Roche Malaysia Raise US$16,035.29 For Charity

KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 (Bernama) -- For more than a month, healthcare-based company Roche Malaysia had carried out various fund raising activities internally and managed to raise US$16,035.29 (RM50,532) for various children charities. In addition, 138 Roche employees from two divisions of Roche Malaysia - Diagnostic and Pharma - did a symbolic walk for the children of Malawi (Africa) last month in Kuala Lumpur Lake Gardens (Taman Tasik Perdana) here. They were among the over 20,000 employees of Roche from 113 Roche sites who marked the International Day of the African Child by walking and collecting donations for children in need as part of the 9th Roche Children's Walk. To show its commitment to help children, Roche Malaysia matched the money raised, and distributed half of the money raised to support care centres for HIV/AIDS orphans and educational initiatives in Southern Malawi and contributed the other half to the Sarawak Hospice Society and Yayasan Sunbeam Home as beneficiaries this year. Roche Malaysia managing director Dr Ait-Allah Mejri in a statement Tuesday said Malawi, being one of the least developed in the world with 40 percent of the population surviving on less than US$1 per day (RM3.20), was chosen as half a million of its children were orphaned due to HIV/AIDS. Despite its downside, Malawi has a peaceful and stable history and Roche Malaysia believes one of the key to development is education, thus, the company focuses on long-term education projects. -- BERNAMA