We’re 25 because of YOU!

Vision News , December 2022 3 min read

World Vision Malaysia turned 25 this year! This is an incredible milestone for all of us. We are so grateful to every single one of you for supporting us on this journey to empower children and families to overcome poverty, achieve self-sustainability and experience the fullness of life.

As we celebrate our silver jubilee, we would like to honour our staff member Trias Chew and volunteer Tan Ming Sen, who have both served with World Vision Malaysia for – yes – 25 YEARS! With them by our side, we could achieve so much.

Growing with World Vision Malaysia

Trias first started working with World Vision Malaysia in October 1997. Back then, she was one of just three staff members (which included the CEO), and the ‘office’ was a house! Nowadays, Trias is a Sponsorship Executive who helps handle sponsored children’s data and communicates with World Vision offices in the countries we serve. When asked about her longstanding commitment, she said “This is not just a job. It gives you fulfillment when you help vulnerable children and families achieve a sustainable life.”

Trias is a firm believer in the power of Child Sponsorship and would encourage everyone to sponsor a child to help children and families in need. She recalls a moving incident with a cleaning lady, who rode two buses to our office just to make a Child Sponsorship contribution. “She did not earn much but she gave all that she had to transform her sponsored child’s life.”

All in all, Trias would describe her journey with World Vision as a transformative one. As the organisation has grown, she has grown both skill-wise and spiritually as well, giving her opportunities to step out of her comfort zone and pursue new things.

“I have been here for 25 years, yet I don’t feel stagnant; I keep learning. God willing, I’ll be here for the next 25 years too.”

A Life in Volunteering

Next up, we have Tan Ming Sen, a volunteer who learned about World Vision Malaysia and the 30-Hour Famine campaign in the Sin Chew Daily in 1997. Starting out as a volunteer at the 30-Hour Famine, Ming Sen is now a regular face at the annual event, sharing his experiences and knowledge with fellow members on the Security Team. Besides the 30-Hour Famine, he has also participated in other World Vision Malaysia activities.

One of Ming Sen’s most memorable experiences as a volunteer was his trip to the Kuan Niang Area Programme in Thailand, where he witnessed how the community had grown and developed over the years.

Ming Sen (right) with a member of our staff.

“Seeing World Vision’s work, I understood what it meant to ‘teach a man to fish’.”

Ming Sen’s 25-year volunteer journey was certainly not all smooth-sailing. In fact, he had thoughts of giving up volunteering back in 2004. However, he had a change of heart when he remembered the time he went to Aceh with another NGO to help provide humanitarian relief for the victims of the South Asian tsunami. He said, “I realised that [If I stopped volunteering] I might lose the chance to do something meaningful for people in need. This keeps me going.”

When asked to sum up his World Vision journey in one word, Ming Sen said ‘Learn’. He applies the leadership, communication and listening skills he gained from volunteering in his own life, and he believes that he has become a more compassionate person by serving others.

Just like Trias and Ming Sen, there are many of YOU who have been the reason we have come this far. You – staff members, volunteers, sponsors, donors and more – have been an essential part of our organisation's journey and success, and we are ever grateful for the dedication and passion you have shown for the sustained well-being of children, especially the most vulnerable.

Our story doesn't end here. Join us on this journey for the next 25 years and beyond to empower children, their families and communities to break the cycle of poverty. The best way you can begin is by sponsoring a child.