Graduation at Fordeco Sawmill in Lahad Datu
Education Department Officers from KL and KK on friendly visit
Borneo Child Aid Society is run independently by a local comittee of which the Honorary Chairman is Mr. Peter Mathisen. The society is an independent humanitarian society without any specific political or religious aims, and without formal ties to other organisational or political interests. It is approved by the Registrar of Societies, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Reg.No. 123/96) and officers from the Education Department for Private Schools from KK as well as from the Ministry of Education in Kuala Lumpur have been inspecting all our centres and licensing our them as “Pusat Bimbingan”(Guidance Centres). We have also been working together with the social ministry of the state of Sabah, as well as the local Red Crescent and of the local chapters of Rotary Club. Humana Child Aid Society is registered with Malaysian NGO Website www.hati.org.my , and with Yayasan Harapan Kanak-Kanak as an organisation seeking funds for children’s welfare causes. The latter has arranged a sponsorship for uniforms for our almost 3000 children by Optiman Capital Management, Kuala Lumpur.
With initial funding from a Holland based NGO, we cooperated with several plantation companies in opening schools for their worker's children. Although the NGO is no longer funding the project, the cooperation with the plantation companies has continued and has been strengthened through the years with companies such as IOI, Kwantas, Asiatic (The Genting Group), Melangking Oil Palm, Teck Guan Plantations, Hap Seng Plantations, Pontian Plantations and Borneo Samudra S/B. These companies today contribute to the education of children in our centres in their plantations. Through its former CEO Mr. John Madsen, Hap Seng Consolidated became our main sponsor from 1999 to 2002. John Madsen, who is now acting as our honorary advisor, has since privately continued an unwavering support of our efforts to reach the thousands of children without access to education.
For the past 3 years Borneo Child Aid Society has been depending solely on donations from the plantation companies, where we are operating the schools and we have been in big need of additional funding in order to survive. In 2004 and 2005 the Embassy of Finland in Kuala Lumpur has donated to the society a grant for the education of the children of poor plantation workers, which has helped us to continue the work. The Malaysia operation of the shipping company Maersk is sponsoring one school 2005, and also the Malaysian YTL Cooperation has given us a generous donation this year. Quite recently Amnesty International Denmark has also contributed an important donation, as has FranklinCovey Nordic Approach.
Also Maersk Malaysia, The HSBC Bank, Carlsberg Malaysia, EAC Foundation, DT-Group and Poul Due Jensens Fond (Grundfos) are among our sponsors.