MANJUNG, October 21 – Vale, one of the world’s leading mining companies today reached out the community of Kampung Pundut in Manjung and delivered MYR22,500 worth of festive food aid to 150 socioeconomically vulnerable families in conjunction with the upcoming Deepavali celebration.

The ‘Senyum@Vale Deepavali Care Package’ initiative is a continuation of Vale’s MYR2-million ‘Vale Bersama Manjung’ socioeconomic assistance program for Manjung, which began during the early days of the pandemic in 2020. Each package comprises a mixture of dry food items and a tin of ghee. For generations, ghee has been an integral part of Indian homes, used in a myriad of ways including cooking, ceremonies, and traditional health practices.

Rodrigo Ribeiro de Araújo, CEO of Vale in Malaysia said: “Every festive period is an opportunity for us to contribute to the socioeconomic wellbeing of the communities living in Manjung. The Festival of Light evokes the spirit of kinship among human beings, which inspired our outreach to Kampung Pundut this year.”

Kampung Pundut is located four kilometres away from Vale’s Teluk Rubiah Maritime Terminal (TRMT), the company’s main iron ore distribution hub in Asia. 97 percent of the company’s workforce at TRMT are Malaysian; over 60 percent originating from the Manjung district. “As an integral part of Manjung, we are aware of the challenging situation that some families in the village are facing, which may put a damper on their Deepavali celebration. We hope the delivery of the ghee allows these families to keep the Deepavali traditions alive, as it has been for generations,” Rodrigo concluded.