Klang, 3 November 2018

The festive spirit kicked into full swing as the Malaysian AEON Foundation (MAF) partnered with Klang’s Sri Maha Mariamman Temple for the 9th instalment of its Lights of Love Deepavali programme.

In lieu of the upcoming religious celebration, a selected 130 children and 50 less fortunate families from the neighbourhood were offered monetary assistance and everyday life necessities that totaled RM47,500.

The two-part event, which began at AEON Mall Bukit Tinggi and culminated at the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, was attended by YB Tuan Charles Anthony Santiago, MP for Klang, Datuk Iskandar bin Sarudin and Chairman of AEON CO. (M) BHD. Also lending their support were members of AEON Group’s top management, MAF committee members, along with 60 volunteers.

“There’s a reason why we keep doing these initiatives year in and year out. The smiles on the children’s faces, their joy that fill the room—it’s a beautiful moment, knowing that we can help make a difference in their lives. We’re also happy to be joining hands with the folks of Sri Maha Mariamman Temple this year, working together to leave a positive impact for the local underprivileged community,” said Mr Shinobu Washizawa, MAF Vice President.

Starting the day on an exciting note, the children were treated to a two-hour shopping excursion at AEON Mall Bukit Tinggi. With every child getting RM200 to spend, they had a good time picking out clothes for Deepavali, stationeries and toys too. This was followed by a play session at indoor entertainment centre, Molly Fantasy.

The second part of the programme gathered the children and volunteers at the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, where they enjoyed a scrumptious lunch, and were engaged in fun group activities.

Fun and games aside, MAF further assisted to alleviate the burdens of the children and families by making a generous contribution to the community—a perfect finish for this year’s Lights of Love initiative.

The donation handover ceremony held at the temple saw every child receiving an angpow worth RM50, while every family went home with RM200 angpow. Additionally, each single parent in the family also received a goodie bag—filled with necessities such as rice, sugar and flour—amounting to RM100. As part of this noble collaboration, MAF also made a donation of RM10,000 to Sri Maha Mariamman Temple.