J&J Empowering Almost 300 Mersing Fishermen to Improve Livelihood

A Singapore-based international diversified industrial conglomerate, Jebsen & Jessen Group (J & J), collaborated with the Social Hero Foundation (SHF) on a series of projects over a period of 5 days from 2 to 6 December to help improve the livelihood of the fishermen community in Mersing, Johor.

To help almost 300 fishermen and their families, 20 J & J staff volunteers from Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia, led by Darren How, J & J Head of Corporate Communications & Employee Experience, spent a week in Mersing together with SHF Director of Programmes, Farrah Baptist to carry out the various meaningful and impactful projects in Teluk Buih and Endau, Mersing.

They constructed fish houses (or “Unjam Ikan”) and fish traps (or “Bubu Ikan”) and sewed crab & lobster nets. These additional fishing tools will be a great help to the local fishermen when they resume fishing at sea after the monsoon season ends in March next year. The fish houses will help increase fish reproduction and promote marine biodiversity. It was estimated that these additional fishing tools will help improve their incomes by more than 30%. The fish houses can last up to 3 years and the fish traps up to 1 year.

The J & J Team also constructed an oyster mushroom farm to grow 5,000 oyster mushrooms under an indoor temperature-controlled environment in Kampung Teluk Iskandar. As a community farming initiative, the harvested mushrooms will be sold to supplement or provide an alternative income source for the fishermen community during the monsoon season.

As a future source of alternative income and for flood control when mature, 150 young pandan coconut trees were planted in Pulau Besar, an island off Mersing.

Not forgetting our care for the environment, the J & J Team helped clean and collect rubbish from the Pulau Besar beach and Semanyir beach in Endau. A total of 187 kg of rubbish was collected in only an afternoon.

The total cost of carrying out all these projects and activities were fully sponsored by J & J. The J & J team members worked hard “hands-on” on the ground every day on all these activities, and they received guidance and support from the local fishermen community, Jabatan Perikanan Negeri Johor (Mersing) (The Johor State Fishery Department (Mersing)), Jabatan Pertanian Johor (Johor State Agriculture Department), Mersing Fishermen Association, and Jabatan Pengairan dan Saliran Negeri Johor (Johor State Department of Irrigation and Drainage).

SHF Trustee Datuk Seri Teo Shiok Fu added that SHF was grateful and honoured to be selected by Jebsen & Jessen to carry out this meaningful and impactful initiative for the fishermen community in Mersing. All the projects they carried out will have a positive, lasting impact on the livelihood of the fishermen community in Mersing. Although it may not be immediate, the future social and environmental impacts on the community will be substantial. This is a good example of sustainable philanthropy. The care and concern shown by the J & J team members this week have certainly touched the lives of many in Mersing.

Jebsen & Jessen Group Chairman, Heinrich Jessen added that “Now in its 17th year, our Meet-a-Need programme continues to bring colleagues from across the Jebsen & Jessen group in touch with communities within our home region of ASEAN in very meaningful ways. We are extremely grateful to Social Hero Foundation for allowing us to contribute in an active and direct way to the well-being of this special community in Mersing.”