Sixty-six staff of OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Berhad recently completed a three-month education programme for 45 orang asli children in Hulu Langat, teaching them financial literacy, English, Math and Craft through interactive board games and using other creative methods.

Ms Chong Lee Ying, OCBC Bank’s Head of Global Transaction Banking (far right) joined her colleagues in the lessons to the orang asli kids.

The staff volunteers from the Bank’s transaction banking division organised themselves in teams of four to reach out to the 7-15 year-olds at Kampung Orang Asli Sg Lalang and Paya Lebar in Hulu Langat. They taught for two hours every Saturday during the three-month period.

According to OCBC Bank Managing Director & Head of Global Transaction Banking Ms Chong Lee Ying, the children were excited by the creative learning approaches used in the classes which featured real fruits and vegetables, online visuals and interesting games.

Creative learning approaches were used in the classes which featured real fruits and vegetables, online visuals and interesting games.

“The programme was designed to motivate and excite the children to enjoy learning. We operated on the premise that school can indeed be a fun place to learn at and to make friends, and this turned out to be true indeed.

“Basic English and Math were taught on alternate weeks and the lessons were complemented with entertaining games and craft which exhilarated the children thanks to the lively and captivating learning materials.

“Despite having difficulty with English pronunciation, the children were fast learners and showed great enthusiasm when responding to questions. The children’s positive attitudes were an encouragement to all of us,” she said.

OCBC Bank has been actively engaging the various communities nationwide through its staff volunteer programmes.

“We strive to be more involved in the localities in which we operate and to become even more engaged in the community, going beyond simply providing superior banking products and services to meeting the social needs of the people as well.

“In recent times we have been looking to become even more entrenched in the local community, and our involvement in this educational programme is an example of how we collaborate and engage with communities throughout the country,” Ms Chong added.