By Olivia Miwil
KOTA KINABALU: No child should have just one meal a day.
Society of Hope Sabah chairperson Josephine Hadikusumo said apart from proper daily meals, children also need school supplies and encouragement to support their futures.
Josephine recalled an incident during a visit to a school in a kampung, when she witnessed a little girl faint right in front of her.
Initially, she thought the child was sick, but the teacher quietly explained that the only meal the girl and her siblings could rely on was the one provided under the government's Rancangan Makanan Tambahan programme.
"I was shocked. She fainted from hunger. That moment changed me.
"Poverty is not a statistic… it is a child collapsing because there is not enough food at home," she said.
Josephine added that the society exists to step in where children need support, providing milk, school supplies, and hope.
She took over the organisation in 2019 from her mother, Datuk Seri Christina Liew, who founded it in 2007 and now serves as Sabah's Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister.
The society initially focused on helping communities affected by hardship and disasters.
"By the time I became chairperson, our mission had shifted to supporting children from bottom 40 income households and hardcore poor families in Sabah.
"We believe education is the most powerful tool to break the cycle of poverty," she said.
"When a child receives not just food but also school supplies and encouragement, we are not simply meeting an immediate need. We are investing in a future full of potential and possibilities."
During the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the society launched Project Hope Milk Fund, distributing more than 7,400 units of milk powder to children aged one to five across several districts.
From 2022 onwards, the "Jom Balik Sekolah" campaign has provided over 10,000 sets of stationery and exercise books to students in 80 schools across 20 districts.
This effort earned recognition from the Malaysia Book of Records for the largest stationery distribution to underprivileged children.
Looking ahead, the society plans to provide school bags and stationery sets to children from hardcore poor communities in all 27 districts of Sabah.
Scholarships will also be offered to children who demonstrate consistent attendance and dedication to their studies.
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