Maybank’s Project H.E.A.R.T.: Lighting up hope in communities affected by Yolanda

La Paz, Bogo City, Cebu – In the wake of devastation left behind by super-typhoon Haiyan (local name: Yolanda), the small farming community of Bliss on the outskirts of Bogo City in Cebu province has started to see their first glimmer of hope.

After days of darkness and despair, with relief efforts being hampered by the disruption to transportation links, communication channels and the power supply, some aid has started to reach the 56 households here.

At nightfall, the villagers have been able to take their first-steps towards rebuilding their lives thanks to solar-powered light bulbs brought in by Project H.E.A.R.T. – a regional community movement recently launched by Maybank, one of Southeast Asia’s largest financial groups.

“We’ve already brought in the first shipment of solar-powered lights to Bliss, and we’re planning to expand this to other communities affected by the typhoon,” said Eric Montelibano, vice president for Corporate Affairs and spokesperson for Maybank Project H.E.A.R.T.

“We are calling for donations and support from the general public, our customers and our partners from around Asia. The more donations we receive through Project H.E.A.R.T., the more communities we’ll be able to help,” he explained.

Project H.E.A.R.T – which stands for Helping Every Asian Rise Together – was conceived as a regional movement of people across Asia to help empower and improve the living conditions of communities across the region.

“This is really about Asians coming together and supporting each other to create a brighter future for the whole region. As news and images of typhoon Yolanda’s destruction started to come through, we immediately set to work mobilizing and directing Project H.E.A.R.T.’s resources towards helping affected communities,” explained Montelibano.

Merla, a resident of Bliss and a recipient of one of the solar lights, remarked that “as power is no longer available and it is likely to take months to reconnect back to the grid, these light bulbs will come as a small, but deeply appreciated, relief to the families in Bliss, particularly the children and the elderly, as we try to rebuild our lives.”

Rebuilding the community will undoubtedly be an uphill effort as most of the crops on which they depend have also been destroyed.

“Despite their situation, we were heartened to see the people of Bliss so positive on bouncing back. Everyone came together and many shared stories of the typhoon when the Maybank team arrived to distribute the light bulbs,” observed Montelibano.

Maybank started Project H.E.A.R.T as a platform to allow people from across Asia to come together to make a real difference.

“Being at the heart of the communities we serve and sharing in the challenges that these communities face has always been one of Maybank’s core values,” explained Montelibano.

“With the support of our customers, partners and friends around Asia and the world, we can do our part in helping the people of the Philippines through this, and to help affected communities rise up even stronger than before,” he added.

Members of the public can make a donation to a special account set up for Project H.E.A.R.T (Maybank Peso Savings Account 01-088-00-1425-0 or Maybank USD Savings Account 01-788-00-0151-6) or by writing out a cheque to “Maybank Project HEART”. They can also help by spreading the word about Project H.E.A.R.T. through their social networks such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Google+

“Every donation will give the families here another glimmer of hope. The real ‘light’ that we are bringing to the people of the Philippines is that they are not facing this alone,” said Montelibano.

Last week, Maybank donated RM 1 million (Php13.7 million) through the Philippine Red Cross in aid of relief efforts for victims of super typhoon Haiyan (local name: Yolanda). Its Philippine office has likewise announced that it will forego its Christmas Party celebration this year and instead donate Php1.0 million to ABS-CBN Sagip Kapamilya’s relief efforts.

Maybank employees have also pledged their sick leave credits to aid colleagues and their families who have been affected by the disaster. Maybank has 70 branches in the Philippines, including operations in affected areas of Tacloban, Roxas, Iloilo and Cebu.

For more information on how to be part of Project H.E.A.R.T., please log on to www.maybankprojectheart.com

Maybank is a regional financial services leader with presence in 20 countries worldwide, including 10 in the Asean region. Named the 13th Strongest Bank in the World by Bloomberg Markets for 2012, Maybank is backed by assets of over USD160 billion, and an international network of over 2,200 offices serving more than 22 million customers worldwide.

Recently, Maybank has made it to the list of the world’s top 100 banks, ranked 95th by The Banker in its top 1000 banks 2013 list.