Kuala Lumpur, 3 February 2005 - Every parent wants the best for their children. And when children are happy, they light up the lives of the people around them. But when the child lacks self-confidence, is moody and becomes increasingly withdrawn, something is surely amiss. Very often than not, parents are clueless on how to address the situation properly. How do we lift these children out of their doldrums so that they can begin to feel better about themselves?

Leading direct selling company Amway (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. (Amway) today launched its One By One corporate social responsibility campaign aimed at promoting positive mental health amongst children. The launch was officiated by Yang Berhormat Dato' S. Veerasingam, the Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs.

Managing Director of Amway Mr. Low Han Kee during the launch said: "At Amway Malaysia, we believe in the unlimited potential of children and we want to reach out to children to make a meaningful contribution to their lives. Through One By One, we intend to help children achieve their potential by offering them the chance to lead healthier lives, be it physically or mentally."

Amway's commitment towards inculcating positive mental health in children was spurred by a study from the Ministry of Health, which discovered that one in five children have emotional or behavioral problems such as low mood, low self-esteem and depression that require some form of professional intervention.

Working in partnership with a team of professional psychologists, Amway has adopted a two-pronged approach for the three year campaign - directly making a difference in the lives of children through workshops themed Happy Healthy Minds and indirectly reaching out to parents, teachers and caregivers who play just an important role as parents in making positive changes in the lives of children and students, via its Parenting Seminars. Amway has also developed a Children's Workbook and Parent's Guide to complement and further reinforce the teachings of the children's workshops and parenting seminars. Amway's commitment to the program also includes the participation of its employees and distributors who are directly involved as volunteers for the children's workshops.

To demonstrate its long-term commitment towards this cause, Amway has allocated RM1.5 million over three years from Fiscal Year 2004 to Fiscal Year 2006, to fund the running of the campaign, which consists of the Happy Healthy Minds children's workshops, parenting seminars, the development of a children's workbook and a parent's guide, and educational programs over the media.

An initial pilot project was conducted in December 2003 with children from orphanages and low-income families. Since then, the company has extended its workshops and seminars to children of the Pediatric Institute of the Kuala Lumpur General Hospital, Lions Club and other non-profit organizations helping over 200 children to date. Amway has also organized 10 Parenting Seminars positively impacting 1000 parents, caregivers and teachers by empowering them with skills to boost their child's self-esteem and improving relationships with their children.

Describing the direction of the campaign in year 2005 and beyond, Low said the company is looking to organize more workshops and seminars in the hope of making a meaningful difference in the lives of thousands of children, parents, teachers, caregivers and families throughout the country.

"Through One by One, Amway wants more children to feel good about themselves by boosting their levels of self-confidence and self esteem. Thus, we intend to organize more than 80 Happy Healthy Minds workshops and camps as well as 20 parenting seminars in the next two years where we hope to reach more than 1,000 children and 3,000 parents directly. And through our education campaign where we will work with the media to create awareness and empower with knowledge the topics surrounding children's mental health, we hope to reach thousands, if not millions of Malaysian parents, teachers and caregivers," concluded Low.

For further information on Amway's One By One campaign, queries can be channeled to myhelpdesk@amway.com