Sands continues its pledge to help rebuild the city

Following the devastation of Typhoon Hato, which occurred on August 23, Sands China spared no effort to immediately help rebuild the city, which suffered severe damage in several parts of Macau.

Boosting their extensive immediate relief efforts in the aftermath of the deadly typhoon, Sands China has pledged to donate MOP65 million: MOP30 million from Sands China and a MOP35 million contribution from the Adelson Family Foundation.

The post-typhoon disaster relief efforts in the community began in the immediate aftermath of the storm and remain ongoing, with some projects expected to carry into next year.

Last week, Sands China presented a cheque for just over MOP2 million to Macau Holy House of Mercy for the cost of restoring its old-age home which includes rectifying major structural damage to its roof.

The donation is to cover repair costs that include rebuilding and repainting the rooftop; restoring water-damaged ceilings and walls, and fixing leaks; and installing new water drains and pipes.

Sands China Ltd President Dr Wilfred Wong took the opportunity to meet some of the elderly residents, and received a tour of the damaged areas that will be restored with the help of Sands China’s donation.

“Macau is still recovering from the devastation of Typhoon Hato, so it is important that we continue to assist the community where we can,” said Dr Wong.

“Macao Holy House of Mercy has a rich history of providing important charitable services to the community, and it is Sands China’s pleasure to contribute to the restoration of its old age home.”

Macao Holy House of Mercy President Antonio José de Freitas said, “Sands China has been a long-time supporter of Macao Holy House of Mercy, and we are very grateful for their ongoing support. This donation will be of critical importance in helping us restore our elderly home back to a suitable condition for its residents.”

The Sands China team also assisted with family buildings damaged in Coloane by providing metal warehouse rebuilding; fixing concrete floors and walls; structural steel, façade and roofing work; and electrical, plumbing and drainage repair.

Just last week, Sands China undertook a site visit to homes refurbished along the Coloane shoreline.

With the support and coordination of the Housing Bureau, Sands China’s construction team immediately offered assistance to residents of Navegantes Street and Lai Chi Vun to rebuild or refurbish the damaged houses.

A total of 22 homes were rebuilt or repaired in a span of only a month and a half. Among them, three metal-structure homes on Navegantes Street were completely destroyed, which Sands China’s team then reconstructed.

The homeowners were delighted to see their homes recovered including Ms. Ip who expressed her gratitude after her home was rebuilt, noting that the efforts and assistance of the Sands China team were remarkable.

Meanwhile, they also assisted the Good Shepherd Sisters by helping restore landscaping after doing a technical assessment. The garden within its shelter was badly damaged with many trees felled, so the company helped source and replant new trees suited to the climate and landscape.

Sands China has also been contributing toward various disaster relief efforts including transportation, technical and professional support, SME support and long-term assistance.

To offer support to its local SME suppliers during this challenging time, Sands China launched a new SME support programme including expediting payments, 50 percent advance payment, flexible delivery time and restoring hardware for critical business operations.

In addition, the company has provided continuing support to non-government organizations in Macau, assisting Caritas Macau, Macau Special Olympics (MSO), the Association of Parents of the People with Intellectual Disabilities of Macau and General Union of Neighborhood Associations (UGAMM)  with timely transportation to help them maintain their essential operations, including the purchase of new vehicles to replace damaged ones. Sands China also purchased six industrial-grade washing and drying machines for Fuhong Society of Macau that are used for the members’ occupational training.

Meanwhile, the company has also donated MOP250,000 to Association of Parents of the People with Intellectual Disabilities of Macau, Fuhong Society of Macau, Macau Special Olympics and Caritas Macau for their emergency use.

For children who tragically lost their parents to Typhoon Hato, Sands China has pledged to set up a fund to support their continuing education.

The company’s volunteer team has been recognized for the tireless efforts and the hard work by Secretary for Social affairs and Culture, Alexis Tam, who thanked them for volunteering during the post-Hato period.

Sands China’s relief efforts are part of Sands Cares, the global corporate citizenship program of parent company Las Vegas Sands Corp.

This article was sponsored by
Sands China Ltd.

What the beneficiaries say

“Thanks to Sands China, who actively contacted us after the typhoons and made their vehicles and drivers available to us, the elderly and those with reduced mobility have managed to receive appropriate medical care as scheduled because we have been able to sustain our services. They are even purchasing new vehicles for us.” – Paul Pun Chi Meng, secretary-general of Caritas Macau

“We are grateful that Sands China at first had offered their assistance and made their buses available to us to help us resume our shuttle services for our students as soon as possible, thus enabling them to receive lifelong learning opportunities in the aftermath of the two typhoons. They then purchased new vehicles for us to resume and sustain our services. In addition, Sands China dispatched a team of technical staff to help repair our damaged gates and glass doors at the headquarters, which helped us resume normal operation.” – Hetzer Siu Yu Hong, CEO and national director of Macau Special Olympics

“We are glad and thankful to have received a donation and support from Sands China, who is providing transport services for our members at first and helping us purchase a brand new van, enabling us to resume normal operations. At the meantime, many of our members suffered damage to their homes, from broken windows to flooding. Sands China has been a big supporter of our association, and they’ve been instrumental in helping get these repairs done so that our members can get their homes back to a liveable state as soon as possible.” – Lou Sio Ha, director of the executive board of the Association of Parents of the People with Intellectual Disabilities of Macau

“Typhoon Hato and the flooding had completely destroyed our six washing and drying machines that are used for our members’ occupational training. We are very thankful to Sands China’s assistance and care. Their representatives specially made a trip to visit our damaged areas and helped us purchase six washing and drying machines and donated a total of MOP 250,000 for our post-Hato aid, which helped us expedite the recovery work and continue to serve our service users.” – Jennifer Chau, Director of Fuhong Society of Macau

“Our transportation service provided to the elderly in our neighborhood with mobility challenge was badly affected by Typhoon Hato, and we are deeply thankful to Sands China for its generosity for purchasing new vehicles with rehabilitation built in facility to us.  It serves as a commitment to resume our transportation services to the elderly and needy heavily rely on this unique services with great enhancement.” – Leong Heng Kao, president of the General Union of Neighborhood Associations