Kuala Lumpur, August 1, 2015 – The open house concept has become a cultural mainstay in Malaysia and with the month of Syawal upon us, many are celebrating the end of the fasting month by opening up their homes to their families, friends and neighbours. For a group of underprivileged children in Rumah Aman Sungai Buloh, this year’s Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration held a certain unique twist: instead of being invited to others’ open houses as is often the case, the children were given the chance to hold one of their own - for the first time.

Through the support of AIA PUBLIC Takaful Bhd (AIA PUBLIC), 50 children from the home had the opportunity to play host to over 400 guests comprising their families and friends, neighbours, staff of the home as well as AIA PUBLIC’s employees and AIA Life Planners on 1 August. Preparation for the big event had kicked off the day before when the kids were joined by 30 employees from AIA PUBLIC to prepare lemang and ketupat as well as to decorate the home.

Elmie Aman Najas, AIA PUBLIC’s Chief Executive Officer said, “This initiative was borne out of the desire to bring joy to the children from Rumah Aman and to create a meaningful Raya celebration for them. Today’s open house in Rumah Aman is the culmination of a month-long initiative called #rezeki3saat which AIA PUBLIC launched during the month of Ramadan to remind our fellow Malaysians to be thankful for the blessings (rezeki) they have received and to share them with others, especially those less fortunate.”

The public was encouraged to submit videos of what they were grateful for (rezeki) via Instagram with the hashtag ‘rezeki3saat’. For every video submitted, AIA PUBLIC pledged to donate RM10 to Rumah Aman, in addition to helping the children organise their very own Raya open house. A mobile Rezeki machine was placed at selected Ramadan bazaars in the Klang Valley so more people could record their blessings, using the machine.

Abdul Rehman Dakri, Founder and Director of Rumah Aman said, “We are grateful for this opportunity given to the children as they were able to experience firsthand what it means to prepare for such a big event and play host. This has taught them some valuable lessons in life. Equally priceless is that they had the chance to invite their families and friends to celebrate the festival with them in the place they now call home.”

To add to the celebration, AIA PUBLIC arranged to have the families of two of the children who hail from Perak to attend the event as they have never had the chance to visit their children at the home for several years now due to financial constraints.

AIA PUBLIC received 925 video submissions from the #rezeki3saat campaign and hence pledged RM10,000 to Rumah Aman to support the daily operation of the home.

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