However, there are also some school children from less well-to-do families out there who are struggling to make ends meet.

We’ve heard plenty of stories about how a child from a household had to quit school because their parents can’t afford to send them to one.

But thanks to one local retailer, more and more underprivileged children can afford to go to school and hopefully, one day, change the world.

Standing strong together

Tesco Malaysia, together with Unilever Malaysia and PINTAR Foundation (PINTAR), have decided to come together to bring some cheer as well as to help underprivileged B40 school children through a new campaign.

Through the ‘Kembali Teguh’ programme, Tesco, Unilever and PINTAR are looking to equip these school children in two ways: physically and mentally.

Physically well-prepared As with most school children from B40 families, getting school supplies can become quite a burden. That’s where Tesco Malaysia, Unilever and PINTAR come in to save the day.

Tesco will be providing back-to-school kits consisting of school bags, uniforms, shoes, socks and stationery, while Unilever will be contributing a total of RM100,000 in the form of RM100 Tesco vouchers to each student from its ‘Donate to Help’ fund which took place in Tesco stores from 19 November to 2 December 2020. Through the fund, every purchase of Unilever products worth RM35 and above in a single receipt will see RM1 being channelled to the Fund, and now, the fund will be turned into vouchers for the students.

On top of that, PINTAR will be providing COVID-19 kits to help the school children stay safe while they’re at school. The COVID-19 kits consist of face mask, hand sanitiser, wet tissue and hand soap. Unilever’s hygiene expertise brand, Lifebuoy, will also contribute to the COVID-19 kit by providing 50ml hand sanitisers.

Mentally well-prepared Now that the kids have all the tools they need to take on the world, it is also important to make sure that they are motivated and ready to go.

To do this, Tesco, Unilever and PINTAR will be providing workshops for the school children to keep them motivated to attend classes after a disruptive school year due to the pandemic.

Some of the topics that will be covered in the workshops include habits of a positive mind, developing personal power and goal setting to instil confidence, including injecting element of life skills through a module on how to be a safe and smart shopper.

Azliza Azmel, Tesco’s Corporate Services Director, said in a statement that the retail giant has worked with both Unilever and PINTAR on separate campaigns in the past, and by joining forces this time around, she believes that it will make a bigger difference.

“We have collaborated with both Unilever and PINTAR separately in the past with great results. However, we believe that by harnessing each of our strengths collectively now, we would be able to produce an even greater impact for the children who need it the most,” she said in the statement.

The ‘Kembali Teguh’ programme will take place beginning 20 January 2021 with the distribution of the back-to-school kits, COVID-19 care packages and the Tesco vouchers.

The workshops, meanwhile, will commence throughout the first quarter of 2021.

These initiatives will benefit more than 1,000 B40 pupils from 25 of Tesco’s Adopted Schools, so well done to Tesco Malaysia, Unilever and PINTAR! Thank you for taking care of our future leaders.