QI Staff, PJ City FC Coaches Uplift Kids in Weekend of Social Responsibility

In the true spirit of “Raise Yourself to Help Mankind” (RYTHM), QI Group’s staff once again rose to the occasion to lend a hand towards our community support initiatives. About 30 employees from the Malaysia regional operations office recently spent a productive Saturday in Kerling, Selangor, as part of QI’s Staff Social Responsibility (SSR) initiative led by RYTHM Foundation, the social impact arm of the Group. The small town is about 80km from Kuala Lumpur. The employees headed to a co-ed primary school to conduct two activities for its students: a football clinic for boys and a bead-making activity for girls. Officials from the QI-owned PJ City FC (PJ City) conducted the informal coaching session.

Just for Kicks

The SJK (Tamil) Ladang Kerling school students picked up passing, receiving, dribbling, and shooting skills from PJ City’s Technical Director, Steven Jackson, and his assistants. Our volunteers helped the coaches with the drills and cheered the children, ranging in age from seven to 12, during the casual session. Meanwhile, QI’s female employees engaged with the girls in the school’s hall to create artistic and colourful beads and other costume jewellery. The girls were also motivated by a talk on life skills such as leadership, confidence, and self-esteem.

The football session was both enjoyable and fruitful. “The light drills encouraged the kids to develop techniques and individual creative play,” Steven said. “However, most importantly, today was about having fun on the field.”

Despite spending half the day under the scorching sun, the exercises were a hit with the boys. “I am very happy I learned a few new skills today like passing and shooting,” said 10-year-old Yeshwant. “I want to be an international football player one day,” the Standard Four pupil added confidently. Eleven-year-old Mitanes relished learning a few new skills from a team he admires. “PJ City is a great football team. I hope to become better and play for the team one day and make a better life for my family.” Also read: Jaguh RF: Tackling Social Change Through Football The school’s principal, S. Kumar, said that in relatively quiet Kerling, it was essential to ensure that the children were kept occupied outside of school hours. “We want to ensure that our students do more than watch TV at home during the weekends and holidays,’ he said.

 “We are grateful to RYTHM Foundation, the employees and coaches for organising the fun activities and spending the day with our students,” Kumar added.