MOTTAINAI! RECYCLE, REDUCE, REUSE

Panasonic Malaysia Sdn Bhd managing director Tony Endoh trying his hand at painting a paper mache ball with children from Beaconhouse Pre-School in SS19. Giving him a helping hand is Panasonic Malaysia corporate communications & branding general manager Azizah Wahid.

MOTTAINAI! Forty pre-school kids from Subang Jaya will get a taste of what it’s like to Mottainai for a good cause today.
They are the first batch of young Malaysians to participate in this pilot project– “Mottainai”, a community-driven campaign to raise children's awareness of resource conservation especially in Recycling, Reducing and Reusing.
Panasonic Malaysia will give the kids of Beaconhouse Pre-School a taste of what it’s like to be eco-friendly by introducing Mottainai to them.
What is Mottainai?
The expression "Mottainai!" can be uttered alone as an exclamation when something useful, such as food or time, is wasted.  The word closest to Mottainai in English is "What a waste!", "Do not waste!"
The participants will be introduced to the animated character “Mottainai Grandma” from a book of the same title by Japanese author Mariko Shinju. In the drawings, Grandma looks a little stern with her hair up in a bun and cane in hand. She will appear when someone do something “Mottainai” to remind them not to waste. And there's no avoiding her eyes.
"Mottainai!" she says to her grandson, who is brushing his teeth. "One cup of water is enough!"
Throughout the whole programme, the children will be given ideas on how they can conserve water, electricity and even food. Panasonic Malaysia’s key facilitator Cik Normah Nordin a renowned fine arts artist, theatre activist and child development educator takes the lead in getting the kids all jived up in the various activities planned out for them. Assisting the key facilitator is Encik Aiman Roslan a music, filming and broadcasting practitioner.  A team of university students will also be on hand to assist in facilitating the program.
Panasonic Malaysia corporate communications & branding general manager Azizah Wahid said the program is part of the company’s corporate social responsibility on education and environment at the grass root level targeting the pre-school children.
“It’s a hands-on approach on a softer note. We will show the children how being eco-friendly is easy and at the same time interesting. Through the Mottainai approach and understanding, we hope children will find it fun and remember them through activities conducted,” she said.
Azizah added that: “We will provide the kids with simple and basic introductions using the Mottainai interactive teaching materials that covers 4 areas namely, “What’s Mottainai”, “Is this Mottainai”, “Where is Mottainai activity” and “Conclusion about Mottainai”. 
“All work and no play are definitely not in the books for these kids. They will have activities to keep them busy like storytelling, making recycled items from paper-mache and performing arts through singing, dancing and acting”.
The participants will in the following weeks also be involved in several activities which will give them an insight into how to recycle, reduce and reuse. They will also be working on a special project using recycled items which will be showcased during the Panasonic Malaysia’s Eco Ideas Experience exhibition on October 1 to October 4 2009 at Mid Valley Exhibition Centre.

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