STARFISHMY.COM
REPORT 01/2016
starfish malaysia foundation
STAKEHOLDER REPORT AN ANNUAL REPORT ON PROGRESS, FINANCIALS AND ACTIVITIES (YEAR 2016)
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WELCOME
NOTE FROM THE CHAIRMAN
IMPACTING ONE LIFE AT A TIME. By Jimmy Lei
Sabah is a land brimming with promising possibilities. The Malaysian state is blessed with a bounty of natural resources and people of diverse cultures. Sabahans are naturally welcoming, tolerant and humble. Yet, in the same breath, the state has not reached it potential. In fact, Sabah sits at the very bottom in education and is the poorest state in Malaysia. Starfish Malaysia Foundation felt and saw this need even before our inception and after much discussion, we decided to put our money where our mouth is. In February 2014, we set up the foundation and began sowing into the land. Starfish’s agenda is simple. To give children equal and fair access to education, to elevate poverty
REPORT 2016/01
and to ultimately empower people to make a difference in their own communities. Our job is done when lives are renewed, restored and are able to stand on their two feet. I’m very proud of our team who have come together putting mind and heart into the various projects, giving their all. Our job is far from done and till then, my prayer is that we will not give up doing good, for in due time, we shall reap the harvest (Galatians 6:9). Thank you to our supporters, donors and partners who have contributed. Your giving has made a difference. Community development is not a one man show but a cohesive effort of a myriad of talents, resources and people. Because you were willing, someone else was blessed. With great appreciation, thank you and God bless.
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FEATURE STORY
SOCIO-ECONOMIC
KG MANGKAPOH: A SOCIO ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION
Kg Mangkapoh is situated about 50 kilometres from Ranau. This village is accessible through kilometres of gravel roads and across the Sugut River. By end of 2012, with the collapse of the suspension bridge over Sg Sugut, the village was literally cut off from the rest of the world, except through a river crossing by small boats. Tragedy struck in 2013 when two children who were coming home from school, drowned when the small boat they were in capsized. The community was isolated, marginalised and felt hopeless. Starfish undertook this project after seeking consent from the authorities to build a new bridge which was completed in June 2015. The bridge is not only a pedestrian crossing but it is also able to withstand the weight of motorcycles going back and forth. With this bridge, Kg Mangkapoh is now connected with other villages and a symbol of hope that future tragedies can be avoided, thus given the name ‘Jambatan Harapan’ - Bridge of Hope. Our initiative with the Kg Mangkapoh community did not stop with the bridge.
Traditionally, the villagers have been earning a meagre monthly income from rubber tapping. It was barely enough to feed their families. Starfish Foundation introduced a pilot plot of one acre land for roselle planting. It gave farmers a sense of empowerment and ownership to work and toil on their own land. Starfish guaranteed a buy back of all the roselle flowers harvested. At the first harvest in early 2016, the roselle flowers were collected, cleaned, fermented and bottled to make a healthy probiotic enzyme that is now being sold. In November 2016, there was another bountiful harvest and we are exploring the possibilities of making jams and tea. The journey of working with rural communities is often a challenging one. Raising their income level is only half the problem, the greater challenge is changing their mindsets of what help is. Our hope is to empower them to fish, instead of giving them fish. The roselle enzyme drink is currently retailing at RM78 per bottle. For bulk purchases, please contact us at hello@starfishmy.com
100 20 40
families impacted through the bridge families impacted through the roselle farming
RM300 to RM650 increase of monthly income per farmer
RM1,400
children given access to extra tuition at contributed to a community pre-school from sale of a community centre roselle harvest
Snapshot of 2016 APRIL
JUNE
JUNE
signed hostel agreement with Protestant Church of Sabah (PCS)
first phase of upgrades done for Hostel Marigold Sollimpodon
produced 2,300 bottles of roselle enzyme
SEPTEMBER
SEPTEMBER
OCTOBER
farming project at Hostel Marigold Solimpodon commenced
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Bible Camp at Hostel Jasmine Talantang
JULY
AUGUST
AUGUST
NOVEMBER
DECEMBER
DECEMBER
participated in football coaching Economic Hostel Jasmine program organised by National Talantang Open Day Empowerment Starfish Foundation for Conference (NEEC) and Dedication community leaders
2nd harvest of roselle began work on Kapit flowers at Kg Youth Centre Mangkapoh (Sarawak)
Zoo outing for Hostel Jasmine Talantang students
New wardens hired for Hostel Marigold Solimpodon
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FEATURE
EDUCATION
HOSTEL JASMINE TALANTANG
The state of Sabah’s education is in a dire need of intervention. In a recent study done by the Education Performance and Delivery Unit (PADU) of the Ministry of Education - students' results in Sabah show that they are performing way below national average and Sabah sits at the very bottom with the lowest scores in all subjects. This is especially true in the rural districts of Kota Marudu, Pitas and Kudat incidentally, these are also our areas of focus for the education initiatives that we carry out. Additionally, this problem is accentuated by the lack of proper boarding facilities near schools for rural students to stay in. In rural Sabah, children and youth walk a long way to get to school, some live as far as three hours away and getting to the nearest school on a daily basis is not an easy option - hence, boarding facilities such as student hostels are built. One of the goals at Starfish Malaysia Foundation is to elevate the literacy level of children and youth in rural Sabah to give them a greater chance for a brighter future. We do so by providing them with a safe, wholesome and conducive environment in our hostels for them to excel in their studies.
Heeding this need, Starfish embarked on building our first hostel in 2014 at Kg Talantang, 20 minutes drive from Kota Marudu. This hostel is called Hostel Jasmine Talantang (HJT) with a capacity for 48 students. HJT had its 1st intake in Jan 2015 with a total of 5 students. Within one year, the number of students have increased to more than 20 and today, we have 27 students. The children at HJT have two study sessions daily and we provide free tuition with the help of visiting volunteers. We were overjoyed when one of our children, Elkana Marudi scored three A's in a nationwide examination. Previously, A's were unheard of, but slowly and surely we are seeing results. This gives us great hope. Apart from intellectual growth, we also look into their physical and spiritual wellbeing. We organised a free medical and dental clinic in August 2016 which was also open to the community. And in September, we put together a Bible Camp over the school holidays in partnership with City Harvest Church, KL.. Just before the year ended, we brought the children to Lok Kawi Wildlife Park and it was a once in a lifetime adventure for many of them. The saying that 'it takes a village to raise a child' is so true and we consider it a privilege and a great responsibility to have a part to play in these young ones lives.
FEATURE
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EDUCATION
HOSTEL JASMINE TALANTANG STARFISH FIRST VENTURE INTO HOSTEL OUTREACH
37%
increase in overall studies
1
student scored 3As in UPSR. She is top three in her school for the nationwide examination.
87%
children lives at least 7 km from the nearest school.
RM6,500
6 to 27
increase of number of children after one year of operation average cost to run Hostel Jasmine Talantang per month in 2016
OTHER PROJECTS & PROGRAMS Here are some other projects and programs we have conducted for the past two years: Corn farming in Nabawan Sook and Pagalungan in partnership with Perpaduan Anak Negeri (PAN) Soursop farming in Kampung Maatol, Tulid in partnership with World Vision (Malaysia) Citizenship workshops to youths in the interiors Community football coaching for rural community leaders Refurbishing a semi-abandoned building in Kapit (Sarawak) to a Youth Centre
OUR FINANCIALS 6%
4% staff costs
approximately
RM1,000,000 RM550,000
operating expenses
raised for our hostel outreach
16%
plant & equipment
44%
hostel building & maintenance
spent for building, renovating and refurbishing hostels
27%
rural infrastructure
2% agriculture project
Audited account for period: Since inception Feb 2014 to March 2016
IN THE PRESS
THE BORNEO POST, 12 AUGUST 2015 “Without it, the villagers will not have access to the main road, schools and other facilities.” “I am so proud to see this bridge, which I think is the most well-made bridge in Ranau”
SIN CHEW DAILY, 16 MARCH 2016 Starfish Malaysia Foundation will be playing a role in helping the villagers of Kg Maatol to sell their produce direct to get a better price" "
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FEATURE
INTERVIEW
PARTNERSHIPS Community development is not a solo effort. Below are partners, donors and supporters of Starfish Malaysia Foundation over the last two years. Olive Aid Sdn Bhd PAN Sabah Sin Chew Foundation Dream Hostel
Lighthouse Cell Group, SIB Likas Subang Cell Group, SIBKL plus other individual donors
We are constantly looking for like-minded partners who share the same vision. Get in touch with us if you would like to partner or find out more information,
MOVING FORWARD Renovating and refurbishing two more hostels in partnership with the Protestant Church of Sabah (PCS) in the district of Sikuati and Kudat. Completing the building of a primary school hostel within the Pitas district. This will increase the total hostels under our care to five. Developing new products from our upcoming Roselle harvest into jams, tea and dried fruits. Planting and growing different types of vegetables at Solimpodon and other hostels to cater for the growing numbers and eventually become a self-sustainaining model to cover the hostel's operating costs We are building Kapit Lighthouse Youth Centre in the heart of Kapit town in Sarawak. We learned about Kapit's rising social ills such as drug abuse, teenage pregnancies, increasing number of school drop-outs and unemployment and we saw this as an opportunity in disguise - amidst the cloud of problems. We hope the Youth Centre will be a beacon of hope and a safe haven for young people to grow and thrive.
STARFISH MANAGEMENT AND STAFF Jimmy Lei, Chairman Ho Cheng Leong, Director Larry Siah, Director Wee Lai, Management Alex Yong, Management Andrew Lau, Management Frankie Dawin, Agriculturalist Deborah Chan, Program Coordinator Terence Ooi, Program Coordinator
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Registration No: 1081161X 3rd Floor, Lot 16-3, Block B, Lintas Square, Luyang, 88300 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. T: +60-88-212 400 hello@starfishmy.com www.starfishmy.com www.facebook.com/starfishmalaysia