St. Mary’s School, locally known as SMK St. Mary, is a public all-girls secondary school located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. St. Mary’s school is undoubtedly steeped in old charm personality and tradition, both of which clearly noted by my discovery of the school having had hosted two of Malaysia’s First Ladies; Tun Dr. Siti Hasmah and Datin Paduka Seri Endon, and its humble beginnings since pre-world war two era.

Boasting a long string of proud academic and extracurricular achievements, the school’s history stretched as far back as when it first opened its doors on 4 November 1912, in a house located at 18 Weld Road (now known as Jalan Raja Chulan).

In 1998, the school was relocated to Jalan Intan Baiduri, KL with an enrolment of 410 students in 10 classes. All Science labs, the VIP room and meeting room were fully equipped by the end of the year. In 15 July 1999, the school PA system was fully established.

On 15 June 2001, the school ushered in the dawn of the information technology age. Datin Amar Elizabeth Moggie, wife of the then Minister of Telecommunications, Multimedia and Post, officially opened the school’s Computer Laboratory.

I was present on Saturday morning at the school to photograph the delivery and setup of new computers, donated by Rentwise as part of its continuous corporate social responsibility (CSR) program. Three highly qualified Rentwise engineers were present to oversee the installation of desktops and LCDs at the Computer Lab.

I shot the above picture at 1/200 sec, f/5.6 @ ISO 400 with a shoot thru umbrella speedlight to camera right. The Computer Lab was located on the second floor. It was a real painful and laborious undertaking, lugging all the computers up through 4 flights of stairs.

The lighting setup was a simple pair of two speed lights. Basically, one bare head bounced into the ceiling to provide the ambient/fill, while another shoot thru umbrella as key light. I had to move them around for each and every single angle taken.

Unfortunately, I had to work at ISO 800-1000 to pick up some ambient and help lift my flashes to a comfortable working level, else, the speed lights (they were at roughly 1/4 – 1/2 power) wouldn’t be powerful enough to light the subjects and working area.

Even then, without a third light, working with two speed lights was a problem as I wasn’t getting enough even lighting (especially some wider shots with a slightly darker background). This could be remedied by placing the third light at the end of the room where the shot was taken to help balance with the foreground.

Another problem was a huge long stretch of mirror on one side of the computer lab’s wall (seen in the above ambient-only shot), which totally pissed me off. I had to constantly avoid my own reflections, plus that of the speed lights.

Recognizing the importance of education and generation of future accomplished leaders, Rentwise saw a need in helping to re-equip the school’s computer lab after 11 years since its launch. This upgrade was necessary to afford students of St. Mary’s school, a much needed competitive edge in this ever changing fast paced technology-enabled society.

Capitalizing on its core specialty in the sourcing, consultation, support, management and rental services of IT equipment, Rentwise donated 40 sets of desktops and LCDs as part of its ongoing CSR program. This donation would inject new life and breathe new creativity among the students of St. Mary’s school, thereby allowing them to experience among some of the latest hardware and software in information technology.

With the availability of high speed broadband and better equipped IT infrastructure, students of St. Mary’s school can now enjoy quality IT service through a smooth and conducive learning environment, made possible by the upgraded IT equipment.

After setup, the desktops were loaded with the necessary anti-virus tools and other software packages before they were tweaked for their network connectivity.

All the old IT equipment were then loaded into the truck to be properly disposed of.

Finally, the faces of the good Samaritans and a happy recipient, defining this momentous occasion.

Rentwise’s CSR program is all about giving back to the society. It aims to help impoverished, marginalized and vulnerable children and their families. This commitment is demonstrated not just through monetary support afforded or equipment upgrades enabled as the current project testifies, but also through pro-active participation and engagement of its employees and their families whenever possible.

With the many significant theatrical performances, musical and sports achievements SMK St. Mary has witnessed over its many decades of existence, Rentwise sincerely hopes its donation of IT equipment will also help contribute to the school’s many facades of successes and proud chapters.

Whether be it igniting the passion of a future technologist among its notable alumnae-in-the-making, or simply serving as a source of inspiration to its students, Rentwise’s act of kindness surely does go a long way in impacting impressionable minds.

As a big-hearted organisation who preaches practicing sound investment strategy; “Own that which appreciates, rent that which depreciates”, Rentwise is certainly living up to its tenets of wisdom for both businesses and the younger generation alike. An investment into the human capital especially in a school as reputable as SMK St. Mary is a demonstration of Rentwise’s firm beliefs in paying it forward. After all, there are no better appreciating assets than our very own children paving the way for a brighter future.

Rentwise has definitely redefined the very essence of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Truly, a small step in the making, to a giant leap forward for a better tomorrow with endless possibilities.