How A Cabinet Full Of Essentials Is Helping To Tackle Hunger & Education Woes

An estimated 4 million Malaysian youths experience food insecurities due to financial hardships and don’t have enough food at home or at school.

Credit: Taylor’s College

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Children are the future and deserve to live, learn and grow in a safe, healthy and fulfilling environment. But unfortunately, not every child in Malaysia enjoys the benefits and opportunities present in our modern society.

Despite our country’s progress and diversity, we still face challenges in eradicating poverty, inequality and the lack of access to food. According to UNICEF, an estimated 4 million Malaysian youths experienced food insecurities due to financial hardships.

This is especially so in the country’s poor urban areas which record a higher level of malnourished kids than the national average. In our nation’s capital of Kuala Lumpur, families still struggle to put food on the table and many children are faced with the situation where they don’t have enough food at home or at school.

And this, in turn, has negative consequences on a child’s physical and mental health, as well as, their academic performance, social skills, and future prospects.

This is why Taylor’s College through its student engagement arm, The Risers, launched the CAREbinet by The Risers program to build, distribute and stock cabinets full of food and other essentials for schools in KL, and provide disadvantaged students with necessities so that they can focus on their academic pursuits.

With the guidance of creative hub Mereka, the cabinets are made from recycled plastics and were built by The Risers ambassadors and Taylor’s College students themselves — fostering a culture of sustainable practices to ensure an equitable and inclusive future for all.

The cabinets will be stocked with bread, rice, soup, instant beverages, soap, shampoo, deodorant, sanitary pads and school supplies.

And to ensure that these cabinets will always stay full, Taylor’s College has committed RM200,000 to support the initiative and will continue to restock them from March to December 2023 with help from partners like Adabi Consumer Industries, Gardenia Bakeries KL, Jasmine Food Corporation, Kotex Malaysia, and Unilever Malaysia.

“At Taylor’s College, we are passionate about ensuring that every student has equal access to academic excellence. Our partners for CAREbinet by The Risers share this vision, believing that no student should be held back by their socioeconomic status,” said Josephine Tan, Campus Director of Taylor’s College at the launch of the program on Thursday at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Seri Tasik in Cheras.

The launch was joined by the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur Education Department (JPWPKL) Student Development Sector Deputy Director Zainudin Mohamad who welcomed the initiative as a means to uplift the community and provide KL’s underprivileged kids with better opportunities.

This noble initiative serves as a beacon of hope, aimed at uplifting educational institutions, particularly school premises, which play a vital role in shaping our society.
JPWPKL Student Development Sector Deputy Director Zainudin Mohamad.

To kick off the initiative, Taylor’s College has identified 14 schools to benefit from the first phase of the program: