Discover the transformative impact we're creating in rural Sabah
Explore how Hopes Malaysia's Impact Hub drives measurable, sustainable change across rural Sabah through community‑led initiatives.
This overview highlights our programme footprint, beneficiary reach, and progress data — showcasing the tangible outcomes of our social enterprise model and the lasting impact delivered through our collaborative, sustainable efforts.
>40
Total Villages
>50,000
Total Population
>50
Programmes Executed
Key Impact Highlights
To provide deeper insights, we have gathered detailed data and summarized descriptions to better visualize our impact and the goals achieved through each initiative since 2016.
>200 KM
We have successfully installed 200 km of gravity water systems in 30 villages, providing clean water access and solving water supply issues for over 20,000 rural residents.
>50,000 KG
With villages possessing reliable gravity water access, we have empowered over 900 rural families through sustainable farming initiatives, boosting food security and self-sufficiency. Each family now harvests an average of 15kg of vegetables each crop bedding, promoting long-term economic and nutritional sustainability.
+40%
Farming families are able to increase their supplementary household income by an average of 40% per month by selling their extra produce locally. This has also reduced their monthly fresh food expenses by at least 40%.
>7,500 M
Our team has worked with rural communities in repairing and rebuilding over 5 suspension bridges (over 7,500 meters) to enhance the safety and accessibility for rural villages and schoolchildren. This significantly reduces travel time by up to 60 minutes and eliminates safety risks, ensuring secure and efficient connectivity.
+75%
Hopes Malaysia launched a 20-week English reading programme for 20 rural students in 2024. By the end of the tutelage program, all students advanced their English proficiency year-level by 75%, with over 25% of the students improving key skills, including word recognition.
>500 Families
With improved access to protein through small-scale fish farming, helping rural families build more balanced diets, reduce reliance on external food sources, and lower household food expenses by at least 40% through a more sustainable and self-sufficient source of food.
GRAVITY WATER SYSTEM IMPACT FOR CLEAN WATER
GRAVITY WATER SYSTEM IMPACT FOR CLEAN WATER
More than 200 km of HDPE pipeline installed
Solved water issues for 50,000 population since 2016
Families in rural Sabah highly rely on natural hill water sources due to limited public water access. In Kadamaian, Kota Belud, 74 poverty-stricken villages face growing populations and worsening water scarcity.
An average family of four needs 3,000 gallons of water monthly for basic needs. During droughts, families must buy mineral water from distant towns, spending up to 50% of their savings. This financial strain deepens poverty, making improved water access crucial to easing economic hardship and enhancing rural livelihoods.
GRAVITY WATER SYSTEM IMPACT FOR CLEAN WATER
SUSTAINABLE FARMING IMPACT FOR FOOD SECURITY AND SOCIOECONOMIC
Empowered over 900 families to begin farming
Harvested over 50,000 kg for self consumption and sale for income
With reliable water access, our social enterprise empowers rural families to start sustainable farming, cultivating high-yield leafy greens, longer-term fruit crops, and tilapia fish. These fresh food sources became vital during the pandemic, as families faced severe food and income crises, heavily relying on unsustainable aid.
To tackle this, we launched community farming workshops to equip families with the materials, skills, and guidance for sustainable farming. By growing food for their needs and selling surplus harvest, families can break the cycle of dependency and build lasting resilience. This initiative fosters self-reliance, sustainability, and transforms rural livelihoods.
GRAVITY WATER SYSTEM IMPACT FOR CLEAN WATER
REBUILDING RURAL BRIDGE IMPACT
Rebuilt 75,000 meters of total bridge length
Resolved 4,500 villagers accessibility and safety issues
For years, poor rural infrastructure (suspension bridges) has been a concern for families, especially when their children rely on these bridges every day to get across rivers and dangerous terrain.
Many rural bridges are decades-old and are constructed from aging wooden planks and weak, basic materials. Over time, severe weather deteriorates these simple structures to become safety hazards for their users. This poses great risks to the daily users’ lives, especially for children walking to-and-fro school and farmers traveling to their fields.
We identify unsafe rural bridges and restores their safety with the communities, having improved accessibility for 4,500 rural Sabahans. Using recycled tires as a sustainable alternative to wooden planks, we reinforce the structures for greater durability and long-term reliability, ensuring safer access for villagers while promoting lasting sustainability and reducing waste.
GRAVITY WATER SYSTEM IMPACT FOR CLEAN WATER
RURAL EDUCATION IMPACT
Improved English reading proficency in 20 rural children
75% improved proficiency in 20 weeks of tuition
We launched a 20-week English reading programme for 20 rural students in 2024, pairing each child with a trained tutor for weekly lessons of at least an hour. Our pre-programme diagnostics showed all students were below their proficiency year-level and struggled to communicate in English, a widespread issue for children in Sabah’s rural community.
Upon completion, all students demonstrated reading growth; 75% advancing their English proficiency year-level (such as from Year 1 to Year 3) and 25% improving essential skills, such as word recognition and fluency. We aim to expand this programme promptly as many rural students still struggle in learning English.
GRAVITY WATER SYSTEM IMPACT FOR CLEAN WATER
SUSTAINABLE RURAL FISH FARMING IMPACT
Supporting over 500 rural families in fish farming
Reducing household food expenses by at least 40%
Once farmers grow more confident in vegetable farming, those who have shown strong progress are provided with fish fry, creating an additional source of nutrition while opening opportunities for extra income.
To date, we have supported over 500 rural families in starting small-scale fish farming—helping improve access to protein and more balanced diets within their households, while reducing household food expenses by at least 40%.
Designed to be low-cost and manageable within existing environments, fish farming allows families to diversify their livelihoods and reduce reliance on external supply. Over time, this helps build greater stability through better nutrition, more reliable income, and long-term self-sufficiency.
