Hopes Malaysia is an empowerment-focused NGO in rural Sabah, Malaysia. Since 2016, our team has been transforming more than 50,000 lives in the poverty-stricken Kota Belud area, supporting over 40 rural localities with practical, sustainable solutions.
We prioritise grassroots, community-based approach—actively working together with the rural communities to address critical challenges such as the lack of clean water, food insecurity, and poverty struggles.
Our charitable mission is to create impactful, lasting sustainable change by empowering locals to fulfill their basic needs and achieve self-reliance, as families realise their capabilities to combat rural poverty, manage rising living costs, and build a sustainable future.
Sabah: The Inspiration Behind Our Community Work
HELLO
Hopes Malaysia is an empowerment-focused NGO in rural Sabah, Malaysia. Since 2016, our team has been transforming more than 50,000 lives in the poverty-stricken Kota Belud area, supporting over 40 rural localities with practical, sustainable solutions.
We prioritise grassroots, community-based approach—actively working together with the rural communities to address critical challenges such as the lack of clean water, food insecurity, and poverty struggles.
Our charitable mission is to create impactful, lasting sustainable change by empowering locals to fulfill their basic needs and achieve self-reliance, as families realise their capabilities to combat rural poverty, manage rising living costs, and build a sustainable future.
Hello
Hopes Malaysia is an empowerment-focused NGO in rural Sabah, Malaysia. Since 2016, our team has been transforming more than 50,000 lives in the poverty-stricken Kota Belud area, supporting over 40 rural localities with practical, sustainable solutions.
We prioritise grassroots, community-based approach—actively working together with the rural communities to address critical challenges such as the lack of clean water, food insecurity, and poverty struggles.
Our charitable mission is to create impactful, lasting sustainable change by empowering locals to fulfill their basic needs and achieve self-reliance, as families realise their capabilities to combat rural poverty, manage rising living costs, and build a sustainable future.
Hopes Malaysia is an empowerment-focused NGO in rural Sabah, Malaysia. Since 2016, our team has been transforming more than 50,000 lives in the poverty-stricken Kota Belud area, supporting over 40 rural localities with practical, sustainable solutions.
We prioritise grassroots, community-based approach—actively working together with the rural communities to address critical challenges such as the lack of clean water, food insecurity, and poverty struggles.
Our charitable mission is to create impactful, lasting sustainable change by empowering locals to fulfill their basic needs and achieve self-reliance, as families realise their capabilities to combat rural poverty, manage rising living costs, and build a sustainable future.
Gravity Water Access
To tackle rural Sabah's water scarcity, we implement durable gravity-fed water systems, empowering communities with a sustainable clean water solution. For decades, many communities have relied on natural mountain water sources, which often fail to meet the demands of growing populations.
Our initiatives focus on upgrading and rebuilding existing infrastructure to deliver a reliable water supply to families. These systems use gravity to efficiently transport water to underserved villages, ensuring consistent access to safe water and fostering community development in rural Sabah.
SUSTAINABLE FARMING AND ENHANCED SOCIOECONOMIC
With clean water access, rural families can start farming high-rotation and long-term yield crops, alongside Tilapia fish farming. This boosts food security, self-sufficiency, and lowers living costs by growing their own food sustainable food.
This initiative equips families with the skills and resources to revitalize their land, tend crops, and harvest sufficient food.
By selling surplus produce, families earn extra income, promoting self-reliance and improving their standard of living, ultimately overcoming rural poverty.
COMMUNITY EDUCATION
In Sabah's rural communities, most children receive primary education in Malay, limiting their English skills. To address this, our program starts with a pre-test to access their English-speaking and reading abilities. Based on the results, selected students join a 6-month curriculum focused on building foundational English skills.
With one-on-one tutoring, each child receives personalised support to meet their needs. After the program, students take a post-evaluation to gauge improvements. This initiative gives rural students equal opportunities to improve their English skills, ensuring no child is left behind.
RURAL INFRASTRUCTURE
We rebuild and improve vital rural infrastructure, including deteriorating community suspension bridges, ensuring safe crossings for remote villagers, schoolchildren, and farmers.
Many of these old bridges, built from aging wooden planks and basic materials, are vulnerable to Sabah's harsh weather condition, becoming safety hazards for their users over time.
Strengthening these bridges is crucial for the safety, education, and livelihoods of rural families, helping secure brighter futures for their children
SUSTAINABLE FEED AND ENVIRONMENTAL CARE
Sabah's rising costs limit families' access to fresh, nutritious food, leading to health issues from poor diets. To tackle this, we distribute Tilapia fish fry as sustainable protein sources, supporting rural households through sustainable farming initiatives.
We repurpose expired dry goods into affordable animal feed, reducing farmers' costs and enabling more villagers to rear fish independently. This eco-friendly solution boosts incomes, reduces waste, and enhances food security.
BUILDING RESILIENCE WITH RURAL SABAH COFFEE FARMING
Sabah's mountainous villages offer a unique geography for diverse planting, helping rural communities expand their crop options.
For years, we have empowered rural families by introducing high-rotation vegetable planting to address food security, reduce living expenses, and promote self-sufficiency.
Starting in 2024, we are broadening our approach by incorporating long-term crops like coffee, which provide sustainable yields well-suited to the needs of mountainous communities.
Our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Partnerships to Drive Sustainable Impact in Rural Sabah
Empowering and transforming lives in rural Sabah through sustainable development is challenging, but bears lasting change for those who need it most. We cannot do this without your support.
We are now seeking like-minded CSR partners to join us in impactful CSR initiatives and charitable projects. Together, we work to empower Sabah's underserved communities for lasting, sustainable future.
Through collaboration, we foster a meaningful legacy of impact: empowering beneficiaries with the means for improved livelihoods, while aligning with key Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) objectives- sustainability breaking the poverty cycle for rural families to not just survive, but thrive.
Inspiring Others Through Our Community Stories!
Our local groundwork team strives to carry out impactful work, gathering data, stories, and insights directly from rural people to raise awareness about their daily struggles and the importance of sustainable communities.
Every write-up is personally crafted by our team, sharing our mission to inspire others. Read and share our stories to help push our work forward and make sustainability a reality for every rural family.
How Do We Build Self-Reliance Across Sabah’s Rural Communities?
Our various community-driven initiatives target widespread rural challenges to address essential needs and build long-term sustainability.
Every initiative delivers measurable, lasting benefits to our rural beneficiaries, ensuring life-changing solutions that practically benefit communities. Here’s how we make our impact:
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