Charity

A Sound Gift for the Hearing Impaired
Siemens and Rotary tie up benefit the hearing impaired

Driven by intellectual curiosity and social responsibility, 100 underprivileged children with hearing impairment received Siemens Hearing Instruments as part of the Rotary Club of Kuala Lumpur DiRaja’s Learning and Living Aids for Handicapped Children at the Shangri La Hotel in Kuala Lumpur.

Of the 100 children from around the country identified by the Special Education Unit of the Education Ministry, six were present at the ceremony with their parents and teachers, where the children were fitted with Siemens Hearing Aids. The remaining 94 children will be assisted by Siemens Hearing Division unit’s dealers Sountex Hearing Instruments and Pro Hearing Audiolab Sbn Bhd, who are located throughout the country.

This is the second phase of the on-going project which begun in 2006. To date, the joint partnership has seen a total of 250 sets being donated to the special children.

In Malaysia, hearing loss has been registered by the Welfare Society Department of Malaysia third in the list of disabilities with 31,715 cases reported in 2007. Each year, this number increases, not including thousands more cases which go unrecorded. While the Welfare Society Department provides grants to support the needs of the disabled community, this alone will not suffice.

The Learning and Living Aids for Handicapped Children project is an initiative by The Rotary Club of Kuala Lumpur DiRaja aimed to assists underprivileged children with special needs. The project is reserved for children aged 2 to 10 years old, where they will be provided with living and learning aids for their education in a bid to give them a chance to be independent members of the society; apart from leading normal lives.

Through partnership with a corporate organisation, this time with Siemens Malaysia, the hearing impaired children were pampered by Siemens through Siemens Hearing Aids inclusive of not only the hearing aids, but ear moulds, fitting and usage training, one year of battery supply and a 2-year warranty and maintenance.

For every one unit sponsored by Rotary, it was matched by Siemens, which amounts to 200 pieces (or 100 pairs) of hearing solution. The contribution from Siemens for 200 units of hearing aids including peripherals and services is worth close to RM300,000. Adding the contribution from Rotary brings the total sponsorship value to RM600,000.

Cyclone Nargis
Caring Siemens employees raise RM12,000 through jumble sale

Despite their busy work schedules, employees of Siemens Malaysia proved that they are still sensitive to their surroundings. This was truly evident when caring employees turned up in droves to donate items to a jumble sale held in aid of victims of cyclone Nargis in Myanmar. The jumble sale was held at the lobby area of Siemens Malaysia’s headquarters in Petaling Jaya, known as The Gallery. All effort was not wasted, as employees raised RM12,000 t ease the sufferings of the victims.

With the money, Siemens purchased 10,000 bottles of Spritzer mineral water and 2,500 cans of sardines. Water and sardines were chosen as it did not require cooking, and could be consumer immediately by the famished victims. The goods were then channelled to the Malaysian Red Crescent Society (MRCS) at their national headquarters to be sent to Myanmar.

The items received for the jumble sale included brand new items such as handbags, winter clothing, evening wear, shoes, accessories, toys, clothes, home made soap and even a coffee maker.

At a simple handover ceremony at the MRCS premises in Jalan Ampang, MRC Director of Operations Fadhil Kamaruddin accepted the aids on behalf of the victims.

Siemens Run 2007 recipients get Valentines Day surprise with five-figure RM boost

The well deserving athletes at the Malaysian Paralympic Council (MPC) received a much needed boost from Siemens when Siemens Malaysia’s President & CEO Tan Sri Rainer Althoff stopped by their premises in Brickfields on February 14th with a little Valentine’s Day surprise.

The Paralympics athletes, pushed by true grit and a desire to overshadow their disabilities, are currently preparing to qualify for the Beijing Olympics, and will spend the RM10,000 from Siemens as incentives for medal winners.

The amount, collected during our 3rd Siemens Run last July, was channelled to MPC as part of Siemens’ pledge and dedication in corporate responsibility. A total of RM46,672 was collected from the annual run, where aids were also divided among the Malaysian National Cancer Society and the Jalan Batu school for the visually impaired in Kuala Lumpur.



"As a good corporate citizen, Siemens takes its responsibility to the community seriously."

Corporate citizenship is one of the pillars that gives our organization strength and unity. This is demonstrated over the years by our employees who volunteer time and energy in numerous initiatives and associations to reach out to the community.

One primary focus of our citizenship initiatives is on advancing and integrating underprivileged and disadvantaged segments of the community. What is important to us here is to give people the kind of support that encourages them to help themselves. We take a special interest in working to improve children's situations and to safeguard their welfare.

Siemens Lends Support to Road Safety Awareness Campaign

On 10 August 2006, Siemens Malaysia, together with ThyssenKrupp AG and the Rotary Club of Kuala Lumpur DiRaja, handed over 900 safety jackets to the municipal of Petaling Jaya, Majlis Bandaraya Petaling Jaya (MBPJ) in support for its on-going road safety awareness efforts. The donation of the safety jackets symbolizes Siemens Malaysia's ongoing commitment to give back to the community in which it operates in - this time in the form of road safety enhancement.

The safety jackets were specially designed with reflectors all around is to increase visibility of MBPJ staffers while traveling on motorcycles or working in close proximity with vehicle traffic as studies have shown that the number of road accidents involving motorcyclists and pedestrians can be significantly reduced with proper safety gear while on the roads.

Although road safety has long been considered one of the social responsibilities of the government, Siemens Malaysia feels that this responsibility should not rest solely on the government as there are many ways in which the non-government sectors can support such community initiatives. Dato' Ahmad Termizi Puteh, former mayor of Petaling Jaya, praised Siemens for extending such generous support toward the road safety awareness campaign especially for motorcyclists and said he hopes this effort will continue and that other companies will come forward in a similar manner to support government campaigns.

The safety jackets were also distributed to Siemens Malaysia despatch staff and chaeffurs in appreciation of their hard work and also in caring for their safety on the road given their frequent travel on motorcycles.

Building a 'heARTy' community - Siemens Adds Fun to Routine Health Checks

Siemens shows its unwavering commitment to corporate responsibility by holding the fourth annual Siemens Health Drive at the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (KLPac). Siemens Health Drive 2006 was organized by Siemens Malaysia Sdn Bhd, with the collaboration of the Ti-Ratana / Lions' Club of Serdang Mobile Clinic, the Academy@KLPac, the Association of Malaysian Optometrists, Siemens Hearing Solutions, Pro-Hearing Audio Lab Systems Sdn Bhd and other various sponsors.

Close to 160 children aged between 5 to 12 years from orphanages and shelter homes in Perak and around the Klang Valley were gathered at KLPac for basic health checks. This was made possible through a joint effort with the approximately 30 doctors, medical practitioners and other volunteers from the Ti-Ratana / Lions Club of Serdang Mobile Clinic, other generous sponsors of nutritional products and healthcare services and Siemens employees. The health checks included general physical screening, body mass index calculation, deworming and dental, hearing and eyesight checks.

As a Founding Sponsor of KLPac, Siemens understands the importance of arts as a form of expression and celebration of individuality, which is why they merged the charity health drive together with an opportunity for the children to show off their latent artistic talent. The Academy@KLPac gladly put the 'art' into 'heart' by generously coming in as one of the main sponsors to conduct interactive and educational drama activities for the children who would not otherwise have access to such activities. The children also enjoyed fun and stimulating activities such as face-painting, balloon sculpting and drawing.

Go Greener

"Our knowledge and our solutions are helping to create a better world. We have a responsibility to the wider community and we are committed to environmental protection". This is an excerpt from Siemens' global Environmental Mission Statement in adopted October 1998.

In April 2006, Siemens Malaysia put its 'green foot' forward by initiating a recycling campaign called the 'All-For-1 Earth Recycling Program'. The response to this campaign has been very encouraging, with recyclables collected equal to the saving of 13 trees on average per month. The All-For-1 Earth Recycling program is presently on-going and Siemens Malaysia hopes to save more trees in a month than this present average. Proceeds from this effort have been channeled to support several charity homes via Siemens Malaysia's recycling partner.

A 'Go Greener' campaign was launched in June 2006, in partnership with several non-government environmental organizations, to raise awareness on environmental issues. The campaign included an interactive exhibition on Siemens environmentally-friendly technology, conservation topics and tips for recycling.

Other initiatives in the pipeline, to promote greater environmental responsibility, include a 'Bottles and Cans Campaign' - where employees can trade recyclables for 'Siemens – We Recycle' goodies every month. For Siemens, sustainable development in environmental protection means careful use of natural resources. The All-For-1 Earth Recycling Program and Go Greener campaign are part of Siemens Malaysia's efforts to motivate employees to conserve such natural resources on a daily basis.

Free Like a Bird Art Workshop

Siemens Malaysia held a 'Family Art & Creative Workshop' to bring together families from Siemens Malaysia Sdn Bhd and under-privileged children. The workshop, organized by Siemens Malaysia Sdn Bhd's Sports Club, has been held annually since 2001.

The workshop themed "Free as a bird" held at the Kuala Lumpur Bird Park in Lake Gardens brought together more than 120 participants including a group of 16 children from Shepherd's Centre, a foster home to destitute children in Semenyih. This year's workshop featured well-known local artist Encik Yusof 'Gajah', who guided the participants in creating their masterpieces using old newspapers, rags, beads and acrylic pieces to form colorful collages around the theme of freedom and nature.

Twenty pieces of these artworks were later showcased at the Siemens Gallery at Siemens Malaysia's head office in Petaling Jaya for two weeks from in May 2006. The artworks were thereafter donated to Shepherd's Centre and Yayasan Budi Penyayang, Malaysia.

Siemens brings cheer to child cancer patients

Siemens Run 2006 was brought to a fitting close when Siemens Malaysia Sdn Bhd presented a cheque for Ringgit Malaysia Twenty Thousand (RM20,000) being proceeds from the Run to the National Cancer Society of Malaysia (NCSM) to be channeled towards improving the well being of children undergoing cancer treatment.

The cheque presentation took place at NCSM's Home of Hope, which is the Society's home for children who are receiving outpatient cancer treatment. NSCM was represented by its Honorary Adviser, Dato' Zuraidah Atan, while Siemens Malaysia Sdn Bhd was represented by its President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Rainer Althoff, who was accompanied by his wife, Mrs Brigitte Althoff.

The 30 child cancer patients at the Paediatric Oncology Ward (KK3) at the Kuala Lumpur General Hospital which also receives support from the NCSM, were all smiles when Mr and Mrs Althoff presented each of them with a coveted teddy bear from Harrods - a token to wish them well. Their delight continued when entertained by a clown who gave out balloon sculptures and amused the crowd with magic tricks.

See also Run for fitness, charity and fun

The Betterment of Community, Now Made Better

In September 2005, we reaffirmed our commitment to serving the community with the 'Siemens Health Drive 2005', a medical examination and health awareness project for all the Temuan Orang Asli families in the community of Bukit Payong, Alor Gajah, in collaboration of the the Ti-Ratana Mobile Clinic, Family Planning Association of Ma-laysia (Melaka Branch), Persatuan Bulan Sabit Merah Malaysia (Melaka Branch), Meditel Electronics Sdn Bhd and GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Sdn Bhd.

The Siemens Health Drive, which has been held annually since 2003, is in response to the call of the Government for corporations to be more involved in corporate social responsibility programs to support those in need.

The community was given the opportunity for a thorough health checks from general physical screening, body mass index calculation, blood glucose testing to deworming and dental and eyesight checks. As we believe that self awareness is also essential, talks on first aid and family planning were also conducted by the Persatuan Bulan Sabit Merah, Melaka Branch and the Family Planning Association of Malaysia, Melaka Branch, respectively, to raise awareness amongst the Orang Asli on how to safeguard their health.

Each family also received first aid kits with medical supplies, jointly sponsored by Siemens Malaysia Sdn Bhd and Meditel Electronics Sdn Bhd, an associated company of Siemens Malaysia Sdn Bhd. pharmaceutical products sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) were also given out to the Bukit Payong villagers.

Providing Relief Across Borders

In aid of the Pakistan earthquake victims, we have also created the Siemens Malaysia Earthquake Relief Fund for Pakistan. The company along with its employees chipped in, resulting in a total contribution from the employees and the company amounting to RM54,802, then channeled to Siemens Pakistan for humanitarian aid projects in Pakistan.

Reach Out with a Book

Enriched young minds do not belong to only those who can afford it. That is why Siemens has taken the initiative to host a book drive program called Siemens "Reach out With a Book" program in May 2006 to provide an opportunity for less fortunate children to be more exposed by cultivating their interest for reading and consequently help them enhance and enrich the beauty of their minds.

103 children aged between 2 to 22 years old consisting of orphans, abandoned, abused and neglected children from broken families, currently housed in Shepherd's Centre foster home in Semenyih were delighted with the visit by Siemens' staff bringing with them boxes of books from fictional, magazines and educational materials. There were clowns and games to entertain the children, but the story telling session was the highlight of the day when the children gets a preview of the of books that they are receiving.

Siemens seeing to the needs of the blind

Siemens Malaysia saw to the needs of the students of the special school for the visually impaired, SK Pendidikan Khas (CP) in Jalan Batu by sponsoring two laptops complete with special software to enhance their learning experience through computers. The computers came complete with the latest version of JAWS, a window screen reading software and Duxbury BTS, a software which converts text to Braille and vice versa.

During the handover of the laptops on 13 February last Tuesday, Encik Ahmad Baki bin Musli, the headmaster of the school said, "Siemens was the first company that we approached through the Support Group Society for the Blind of Malaysia (SGSB) and we are glad and grateful that they have answered the call for this donation. The computers will benefit our 35 `students and are vital tools for our teachers as well in giving them a better education".

Siemens Head of Corporate Communications, Ms Vasanthe Narayanasamy in her speech reaffirmed Siemens' commitment in reaching out to communities through its Caring Hands program, "There are many needy societies out there and the blind and visually impaired community is among a number which lacks the required support. At Siemens, we consider such needs carefully and reach out to them in a sustainable manner".

After the handover, students were given a demonstration on how to use JAWS software on the computer by 22 year-old Amin Sharif Abdullah. Following that, to the delight of the students, Siemens gave away ang pows and mandarin oranges in conjunction with the Chinese New Year.

Siemens Life Boat

Did you know that there were 144,000 families who were affected by the recent second wave of flood which hit our country in December last year? Families had to be evacuated and belongings either lost or damaged left them with nothing to hold on to, except for hope.

Siemens Malaysia was one of the many corporate organizations who answered the call for hope, by organizing a donation drive in a unique and effective way!

An Online Shoppe was designed with the products and quantity for sale, selectively chosen based on the victims' current needs. From track bottoms to diapers, from milk powder to blankets, the products were sold out in less than a week!

Goods worth RM 15,000.00 were the handed over On 25th January 2007, safely and directly to hands of the flood victims of Batu Pahat as it was one of the worst flood areas which needed a lot of attention.

The handover took place at a relief center in Kampung Parit Makmur, Mukim 10 Senggarang, Batu Pahat. Fifty two families consisting of 198 people occupy this relief centre ever since they had to abandon their homes due to the flood.

A representative from the relief center, Penghulu Bahren was present to receive the goods. Siemens Malaysia was represented by Ms Loreen Sudo, President of Sports Club, Mr JeyaGanesh from our A&D, JB branch and Ms Alicia Mah from Corporate Communications. Goods were delivered to the relief centre with courtesy from DHL.

TUNING INTO THE NEEDS OF HEARING IMPAIRED CHILDREN

100 hearing impaired school children benefit from Rotary & Siemens tie-up

Kuala Lumpur, 17 March 2007 - 100 children with special hearing needs received Siemens hearing aids as part of Rotary Club of Kuala Lumpur DiRaja Malaysia's "Learning and Living Aids for Handicapped Children" project here today at the launch in Shangrila Hotel.

The hearing aids were presented by Deputy Minister of Women, Family and Community Development, YB Datuk G. Palanivel to school children with hearing impairment from poor homes. With the use of hearing aids, Siti Sarah, representing the recipients of the hearing aids, gave a captivating poem recital in appreciation of the minister's attendance and efforts for community development. Born with hearing loss, Siti Sarah started using hearing aids at an early age. The benefit of addressing hearing loss early was demonstrated through her presentation today.

Hearing loss is the second highest registered disability in Malaysia. Statistics from the Welfare Society Department of Malaysia reported 26,294 such disabilities in 2005*. This number increases every year and thousands go unrecorded. While the Welfare Society Department provides grants to support the needs of the disabled community, this alone will not suffice.

Dr. Salbiah Ismail, the director of Special Education Department of the Ministry of Education of Malaysia said, "It is great to have voluntary humanitarian organizations such as Rotary and caring corporate citizens like Siemens come forth and work with the ministry in addressing these special needs. By combining our efforts, we will be able us to reach out further for the betterment of their lives."

The "Learning and Living Aids for Handicapped Children" project is a new initiative by The Rotary Club of Kuala Lumpur DiRaja which is aimed at helping the underprivileged children with special needs. Through this project, children from the age group between 5 and 10 will be provided with living and learning aids for their education so as to give them the opportunity to be independent and contributive members of society. Children who are hearing impaired, visually impaired and mentally challenged will receive this aid through Rotary's partnership with corporate organizations.

One such initiative is the partnering with Siemens Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. in sponsoring hearing aids for the needy children who have been identified by the Special Education Department. The sponsorship package offered by Siemens through its Siemens Hearing Solutions unit covers hearing aids, ear moulds, fitting and usage training, one year of battery supply plus a two-year warranty including maintenance to the 100 hearing impaired children. Every one unit sponsored by Rotary will be matched by Siemens. In total, the contribution from both parties is valued at RM550,000 for 200 pieces or 100 pairs of hearing aids as well as the peripherals.

Speaking at the launch of this event, Mr. Rainer Althoff, CEO of Siemens Malaysia said, "It is sad to see innocent faces being exposed to the world of silence at such an early age. The impact of hearing loss can be devastating and because of that we at Siemens believe in giving them support to encourage them to help themselves".

He added, "This tie-up with Rotary is indeed meaningful for Siemens as it forms part of its Siemens Caring Hands corporate social responsibility program which focuses on youth and talent development".

Rotary President Mr. David Teh urged corporations as well as members of the public to contribute and support the project to enable more handicapped children to benefit from the program. To donate or for more information on the project, contact Ms Diana at 03- 4042 3311 or Diana-rckld@pra.com.my or visit www.rotarykldiraja.org.



*Sources : http://202.56.84.170/webserver/goverment/jkm/statistik_luar.asp?Bil=5

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