But it didn’t take long before her eyes were opened to their plight: some lived without running water or internet access. The children often dropped out of school, and the mothers couldn’t work to supplement the family income as they were their families’ primary caregivers.
In an effort to help them, she and her husband, Jason Wee, founded The Asli Co, a social enterprise that empowers indigenous mothers to earn a sustainable living.
“Then, we thought: ‘we’re helping the mothers, but what about their children?’ A lot of them are struggling with Malay, English, maths and science, but their parents cannot afford to send them for tuition,” Lim, 39, told FMT Lifestyle.
“That’s why we started Ajar Society, an NGO, to provide free tuition for Orang Asli children and reward them when they do well in school,” added Lim.
Ajar – which is short for “Asli Juara Academic Rewards” – began offering tuition classes in Kampung Orang Asli Serendah, Selangor in March last year and is steadily making a difference in the lives of the kids there.
Held over weekends in the village’s community library, two teachers conduct English and Malay lessons for primary and secondary school students. About 20 students, Lim shared, regularly attend these classes.
Additionally, the NGO collaborated with Tec D Malaysia, an IT company, to organise computer literacy classes.
And they didn’t stop there. “We realised that the children are also struggling with maths and science. However, we couldn’t find teachers to come into the village to teach those subjects. So, we decided to have the classes online.”
On Sept 8, they launched online science tuition classes for secondary school students. About five to 10 students attend these classes, held every Wednesday and Friday with a tutor from the Klang Valley. In the future, she added, they are planning to start maths lessons.
Lim also expressed her gratitude to non-profit organisation, Sambong Future, who lent 10 laptops and sponsored their internet plan; Measat for providing a satellite dish to ensure strong connectivity and KelasKita, an online learning programme under the YTL Foundation that supplied the syllabus for their science classes.
Beyond tutoring the kids, Ajar also rewards students who achieve good results or attendance with cash, gifts or educational trips.
Last year, they took the students to KidZania Kuala Lumpur, a theme park that offers immersive career role-play, to expose them to possible career choices.
For Lim, nothing is more rewarding than seeing the impact they are making on these students. One of them is Maylinda Roy, 15, from the Temuan tribe.
“I always bring my homework from school so the teacher can help me. My results have improved, and I feel proud,” she said with a smile.
It’s a sentiment echoed by Shahrain Erman, 11, as he too has seen improvement in his results. “I enjoy learning and believe that it’s important to be proficient in English,” said the Temuan tribe boy.
Still, Lim and her team face many financial hurdles. Currently, she shared, the cost of running these classes and rewarding the students is mainly funded by The Asli Co, although they have received some donations.
That is why she is hoping to turn Ajar into a self-sustaining NGO by teaching the students or their mothers how to run a baking business.
Re-emphasising the importance of education for the community, she concluded: “It helps Orang Asli children to break out of the cycle of poverty. They can have better job choices instead of continuing what their parents are doing, which may not be very stable.
“We are hoping for a brighter future for these children.”
Learn more about how you can help Ajar Society here. Follow Ajar Society on Facebook and Instagram. For enquiries, email [email protected].