“Our aim is to empower the community to improve their living conditions, increase their standard of living, eradicate poverty and provide children with hope for the future."
Dr. James Nayagam
Suriana is the brainchild of Founder and Chairman Dr. James Nayagam, whose 40 plus years in the field of saving marginalized, disenfranchised and abused children have allowed him to see how society's ills were solved curatively more than preventively. A lot of charitable efforts out there have had no lasting impact and were mostly a little too late despite millions and millions of Ringgit spent. He saw that few had really gone upstream on a long-term basis to take the preventive route.
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In 2012, Dr. James founded Suriana Welfare Society Malaysia to create inroads that would go deep into the communities most affected by the ravages of poverty in the urban areas. A mandate was forged: to arrest society's problems (drug trafficking, child-abuse, women abuse) by going upstream right into the doorsteps of communities to address the root of the problems.
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Suriana's modus operandi would be preventive, timely and onsite using education as its main arsenal, with children, as the main focus, while engaging the adults within the communities as agents and partners of change.
Thus, was birthed Suriana's charter -
Transforming Communities Through Education
Dr. James Nayagam, dubbed “The Crusader” in a 2020 article with The Sun, has given the last forty years of his career to advocating for childrens’ rights, ensuring a brighter future for all abandoned and abused children.
For the Chairman of the Suriana Welfare Society, the journey has not been the most smooth sailing. Initially a corporate worker, Dr. James realised his calling to the noble – albeit not generally profitable – cause in his twenties. While many reckoned that Dr. James could have scaled the corporate ladder quickly with his leadership and organisational skills, he found a greater reward in seeing the lives of marginalised and forgotten children and families completely transformed for the better.
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The Suriana Welfare Society, a registered non-governmental organisation that was established in 2011, fulfils everything that Dr. James stands for. While initially focusing on child advocacy, Suriana currently pursues the development of preventive and rehabilitative programmes to address social issues involving disadvantaged children and their families. With numerous initiatives such as their Sponsor a Family programme and their handcrafting employability program for single mothers, the society has avenues for anyone to contribute.
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Their waves of the impact have been palpable. Suriana’s food aid programmes have managed to feed 25,000 people since the pandemic, their income generation projects have supported 150 single-mothers, their counselling programme has 350 cases and their education initiatives have served over 300 children.
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Overall, Suriana’s fierce commitment has earned them respect and recognition such as the Social Impact Award by the National Innovation Agnecy of Malaysia, while Dr. James’ continues to be featured on local news platforms to shoutout his cause.
A fundamental concern for others
in our individual and community lives would go a long way
in making the world the better place we so passionately dreamt of.
Nelson Mandela