of eight months
from August 2015 to March 2016 from planning to execution, YMCA of Singapore partnered
with The Chain Reaction Group (TCRP) to connect Woh Hup and YMCA Chiang Mai in
the construction of a community facility for the elderly and youth. Named “Love
and Care Centre”, the centre is located in the Sankhampeang District,
approximately 25 kilometres from Chiang Mai city.
With cramped spaces in a temple and
being unable to provide a conducive learning environment for the elderly and
youth, the construction of the centre was timely and crucial as it serves as a space
to run programmes and activities for the elderly which will help improve their quality
of life.
The official opening ceremony took place on
25 March 2016 and was officiated by Ms Suphanimitr, Mayor of Sankhamphaeng, Mr
Ngiam Siew Kim, Executive Director of Woh Hup Private Limited, Mr Rachan
Maneekarn, National General Secretary of Thailand & General Secretary,
YMCA of Chiang Mai, Thailand. Ms Samantha Seah, Assistant General Secretary
(Programmes) and Mr Andrew Leo, Assistant General Manager, Programmes
represented YMCA of Singapore at the ceremony.
In groups of 50, staff volunteers
from Woh Hup worked alongside the local workers over four weeks in the month of
March 2016 to build the “Love & Care Centre”. But it was not all work and
no play, as the volunteers also interacted with the elderly beneficiaries through
games, learnt how to cook traditional Thai dishes and had their meals together
with the locals. This avenue of interaction allowed both the volunteers and the
beneficiaries to communicate and learn more about each other through actions
rather than words.
Mr Rachan Maneekarn said, “I would like to express my sincere
thanks to YMCA of Singapore for your generosity, kind coordination and
preparation in ensuring the smooth completion of the “Love and Care Centre”.
We will use this building as a training centre for intergenerational bonding
for the elderly and youth in the Sankamphaeng district.”
The centre aims to be a community
facility which will run programmes and activities for the elderly and provide
opportunities for the youths living in the village to volunteer during the
weekends. YMCA of Singapore and the
partners in this project hopes that this will encourage the development of a
volunteering mind-set among the youths in the village and let them become more
attuned to the needs of the less privileged in their community, to “love and
care”, and to pass it on.
Click here to watch highlights from the YMCA
& Woh Hup - Love & Care Community Project Chiang Mai.
No comments :
Post a Comment