Takaful Malaysia launches student food aid program

Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Keluarga Berhad (Takaful Malaysia), the FIRST takaful operator in Malaysia, through its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative, collaborates with the Ministry of Education (MoE) to provide daily nutritious meals to 1,000 Asnaf students in ten (10) primary schools in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. The CSR program, known as the Di Hatiku Student Food Aid Program, aligns with Takaful Malaysia’s CSR and sustainability agenda of nation-building and improving the health, physical condition and nutrition of underprivileged students.

Nor Azman Zainal, Group Chief Executive Officer of Takaful Malaysia, said, “We initiated the food aid program to fulfil our responsibility as an Islamic financial institution in distributing Zakat to eligible Asnaf (tithe) recipients. We aim to create sustainable value in the local community through this program by providing daily nutritious meals and improving the nutrition intake among underprivileged students. Our responsibility and commitment is to assist the Government in addressing malnutrition by empowering the children with healthy meals. This is also in line with the spirit of takaful, i.e. helping one another, especially the needy.”    

Daily set meals for Asnaf students

Takaful Malaysia’s Di Hatiku Student Food Aid Program was launched in July 2023, involving 1,000 Asnaf students in ten (10) primary schools in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. Through the food aid program, Takaful Malaysia supplies daily set meals to eligible Asnaf students from low-income families at the respective schools, which is scheduled to run until February 2024 of the school academic year 2023/2024.

“Our call is to do our part and be a good corporate citizen by helping and empowering the younger generation with nutritious food. Realizing the importance of Asnaf students from low-income families having access to balanced meals at school, we decided to initiate this effort and lend a helping hand. Hence, we work closely with the MoE, selected school administrators and canteen operators to manage and implement the food aid program properly. 

Each selected Asnaf student is provided with a complete lunch box set, and the daily menu selection is based on the food pyramid for children, which consists of vegetables, fruits and protein sources to suit the needs of the Asnaf students. We also provide the children with water bottles to encourage them to drink more water and stay hydrated.

The Di Hatiku Student Food Aid Program supports the Sustainable Development Goals to eradicate malnutrition and ensure regular access, particularly to Asnaf and underprivileged children, to nutritious and sufficient food for normal growth and development and healthy life. Putting a smile on the children’s faces and seeing them enjoying their meals are our best rewards. We are pleased that this food aid program has received a positive and overwhelming response and hope it will continue to benefit the Asnaf students,” said Nor Azman Zainal in conclusion.