MANJUNG, September 8 – Vale in Malaysia extends its support for the single mothers’ community in the Manjung district by launching its pilot ‘Mother Bakers’ initiative today.

The initiative, which teaches participants professional baking skills, is a continuation of Vale’s ongoing effort since last year to improve the socioeconomic conditions of single mothers living in the district. Overall, Vale’s single mothers’ community outreach has culminated in over MYR86,000 of social investments on programs such as mental health support, back-to-school aid, food assistance, and upskilling programs.

Rodrigo Ribeiro de Araújo, CEO of Vale in Malaysia said “As we move towards the post-pandemic future, we are shifting our socioenvironmental investment focus to prioritize initiatives that can deliver long-term impact to the livelihoods of the recipients. The ‘Mother Bakers’ initiative is one of them, and we look forward to rolling out more in the future”.

The ‘Mother Bakers’ is another upskilling initiative that benefits a potential community of 350 single mothers. This initiative follows the similar upskilling strategy adopted by Vale’s pilot ‘Manjung Menjahit’ program, which provides professional training for single mothers who are interested to pursue home-based curtain making businesses.

“The sewing classes, conducted December last year, succeeded in increasing the income of the participants; some of them even reported that their income doubled within a span of two months,” says Zarina Mohamed Ekhwan, President of the Single’s Mother’s Association (Lumut Parliament).

Globally, Vale has announced it commitment to elevate 500,000 people out of extreme poverty by year 2030 early this year.

The upskilling programs for the single mothers in Manjung are also a part of Vale’s MYR2.0 million ‘Vale Bersama Manjung’ pandemic assistance commitment, which has also benefited other socioeconomically vulnerable communities, such as the neurodivergent children and small traders in the district. Since it started operations in Teluk Rubiah a decade ago, Vale has invested close to MYR60 million on various socioenvironmental initiatives in Malaysia, a testament to its commitment to a sustainable presence in the countries where it operates.