COVID-19 Initiatives 2021

In 2021, PPB provided essential food items and groceries to 21,017 needy recipients comprising the B40 group, refugees and migrants from 11 states in Malaysia through collaboration with reputable NGOs as follows:-

PPB also contributed essential food items namely cooking oil, rice, and eggs and/or infant/children’s milk powder to 3 foodbanks/soup kitchens namely Food Aid Foundation, Kechara Food Bank and PERTIWI Soup Kitchen as well as an orang asli village in Pahang, for a period of 3 months.

To reduce the risk of infection and potentially starting new clusters, PPB supported a public-funded quarantine centres at Travelodge City Centre, Kuala Lumpur and Mei Hotel, Penang with three main meals daily for COVID-19 patients from the B40 group with mild symptoms (categories 1 and 2) as assessed by the COVID-19 Assessment Centres (CACs). The quarantine centres managed by Crisis Relief Services & Training Berhad operated from August to November 2021, and served a total of 1,030 patients during the period.

PPB engaged struggling operators and unemployed B40 volunteers residing in low cost flats to prepare nutritious rice lunch of chicken/fish and vegetables daily to the needy in Klang Valley, Penang, Johor.

PPB provided an average of 2,000 meals daily in the 3rd quarter to needy recipients in the Klang Valley, Seremban, Penang and Johor. The nutritious rice meals of chicken/fish and vegetables were given to recipients who were undergoing self-quarantine; the elderly living alone with little access to fresh food supply during the MCO; as well as families who could not afford gas supply and fresh cooking ingredients.

This project also enabled PPB to create 3 months of steady sales for 32 hawkers in New World Park, Penang and a school canteen operator, who could not operate during the MCO and whose businesses were adversely affected. In the Klang Valley, PPB provided income opportunities for volunteers who were unemployed, by getting them to prepare meals in the community kitchens at PPR Desa Mentari, PPR Sri Sarawak and Putra Ria and Abdullah Hukum low cost apartments. PPB also collaborated with a social enterprise, LS Group in Seremban to provide hot meals to 13 welfare homes for the entire month of July; and Persatuan Kebajikan Keluarga Harapan Kluang Johor in Kluang to serve 350 needy recipients for 3 months.

PPB sponsored 1,500 needy recipients with organic vegetable terrarium through regenerative farming as well as upskill recipients towards entrepreneurship when they have the basic understanding of growing food from soil biology.

PPB adopted 1,500 boxes of organic regenerative vegetable terrarium (“Hope Box”) from PWD Smart FarmAbility to scale up nutrition for the needy. The Hope Box is easy to harvest at home, fresh and free from chemicals. It is the world’s first organic vegetable terrarium grown on nutrient-dense soil with soil biology, and the vegetables can regenerate for more than 27 months (and still counting).

Todate, the Hope Boxes adopted by PPB have been distributed to the disabled, single mothers and cancer patients. Recipients are given a basic understanding of growing plants from soil and those who are more interested in looking after the terrarium will be upskilled towards entrepreneurship.

The “Hello, We Can!” campaign organised by GSC, aimed to inspire kindness, create awareness of mental health and drive Malaysians to create and share positive, motivational content on their own personal social media, generated a total of 15,546 posts. PPB donated RM10 for each post totalling RM155,460/- to four NGOs to support their initiatives to raise awareness and provide support for mental health in Malaysia. The beneficiaries of this campaign were Women’s Aid Foundation, UM Cares, the Mental Illness Awareness and Support Association (MIASA), and Befrienders Malaysia.