MIRI: A corporate-backed education drive has expanded support to almost one hundred underprivileged students across Sarawak, in what is being positioned as a long-term effort to ease the persistent barriers faced by children in remote communities.
SOP Foundation has extended its Student Adoption Programme (SAP) to 95 students in the 2023/2024 academic cycle, drawing beneficiaries from 48 primary and secondary schools in Lambir, Niah, Suai, Marudi, Sebauh, Sungai Asap, Tatau and Balingian.
Many of these areas continue to grapple with low household incomes and limited access to educational resources.
Rather than requiring students to come to distribution points, the foundation travelled directly to the schools and community clusters involved.
Each student received a one-off financial allowance, along with basic schooling necessities including bags and stationery.
The Foundation’s Board of Trustees member, Eric Kiu Kwong Seng, said sustained intervention remains necessary if the state is serious about levelling the playing field.
“Education is a critical pathway out of poverty. Our role is to ensure that students are not held back simply because of where they were born or the financial circumstances of their families,” he said.
Since its inception in 2016, the programme has supported 849 students.
The foundation maintains that its strategy is not charity, but investment: students who can stay in school and perform well are more likely to return as skilled contributors to their local economies.
The SAP runs alongside several other community initiatives led by the foundation, including the Young Achievers Award, the Vision Care Project, and the Healthy Strides Malaysia programme.
Collectively, these are framed as part of a longer-term push to strengthen social development around SOP’s operational regions.
Further information is available at www.sopfoundation.com.
