Vale in Malaysia extended its support for socioeconomically vulnerable households in Manjung by delivering food aid to 418 families yesterday (July 17). The latest initiative was part of Vale’s over RM1.0 million worth of aid distributed to the local communities in Manjung since March last year. Vale is one of the world’s largest mining companies, operating an iron ore distribution hub in the district.
The 418 households selected for the food aid included families of single mothers whose livelihoods have been affected during the pandemic, as well as the families of small-scale traders in Teluk Batik, a popular local beach, who could not operate their businesses during the recent lockdown. Local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) assisted Vale in identifying these families.
Rodrigo Ribeiro de Araújo, CEO of Vale in Malaysia said: “Vale is aware of the challenging circumstances that some families living in Manjung district are facing during the pandemic. In keeping with the Prihatin (caring) spirit that the government is espousing, we are stepping up, within our capacity as a corporation, to assist the local communities.”
Since the start of the pandemic last year, Vale has provided support to local communities and health agencies to assist Perak’s fight against COVID-19. The support includes the contribution of over 20,000 test kits to the Ministry of Health and eight units of Powered Air-Purifying Respirators (PAPR) to Manjung Hospital. Apart from the various food aid initiatives in Manjung, Vale’s support was also extended to the frontliners – 6,830 care packages were distributed to medical frontliners in May, as part of the company’s ‘Kome Hero Kami’ appreciation campaign.
“As the largest foreign investor in Perak, Vale will continue to be proactive in assisting local communities and institutions to ensure that we emerge from the pandemic stronger and more resilient. We are firmly with all Malaysians in this struggle,” Rodrigo concluded.
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