Oil and gas firm's gift to rural kids

For a good cause: (From left) Thomas, Wheeler, Soo Liew and Nur Afzan holding the mock cheque while Ovinis looks on.

Thanks to a RM30,000 sponsorship, students in the interior will have NiE pullouts to make their English lessons interesting.

WHEN it comes to education, schools in rural areas are usually the ones that warrant the most attention.

With this in mind, oil and gas company ConocoPhillips Malaysia has lent a helping hand by sponsoring RM30,000 of The Star’s Newspaper-in-Education (NiE) pullout.

“I think NiE is an exciting programme and it is something that ConocoPhillips is very proud to be a part of,” said ConocoPhillips Malaysia president Mark Wheeler.

“I am happy that this contribution will be going out to schools in rural areas. Promoting the English language around Malaysia is a great step forward,” he added.

Present to receive the mock cheque from Wheeler was The Star executive editor Soo Ewe Jin who shared his recent experience using NiE in the classroom at SMK Pulau Ketam, Selangor.

“Oftentimes, it is schools that are away from Kuala Lumpur that need this. This is where sponsorships from companies come in,” Soo commented.

Also present at the mock cheque event was the corporation’s business development and commercial manager Richard Thomas, human resource business partner Helen Liew and The Star NiE editorial manager Sharon Ovinis and senior circulation executive (sales) Nur Afzan Abdul Adziz.

The company is present in about 30 countries with over 20,000 employees around the world.

It plays a proactive role in improving local communities and engaging with stakeholders.

“The majority of our corporate social responsibility projects are focused around communities in Sabah and Sarawak because that’s where most of our operations are,” said Wheeler.

“Our emphasis is on developing young people and we support a well-rounded education.We hope this contribution will go a long way in benefiting students, the country and the company in the future,” he said.

“We also sponsor university scholarships, most of them in the fields of engineering and geology. We’re very involved in education, from elementary school up to university,” he added.

Thomas explained that the development of people was crucial, not only to the local community but also to the country.

He said that the company was glad to help further education as it was a good way to give back to the community.”

The NiE school subscription package of 33 issues per year comes with a copy of the newspaper every Wednesday. Each subscription also comes with a choice of one of the following complimentary books: The New First Aid in English (RM24.90), Chambers School Grammar (RM20), Discover Grammar (RM19.90) or The First Aid in Spelling (RM24.90).

For enquiries on NiE packages and sponsorship programmes, contact The Star’s Customer Care Unit at 03-7967 1777 during office hours (Monday to Friday, from 9am to 5pm).