GEORGE TOWN – To kill two birds with one stone, an MCA division in Penang is coordinating a programme with the United Nations’ Policy and Economic Alliance Caring For Earth (PEACE) to get more people to become active in feeding those in need while promoting healthy walking.
Spokesman for the party’s Bayan Baru division Saw Yee Fung said it is trying to build wellness awareness as many seem to have reduced their daily physical activities since the movement control order started in March 2020.
Together with PEACE’s mobile application named Walking for Rice, the division aims to get 1,000 registrations from the community to contribute towards providing rice to the needy within the Bayan Baru area, she told reporters at the jogging trail along Queensbay Mall.
PEACE vice-president Tee Ching Seng told The Vibes that under the UN Decade programme, the world body is transitioning from just working with governments and organisations to engaging with people as well.
“Under our umbrella, we are looking to promote personal health, combat climate change through reduced dependency on motorised vehicles and contribute back to society.
“The mobile application, Walking for Rice, is done by us and we did a soft launch back in January 2022.
“We currently have walking communities worldwide in Germany, Spain, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia, China and Taiwan, among others.
“In May, a university in Taiwan managed to collect enough steps to distribute more than one tonne of rice to the needy within four months,” he said.
Every 100,000 steps contributed by the community is converted to one kilogram of rice donation. These donations are supported by multinational and listed companies across the world as part of their corporate social responsibility efforts.
Bayan Baru is the first community in Penang to engage in this programme. Those within or outside the Bayan Baru area can be part of the Walking for Rice Bayan Baru community.
Each step taken by the community will contribute to rice donations within the Bayan Baru area.
The Walking for Rice mobile application can be downloaded on Apple’s App Store or the Google Play Store. – The Vibes, June 26, 2022
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