Berjaya Sompo presents RM40,000 grant

THE Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Welfare Foundation is a public entity under the Sompo Holdings Group. The foundation aims to contribute to the improvement of welfare and culture by providing grants, mainly to non-profit organisations, which work with children and adults with disabilities, and the elderly.
Recently, the foundation awarded a RM40,000 cheque to a non-profit organisation. The sum, which went to the Special Children Society of Ampang (SCSOA), is said to aid the society with the installation cost of a 10kWp solar system.
BRIEF SCOOP
Briefly, SCSOA is a non-profit society that helps educate and care for 70 mentally and physically challenged children and young adults. On learning that the society had plans to build four additional classrooms to accommodate the growing demands of the centre, the foundation decided to step in to assist.
The RM40,000 grant will go towards the installation of an RM84,000 solar power system. Instead of “giving fish for a day”, the foundation decided to “teach the recipient to fish”. The funds will assist the society in its path towards sustainable working methods, as well as help generate income over the years to help support the running of the centre.
THE FOUNDATION
Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Welfare Foundation is funded by Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Insurance Inc. Apart from its core mission to award grants that aid in social welfare matters, the foundation also provides:
► research grants and presents seminars and lectures on social welfare, social insurance, non-life insurance and gerontology fields;
► awards for outstanding academic research in social welfare in Japan;
► subsidises lectures and symposiums conducted by award recipients; and
► scholarships and loans to individuals undergoing training to become care workers.
In 2010, the foundation launched a grant programme for overseas social welfare organisations – an extension to its financial support programme that aids Japanese welfare organisations. This international grant programme is aimed at improving social welfare across the globe, therein support non-profit organisations in various countries that work to improve social welfare.
MALAYSIAN ARM
In Malaysia, Berjaya Sompo Insurance Berhad (BSIB) comes under the Sompo Holdings Group umbrella. The general insurance company operates through 22 nationwide offices via over 22,000 agents.
BSIB technical advisor Yuki Wakabayashi shared the company’s decision to aid SCSOA, which was “because the centre accepts people from different backgrounds without discrimination. This action is visible with the presence of children of different ethnicities”.
Wakabayashi also said that he was impressed with the centre’s effort in “taking the sustainable path”, using solar panels as part of its expansion project. For more information, visit the BSIB or SCSOA website.