Her Royal Highness Sultanah Hajjah Kalsom D.K. has been our patron since 2010. She is well known for her tireless commitment to the welfare and wellbeing of those less fortunate and using her royal position to further many social causes. She is married to His Royal Highness the Sultan of Pahang.
Dato’ Adnan founded OrphanCare in 2008 and was its first president.
He was well-known in Kuala Lumpur for championing the disadvantaged and seeking to better the lives of others. Dato’ Adnan was founder and Chairman of Viva Palestina Malaysia, an NGO championing the cause of the Palestinian people and Chairman of Khalifah Institute Development Committee that teaches Islamic principles in schools.
Dato’ Adnan was a special projects manager at Nestle Malaysia. Later, as general manager of MAC Food Services he oversaw manufacturing and distribution to McDonald’s south-east Asian outlets. In 1995 he joined ACPI Engineering Sdn Bhd as general manager where, among other things, he oversaw the construction of Bukit Jalil stadium’s complex steel roof. Dato’ Adnan was an engineer from Nottingham University and had an MBA from IMD Lausanne, Switzerland.
Dato’ Adnan and wife Datin Elya texted friends to gauge interest about adopting orphaned children from Aceh after the 2004 tsunami. The overwhelming response convinced the couple there were good homes in Malaysia for any child who needed one. When stories surfaced about babies being abandoned in unthinkable places like dumpsites, bushes and public toilets Dato’ Adnan sensed a way to tackle the crisis. He set up OrphanCare with a group of friends.
Malaysia’s first baby hatch to support young women dealing with unplanned pregnancies opened in Petaling Jaya in May 2010.
Following Dato’ Adnan’s passing in 2011 OrphanCare evolved into a Foundation championing deinstitutionalisation (DI)– reintegrating children raised in institutions back into the care of parents, extended family and the community at large.
Tan Sri Faizah Mohd Tahir is Chairman of OrphanCare Foundation. She has a Bachelor of Economics (Honours) from Universiti Malaya and a M.A. (Development Economics) from Williams College, USA.
She is currently Chairman, Small & Medium Enterprise Development Bank Malaysia Berhad and Yayasan Sejahtera and deputy Chairman, Yayasan Chow Kit. She is also on the Board of Goodyear Malaysia Berhad and on the Board of Trustees, Yayasan Kebajikan Negara Malaysia and Temasek Foundation, Singapore.
Tan Sri Faizah joined the Economic Planning Unit (EPU), Prime Minister’s Department in 1973. She was Director, Trade and Industry at the EPU and promoted to Secretary-General of the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development in 2001. She retired from government service in 2009.
Datin Elya Lim Abdullah has a Bachelor’s degree in microbiology from Monash University Australia. She and her late husband, Dato Adnan (founder and former president of OrphanCare) became orphan activists after the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami that left many children orphaned in Aceh, Indonesia. A business friend wanted to bring 15 orphans from Aceh to be adopted by Malaysian families but couldn’t because of nationality issues. Encouraged however by the response to the appeal for adoptive parents Datin Elya and Dato Adnan mobilised friends to ‘do something for Malaysian orphans’. This is how OrphanCare started.
Datin Elya heads the deinstitutionalisation project at OrphanCare.
Noraini Hashim has a BSc Hons (Physics) and MSc (Environment Technology) from Imperial College, London. After nearly 20 years as programme manager with British Petroleum (BP) doing planning and implementing corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects Noraini uses this experience to help OrphanCare. Her passion for saving turtles at BP is now focused on saving abandoned babies and moving children out of institutions and into family based care.
Nor Aishah Osman is a KUMON Instructor and a passionate orphan-activist. She has a diploma in actuarial science from UITM, a BS (Finance) from ISU, Indiana and an MBA from Saint Louis University, USA. She heads the babies committee at OrphanCare that oversees the child’s best interest throughout the adoption process.
Dr Sheik Johari Bux is an obstetrician and gynecologist at Klinik Wanita Bux, Chinese Medical Centre. An alumni of the Royal Military College Dr Sheik Johari has an MBBS from Universiti Malaya and got his MRCOG in 1986. He was admitted as Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in 1998. Dr Sheik Johari joined OrphanCare in February 2011 and became a trustee in 2012. He oversees the important medical aspects of OrphanCare work.
Yuzila joined OrphanCare Foundation on 6 August 2018 as Chief Operating Officer. She holds an MBA in International Business graduated from University of East London and has more than 20 years’ experience in the corporate sectors, mainly Oil & Gas. She is a strong supporter of continuous learning and believes that knowledge elevates talent.
Being in OrphanCare has opened her perspective about the ideal community and the importance of family based care. As a mother of 5 children, finding loving homes for abandoned babies and orphans matters a lot to her. She affectionately feels that parents in need of children should be with children in need. She pledged to be with OrphanCare in achieving its mission.
Dr Diana Lea-Baranovich is a Texas State Board certified teacher, supervisor, curriculum specialist, school psychologist and diagnostician. She also teaches expressive arts, archetypal play, dance/movement and sand tray therapies. She has over 30 years of experience as a classroom teacher, school psychologist, psycho – educational diagnostician, supervisor, life coach and mental health trainer and private consultant.
Since 1993 she has lived in Asia and taught at several universities, trained and supervised teachers, counsellors, psychologists, and social workers. She is currently associate professor and research supervisor at Universiti Malaya’s Department of Educational Psychology, Early Childhood Education and Counselling. She also owns a successful private counselling practice and diagnostic centre in Kuala Lumpur.
Diana is well published and has presented journal papers and experiential workshops throughout Asia and the Middle East. She is the author of ‘Understand and caring for the hurt child’ published by Pearson in 2013 and ‘Understanding and mentoring the hurt teenager’ published by Partridge Publishers in 2017.
She developed a counselling theory that she uses in her work with autistic children, teenagers and traumatised children and “at risk” families. More recently, Diana has helped survivors of accidents or acute illnesses shed their trauma and regain confidence and positivity.
Shahida Musa, always believe if you can help a child, you don’t have to spend years repairing an adult. She had been a child advocate for the past 29 years, worked in the field of Child Abuse and Neglect and later in worked with the Disabled. Graduated in Business Administration does not scare her from doing social work, from doing case management to training and creating awareness, helping others is always a passion. Don’t find fault, find remedy.
In OrphanCare, her main task is to ensure that every child helped would be given the upmost opportunity to grow and advance in their wellbeing. Families is always the best option in any child’s life, whether biological or those given the opportunity to love. If you are born with the ability to change someone’s life, don’t ever waste it.
Syarhah joined OrphanCare Foundation in July 2011 after 18 years in service-oriented organisations; in education, training, event management and counselling. As a primary-school teacher she recalls abused children seemingly drawn to her for help and comfort. “OrphanCare has helped me reach out on a wider scale. I am able to help babies, birth-mothers, families and even the community. It is such a nice, warm, fuzzy feeling.” Syarhah has a BSc (Computer Science) from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM)
OrphanCare Foundation began in June 2012 and works closely with the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development to give institutionalised children and unplanned, at-risk newborns the love, care and security of a family.
We acknowledge these corporate partners for their support and contributions:
Yayasan Hasanah
Yayasan Sime Darby
HSBC
Hong Leong Foundation
CIMB Foundation
Jonaron Foundation
OrphanCare acknowledges:
Consultant paediatrician Dato Dr Musa Mohd Nordin of Damansara Specialist Hospital for ensuring our babies receive the best medical attention. Legal consultant, Megat Shaharuddin Merican of Salleh Abas, Yaacob & Sofiah for legal advice and arranging documentation for our birth mothers and adoptive parents.
Special thanks also to Harith Iskandar and family who have helped communicate our message that abandoned babies and institutionalised children are better off when cared for by families.
Our unsung heroes are too numerous to list. They include organisations and people from all walks of life whose time, support and contributions have helped to bring us where we are today. We are deeply grateful.
