Twenty-one employees from Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia came down to the field to carry out their CSR volunteering activity, not realising their few hours of hard work will play a big role in the future of the Orang Asli (OA) community they had worked in.
Mitsubishi Motors’ ‘Safe and Lasting Homes for the Orang Asli’ CSR project consists of building two new houses to replace dilapidated and unsafe housing. Due to rapid deforestation around the village, the OA community struggle to find wood to build their homes. Hence, they resort to recycled materials that are not long-lasting.
Recognizing this issue, Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia and the Global Peace team are working hand-in-hand to achieve the goal of enriching the lives of the OA community through building safe and lasting homes.
“In line with Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia’s (MMM) CSR vision ‘Inspiring Lives Today for a Greater Future’, we know that success isn’t solely measured by the vehicles we put on the road, but also by the lives we enrich along the way. As part of a responsible Malaysian society, we want to see Malaysians even the indigenous community live a better life. Thus through this project, we aim to come together to provide a safe and lasting home for the Orang Asli community at Kampung Bukit Biru.”
Mr. Arba bin Abd Rahman, Senior Vice President, Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia
During the volunteering event, employees of Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia were broken into three groups to accomplish different tasks – site-digging, metal-cutting and cement-mixing.
The day started off with breakfast and briefing, followed by a ground-breaking ceremony and then right away to work. Through the volunteers’ dedication and hard work, they managed to complete all tasks in half the time.
The initial steps of building a home is extremely crucial as it is labour intensive, hence, the perfect timing for volunteers to come in and contribute their time and effort. Setting the base for the home would accelerate the building process and also give motivation to the villagers of Kg. Bukit Biru to finish building their home.
Apart from the digging and mixing under the sun, the volunteers were treated to Amai Yati’s ‘ubi kacau’ to end the activity. The Kebun Amai marketplace was also open for volunteers to purchase organic Orang Asli produce from their very own syntropic farms. All employees left the village feeling accomplished and excited as they cannot wait to see the final product of their hard work.
