NEWS: Telco firm does it bit for kids

AS Malaysia’s leading mobile telecommunications operator, Maxis is passionate about the role it plays in supporting national aspirations in the area of technology, education and youth.

In 2002, the company launched Maxis Bridging Communities, a comprehensive CSR programme, with Maxis Cyberkids as its flagship project.

A necessity: The children of Nur Salam and The Lighthouse shopping for school shoes with help from Maxis employees.

Maxis Cyberkids is a nationwide rural schools outreach project to help narrow the digital divide in rural Malaysia through sustained Information and Communications Technology (ICT) training and knowledge exposure.

It includes special camps in rural areas to train schoolchildren and teachers in practical computer and Internet skills.

The Cyberkids project has thus far conducted 88 camps for more than 5,000 schoolchildren and 2,000 teachers from rural areas nationwide.

Related programmes like CyberLinq - an annual national website creation contest for schools, universities and communities - and the internet-based Maxis Cyberkids Club were launched to ensure sustained learning through ICT among schoolchildren, university students, teachers and other community stakeholders of Maxis.

Maxis’ chief operating officer Jon Eddy Abdullah said: “To date, the Cyberkids Camp has been focused on engagement with primary schoolchildren.

“This year, we also developed camps for secondary school students in rural areas. Many of the primary school children who participated in previous Cyberkids Camps are now older and need more advanced ICT training activities.”

Maxis hopes to extend this successful programme to urban areas, especially for disadvantaged children and youths who do not enjoy equal access to information technology due to various circumstances.

Maxis launched a joint initiative with Ericsson Malaysia last week to bring wireless broadband technology to Rumah Nur Salam, a safe-house in KL’s Chow Kit area that was set up to help keep children off the streets by giving them a safe environment to learn and play.

“Maxis strongly believes that we need to focus on children whose circumstances may have left them behind in the digital era, whether in rural areas or in thriving urban Chow Kit,” said Jon.

“In parallel, Maxis Broadband has been expanding rapidly in the last year as a compelling mainstream service. We hope that with this small contribution, we will be able to provide access to the world for the children of Rumah Nur Salam, via Maxis Broadband.”

The joint Maxis-Ericsson initiative follows another Maxis outreach activity at Rumah Nur Salam last December, where Maxis employees purchased new school shoes for children of Nur Salam and Lighthouse Children Welfare Home Association, and distributed them at a special Christmas party.

“Inspired by our nation’s 50th Merdeka anniversary, Maxis launched Our Children, Our Future last year as our own rallying call for community outreach,” said Jon.

“Every child has a stake in the future of the whole country, and we believe all our children must be given a chance to fulfil their potential, especially the disadvantaged.

“Whether it is by providing innovative communications solutions, computer access, technology training or even something as basic – but often overlooked – like school shoes, Maxis is a committed advocate.”

Another important component of the Maxis Bridging Communities programme is the Maxis Scholarship for Excellence, a post-graduate scholarship programme for Malaysians to pursue further education in top global universities like the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge in the United Kingdom, and Harvard University in the United States.

“We view the growth and related challenges Malaysia faces as a nation as fundamentally connected to Maxis’ own past, present and future,” said Jon.

“What is even more important for Maxis and our employees is that each time we reach out to society, we are making a real connection and a sustainable difference to lives.”