This article is brought to you in part by Prince of Wales Island Iternational School (POWIIS).

With the Year of the Monkey now underway, we can take stock of our many blessings and look around to see how we can come together to help those who are in need. Prince of Wales Island International School began a tradition three years back, a tradition of giving to the needy at the end of every year. In 2013, the POWIIS family came together and collected funds to help with the rehabilitation of the Philippines’ Haiyan typhoon victims. In 2014 POWIIS identified a needy group closer to home which allowed us to personally pack and deliver gift hampers stocked with basic essentials to families of refugee children in Malaysia.

At the end of 2015, the POWIIS family, led by PTA Chairperson Anu Jacob, brought it even closer to home by helping the needy members of the local community of Balik Pulau where POWIIS is located. With the help of Encik Halil Sabri Bin Hamid, the coordinating officer of the State Legislative Assembly, we were able to identify 100 needy children in and around Balik Pulau who would benefit school essentials like a set of school uniform, shoes , socks, a school bag and a pencil box with stationery which would allow these children to start the new school year in January with a smile and confidence that they were well-prepared!

This post was originally published in The Expat Magazine (March 2016) which is available online or in print via a free subscription.