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After 10 years of continuously enriching communities in
Malaysia, the former GAB Foundation recently unveiled its new identity - SPARK Foundation. Now, the Foundation comes with a renewed vision to grow with local communities in the a reas of environmental conservation and education through strategic partnerships for a better tomorrow.
Tan Sri Saw Choo Boon, Chairman of SPARK Foundation, highlighted the new focus towards developing strategic partnerships
“We believe in the power of collaboration as effective change does not happen in isolation. Our W.A.T.E.R Project and English Enrichment Training Programme are exemplary programmes, evident that smart partnerships entail sustainable positive impact.”
Renuka Indrarajah, Trustee of the SPARK Foundation, added, “Key successes in the last 10 years for the W.A.T.E.R Project include transforming water quality of Sungei Way from Class IV-V to Class III and establishing River Care communities along five rivers in Malaysia - Sungei Way, Sungai Penchala, Sungai Senam, Sungai Buntong, Sungai Kledang. The English Enrichment Training Programme, which reaches out to educators in seven states, saw an improvement of between 40% - 60% to their beneficiaries in the areas of reading, listening and writing within three years. More than 465 educators from 230 school s were trained over the last six years.”
With the recent and alarming study of the deficiency of global water supply by 2030, the SPARK Foundation places water and river conservation as one of its core pillars.
“In Malaysia, more than 90% of our water supply comes from rivers, yet only 58% of our rivers remain clean. We hope to get other like-minded partners on board to ignite greater change. Through innovation and passion of our people and communities, most importantly millennials, we can spark a change for a better environment,” stated Saw.
The Foundation will focus on four core strategies as its way forward for the W.A.T.E.R project. It will promote the use of water conservation technologies to reduce stress on rivers, enhance improvement of wastewater management on project site, partner with relevant government agencies for the River of Life Public Outreach programme and empower stakeholders on project sites, especially millennials. The project sites are Sungai Penchala, areas in need East Malaysia, and Sungai Selangor in the pipeline. The Foundation will continue to provide future generations access to learning opportunities and invest in education-based projects across the nation.
