Brunei's Local News - Brudirect.com

Bandar Seri Begawan - In conjunction with the month of Ramadhan and the spirit of giving, Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) yesterday morning brought joy and smiles to 150 orphans registered with the National Orphans Fund with the presentation of special hampers at Dewan Digadong, Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports.

The orphans, aged between five and 10 years, were delighted to receive the hampers packed with school stationary and goodies to prepare them for the new school term.

The donation was part of a partnership campaign with Standard Chartered credit card members.

From the start of Ramadhan, customers who made a purchase with any Standard Chartered credit card at Hua Ho outlets in Manggis, Tanjong Bunut and Yayasan, were given a sticker, which are placed on a charity board located at all the participating Hua Ho outlets.

For each charity board that is filled, SCB pledged

to donate a hamper to orphans at the National Orphans Fund.

According to the General Manager of SCB Credit Cards and Personal Loans Miss Annie Ng, "We are delighted with the response from our card members and we really appreciate their generosity and time in helping us to complete as many as 150 boards.

"Standard Chartered Bank believes in giving back to the communities in which we operate. We also believe that partnerships change lives and we are constantly looking for ways in which we can touch the lives of others in our community," she added.

On hand to present the hampers to the orphans were the CEO of SCB Miss Siew Chuen, Director of Community Development Department Datin Hjh Adinah bte Othman and Miss Annie Ng.

In a welcoming speech by Miss Siew Chuen, she expressed her gratitude to Hua I-To for the partnership with SCB for the charity event.

"Together with the support of our SCB cardholders, we are very pleased to present 150 hampers to children under the National Orphans _ Fund," she said.

Meanwhile, in a speech by Datin Hjh Adinah, she said, "To date, there are a total of 2,148 orphans in Brunei Darussalam, and Brunei-Muara District has the highest number of 1,283 orphans followed by Tutong District 444 orphans, Kuala Belait District 329 orphans and Temburong District 92 orphans."

The definition of 'orphan' in Brunei is slightly different from other countries, whereby if a child has lost a father, he/she is considered as an orphan. Meanwhile, in other countries, an orphan is when the concerned child has lost both parents.

Also present at the event were senior management from SCB and Hua Ho Department store, as well as officers from the Community Development Department. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin