Winners of the Shell Malaysia Sustainable Development Grants 2019 pose for a photo with Gerawat (ninth left), Durkin (eighth left) and Shell Malaysia staff.
KUCHING: Two Sarawakian projects have been awarded Shell Malaysia’s financial grants for sustainable development projects benefitting the local community.
The Shell Malaysia Sustainable Development Grants, held for the 11th time this year, awarded a total of RM175,000 to the two Sarawakian recipients – D’Athirah Enterprise received RM77,000 while Tropical Rainforest Conservation and Research Centre received RM98,000 in grants.
Meanwhile, another two recipients – Cheshire Home from Likas, Kota Kinabalu and EcoKnights from Klang Valley — received grants of RM75,000 and RM80,000 respectively.
These grants served as a platform for the oil and gas player to engage local non government organisations and community based organisations, gaining grassroot insights from the communities around Shell’s fenceline communities.
The event was officiated by the Deputy Speaker of the Sarawak Legislative Assembly, Datuk Gerawat Gala, who commended Shell Malaysia for its continued efforts in promoting sustainable development agenda in the country.
“Shell has contributed much to the development of the oil and gas industry in Malaysia, but this has never stopped the organisation from finding other ways to contribute to the communities in the country,” he said during the ceremony yesterday.
“I applaud Shell for its commitment in helping Malaysia develop in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
“I am especially pleased to see grants being awarded for the benefits of Sarawakian communities. At the Sarawak Legislative Assembly, community projects like these bring to surface issues that help in our discussions surrounding Sarawak’s policies.”
Meanwhile, Shell Malaysia Upstream vice president Simon Durkin revealed that the grants programme, which was introduced in 2008, has so far disbursed RM4.2 million to 100 different projects across Malaysia.
This comprises a total of 60 unique organisations including academia, community-based organisations and environmental conservation societies.
“Through this programme, Shell is working to engage further with local communities around us to exchange knowledge, impart skills and create new partnerships,” he said yesterday.
“Thus, helping to develop community and enterprise skills, with the aim of improving environmental conservation, enabling livelihoods and preserving important local community traditions.
“This year, we have partnered with a local organisation, Incitement, to help us select, via an impartial evaluation process, the projects that are receiving the grants this year.”
The two Sarawakian recipients will undertake projects in selected locations in Sarawak.
Using their patented ruler, D’Athirah Enterprise has made sewing more accessible to the masses as a method of uplifting one’s socioeconomic resilience. By empowering the womenfolk of Kuching’s B40 community to sew and tailor at her academy, this NGO will be able the equip these communities to fend for themselves.
Meanwhile, the Tropical Rainforest Conservation and Research Centre will empower local communities in the Singai Asap region to apply agroforestry land-use models, by combining the growth of trees and agricultural crops.
It is the aim that all 24 hectares for this pilot will be a successful agroforestry plot by 2020.