Malaysia

Many households in Malaysia still grapple with the stark reality of their monthly household income falling below the country’s estimated living wage. It remains a significant challenge, with far-fetching consequences on various aspects of life, particularly quality education and early childhood learning.

Preschool education and early childhood learning are fundamental for a child’s cognitive, social and emotional development. While the nation has made strides towards improving its education system, children from the underserved families often face unique and personal challenges that hinder their access to preschool education and early childhood learning. Lack of resources, inadequate nutrition and overall environment not conducive to learning contribute to the disadvantaged position of many children from the underserved families. This would lead to a cycle of underperformance and underdevelopment as many of them would fall behind in their studies without a strong foundation.

The Human Safety Net Malaysia firmly believes that preschool education, early childhood learning and parenting education are critical for breaking the cycle of poverty and ensuring that every child has an equal opportunity to succeed.

In collaboration with Suriana Welfare Society Malaysia and Yayasan Generasi Gemilang, our programs focus on helping vulnerable families with young children (0 – 6 years) to provide them with quality pre-school, early childhood learning and parenting education. Our programs are designed to support families from the underserved communities on the importance of early childhood development, parenting skills and financial literacy as part of lifelong learning so that their children can achieve their age-appropriate developmental milestones and achieve optimum growth standards.