Fun in the sun: Some of the Top Glove employees playing with the children.

 

TOP Glove Corp Bhd brought festive cheer to the House of Love in Klang, which houses 27 children aged between one to 16 years.

The home in Taman Klang Jaya received necessities such as rice, detergent, soap, toothpaste and cooking oil from Top Glove.

“We are happy to have companies like Top Glove here to help and support us,” said House of Love founder Joseph Pang.

Pang, who has been helping welfare homes for more than 20 years, opened House of Love in 2013.

“Here, they care for children who are abandoned, abused or from a single-parent family.

“We get mostly abuse cases here, referred from the Social Welfare Department, other welfare organisations and also from friends,” he said.

Pang has six girls and 20 boys under his care now, who live in two semi-detached houses that are connected back-to-back.

“In Klang, there are actually a lot of these abused and abandoned cases. The Social Welfare Department once told me that they get between 20 and 30 cases a day,” he said.

To run the home, Pang needs about RM15,000 per month to cover all expenses.

The home currently depends on public funding and welcomes any other parties that would like to donate.

“It may seem like a lot of responsibility but I don’t see it as a burden but a calling to help provide a family and home for these children.

“In my home, they call me ‘papa’ and my wife ‘mama’, and we treat them like our own children. We celebrate the major festivals with them just like any ordinary family,” he said.

He added that some of the children from the previous homes which he had helped have now grown up to become lawyers, chefs and accountants.

Pang is now striving to ensure that all the children under his care grow up with a bright and promising future.

Top Glove Corp Bhd deputy general manager Eric Hoo said, “It’s our third year coming to this home to spread Chinese New Year joy.

“We not only give them household necessities but also spend time and play with the children here.”

Hoo, who is also the business development and special assistant to the chairman, said this was part of the company’s corporate social responsibility programme.

He added that they were always interested in education and helping less fortunate children.

Top Glove, which has worked with The Star Publications (M) Bhd on the Newspaper-in-Education (NIE) programme previously, is also currently giving out scholarships to students.

“Every year, we give about four to six scholarships to students to pursue their tertiary education.

“We give out scholarships mostly to those who want to study medicine, civil engineering or mechanical engineering,” he said.

These bonded scholarships are to any of the local universities in Malaysia.

The scholarship programme started about five years ago and this year, the company is increasing it to at least 10 scholarships.