Baiduri Bank Group held their annual blood donation drive in collaboration with Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha (RIPAS) Hospital Blood Bank today. The event was held at the Baiduri Community Space at Baiduri Bank Headquarters.
This year, over 100 people comprising Baiduri Bank Group’s employees and members of the public came together to donate blood. This initiative aims to help replenish the low blood supplies at the National Blood Bank in RIPAS Hospital and is an annual event organised since 2009 as part of the Group’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme.
What sets this year’s blood donation drive apart from the previous events is that apprentices from the Baiduri Bank Graduate Apprenticeship Programme (GAP) were given the responsibility to organise and manage the whole event.
The apprentices, who began their six-month programme with the Bank last April, led the event from putting together, a proposal to co-ordinating and working alongside RIPAS Hospital with the guidance of their mentors and colleagues from the Bank.
GAP is a holistic learning and development programme aimed at providing recent graduates with the necessary knowledge, skill and experience that will increase their employability in the local job market. The Programme is divided into two main parts – a classroom component and job rotations within Baiduri Bank.
Fatin Atiyah binti Haji Suharafadzil, the project lead, said that she was looking forward to getting real-life experience in planning and implementing projects involving various partners, and to be given the opportunity to lead a meaningful initiative such as the blood donation drive, was a rewarding experience.
She said: “This is the first large-scale project that I was given the chance to lead, and I am very thankful for the guidance I’ve received from my colleagues, mentors and the other apprentices. Personally, it’s also been such been such a rewarding and satisfying experience to be part of the organising team and also to help save lives through donating blood.”
Also attending the event was Veronica Chong, Head of Group Human Resources and Administration, who was also able to do her part and donate blood with the rest of the participants.
She said: “Similar to previous years, we received tremendous support from our employees and members of the public who came together for a good cause. There is a constant need for blood in our hospitals and activities like these are important to help maintain an adequate supply in the national blood bank.
“Our apprentices have also done an excellent job in successfully holding their first event. Getting first-hand experience of project management for initiatives such as this event is also one of the apprenticeship’s objectives and I hope this was a good learning opportunity for them to not only apply what they’ve studied and experienced, but also be a part of a meaningful initiative.”
Meanwhile, Mr Ti commented on how GAP is a strong testament to Baiduri Bank’s commitment to assist recent graduates by helping them to develop employability skills and a learning mindset. This is also in support of Goal 1 for Wawasan Brunei 2035, reflecting the national aspiration to be widely recognised for an educated, highly skilled and accomplished workforce.
He said: “GAP offers a unique opportunity for our recent graduates to gain valuable working experience and give them a firmer foothold in the job market. Through exposing them to a real-world working environment and helping them build transferable soft skills that they can apply in their future careers, we hope that GAP will play a role in creating an adaptable and skilled workforce that’s ready to take on any challenge in the future.”
To support the local community through the Bank’s CSR initiatives, local vendors such as Leaves and Loaves, Olie’s Café, Energy Juice Bar and Seedbox.bn were also at the event to sell their products. Local companies KimTeck Cheong Grandtops Sdn Bhd, Superfish Growers, Fuel’d Restaurant and Catering and The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf also showed their support by sponsoring the event.
