10 Malaysian NGOs & Social Enterprises to Watch Out For in 2019

Published in

Incitement

6 min readFeb 13, 2019

Whether you’re looking to volunteer, make a charitable donation, or you’re just interested in sustainable development and social impact, these are the Malaysian NGOs and nonprofit projects that should keep an eye on in 2019.

Top 10 Malaysian NGOs in 2019

1. H2GO

H2GO is an organisation with a long history of providing clean drinking water to remote and rural communities where the usual means of piping and infrastructure are not feasible. Using 21st- century technology, H2G provide an answer to the timeless problem of safe drinking water provision.

In daily use by over 1.7 million people around the world, H2Go Technology is changing the lives of people by providing clean water at the turn of the tap in seconds, rather than hours. This means higher water consumption per capita, more expendable time of the recipients, zero water born illness, higher school attendance rates for children and other long term health benefits. H2Go Technology is cutting edge and “Proven, not Promised”.

Find out more at www.h2go.global

2. Yellow House KL

Yellow House KL is the first dedicated volunteer hostel and multi project volunteer organisation established in Kuala Lumpur. Yellow House KL is a non-profit organisation that executes transformative sustainable approach in addressing social issues through social innovation. With innovative projects such as the Unseen Tours of KL, this organisation adopts a progressive approach to social innovation.

Find out more at www.yellowhousekl.com

3. Earth Heir

Earth Heir works with over 100 artisans from women’s cooperatives, indigenous tribes and refugee groups, across six states of Malaysia. By combining traditional artisanal skills with modern, contemporary design, Earth Heir is a true celebration of Malaysia’s varied heritage art forms and unique cultural narratives.

Earth Heir was founded in 2013 as a social business to provide ethnic artisans an outlet to showcase their rare handicrafts. All their items are handcrafted, using traditional techniques, by skilled craftsmen and women, and the materials are all carefully selected to be environmentally friendly. What makes Earth Heir unique is that they know the stories of their artisans, and care about them in a genuine and personal way.

Find out more at www.earthheir.com

4. Payong

Payong is a Malaysian NGO for refugees, working with UNHCR, Host International and local and international universities and schools. Payong was initiated by the same team behind Fugee School Malaysia. Their desire is to transform the way Malaysia responds to the refugee crisis by establishing the understanding that all people belong to a single, shared humanity where each individual has the right and opportunity to build a life of dignity.

Payong helps bridge the gap between marginalized communities and refugees in Malaysia and those parties willing to help; empowering individuals to take control over their lives through borderless learning and capacity building.

Find out more at www.payong.org

5. Safe space

Safe Space aims to shine a light and build more awareness on healing. Healing itself comes in so many forms because we all have different experiences and we all heal differently — whether if it is from an autoimmune disease, a trauma, a heartbreak or even day-to-day struggles that people go through. Safe Space hopes to bring together people from all sorts of backgrounds, to realise how powerful it is to connect with each other through struggles and vulnerability.

Safe Space is a space where walls are broken down for purposeful conversations and meaningful interactions happen. It is aimed at raising awareness for autoimmune disease and also provide a platform for conversations that matter; a space where comfort and intimacy can be delivered to those suffering from autoimmune diseases.

Find out more at safespacemy.wordpress.com

6. Urban Hijau

Urban Hijau is an Urban Organic Farm in the City. It is more than a park or garden. They are the living and breathing example of organic sustainable farming, right in the middle of Kuala Lumpur. Urban Hijau is a planned sustainable social enterprise, using permaculture as a means to unite people, generate profit and preserve the planet simultaneously.

Recently, with the help of volunteers, a list of the various species of plants and trees were documented and more than 120 plants were listed, however there are many more, and counting.

Find out more at www.uhijau.org

7. Rohingya Project

The Rohingya Project is a grassroots initiative to uplift and empower the stateless and financially excluded Rohingya People by creating a secure and transparent blockchain ecosystem.

Many second and third generation stateless Rohingya live a shadow existence in their host societies and encounter significant obstacles in generating a livelihood and keeping themselves out of poverty. The mission of the Project is to create the foundation for a viable economic and social future for the stateless Rohingya and connect them to opportunities to learn, equip and empower themselves.

Find out more at www.rohingyaproject.com

8. Reef Check Malaysia

Reef Check was established in the USA in 1996 to raise awareness on the importance of, and threats to, coral reefs. The local chapter, Reef Check Malaysia (RCM), was registered as a non-profit organisation in 2007 to engage with the local community as well as protect, restore and revive coral reefs in Malaysia.

RCM partners with a global network of trained and certified EcoDiver volunteers to conduct annual Reef Check surveys to assess the health of reefs around the islands of Malaysia. RCM also conducts education and awareness programmes, along with coral reef rehabilitation programmes.

Find out more at www.reefcheck.org.my

9. Elom Empowerment

Elom Empowerment aims to provide refugees with opportunities and means such as computer training, practical life skills, language classes, vocational training, and leadership programs to reach their full potential to become active members of the society.

Elom Empowerment’s mission is to educate, empower and provide economic sustainability through specially designed educational and vocational programs.

Find out more at elomempowerment.blogspot.com

10. The Champions

The Champions is a community building organisation focused on empowering young people with the experience, knowledge and skills necessary to become Champions in their own lives, who will drive positive change and sustainable impact in their community.