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Since 2017, Earthworm Foundation has been actively working to improve child welfare and promote transparency in child protection within Sabah’s palm plantation sector. Through open dialogues with government representatives, businesses, NGOs, and industry experts, the organisation fosters a collaborative approach to addressing existing challenges, clarifying regulations, and identifying sustainable solutions to minimize risks related to children in the palm oil supply chain. Previously, Earthworm Foundation established the Child Risk Assessment Framework (CRAF), outlining a set of guidelines for palm oil producers in Malaysia to carry out self-assessments, identify key issues and develop solutions to protect the rights of children in plantations.
On February 10, 2025, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between Earthworm Foundation and Sekolah Indonesia Kota Kinabalu (SIKK)—an insitution founded by the Indonesian government to provide Indonesian children in the region with education. This partnership highlights both parties' strong commitment to child protection and officially kickstarts the Safe School in Plantation Program.
The program aims to strengthen the child protection ecosystem in SIKK’s operations as well as the Community Learning Centres (CLCs) under the school by exploring the role of plantation companies in providing support and collaborating with SIKK to address child protection issues. Through this program, a comprehensive Child Protection Policy will be developed based on the findings from the assessment conducted by Earthworm Foundation. The policy incorporates prevention and intervention measures while aligning with existing plantation company policies. This integrated approach ensures that all stakeholders collaborate effectively, driving collective progress toward a shared objective.
Shaney Cheng, Project Manager for Social & Human Rights at Earthworm Foundation, touched upon this idea of shared responsibility, drawing attention to how businesses specifically can contribute to improving a child’s life.
“Keeping children safe is everyone’s responsibility—from plantations and schools to local leaders and buyers. When we all work together to protect children, we build stronger, more responsible businesses and communities. Through our work, we’ve learned that child protection isn’t just the right thing to do—it’s also key to running an ethical and sustainable supply chain.”
“Tackling these issues, we believe that not solely depending on us in SIKK but involving other institutions such as Earthworm Foundation will be beneficial for the welfare of our students,” shared Sahyuddin, Principal of SIKK. Having spent his career guiding students through their formative years, he is keenly aware of the challenges they face—bullying, unresolved trauma, and peer pressure—all of which can take a serious toll on their well-being and development.
During a discussion with Machdaniar Nisfah, Consul (Minister Counsellor) of Information and Socio-Cultural Affairs at the Indonesian Consulate General in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, she highlighted the various challenges encountered while operating education centres. With approximately 181 CLCs operating within Sabah’s palm oil plantations, she emphasized the difficulties the administration would face in their attempts to meet the needs and support of all 141 of Guru Bina —the teachers assigned to the centres by Indonesia’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology. Under those circumstances, the Safe School in Plantation program comes at a crucial time to support teachers in addressing child protection issues, which is one of the main challenges faced by children in plantations.
This partnership will enhance the Indonesian government’s commitment to supporting its citizens in Sabah as it aims to address crucial gaps in child protection. The focus will be on capacity-building training for teachers, school staff and plantation management to improve safeguarding efforts. However, maintaining this commitment requires ongoing vigilance and proactive engagement from all responsible adults—whether directly or indirectly involved. Parents, caregivers, educators, stakeholders, and policymakers all play essential roles in creating a safer future for these children.
Read more about our past initiatives:
- 2017 - “Children in the Plantations of Sabah: Stakeholder Consultation Workshop” in Sandakan, Sabah.
- 2018 - “Child in the Plantations of Sabah: Consultation with Government Agencies and Civil Society Organisations”; organised in collaboration with the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (SUHAKAM) in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.
- 2020 – Earthworm Foundation’s “Child Risk Assessment Framework (CRAF) Guideline and Self-Assessment Handbook for Palm Oil Producers in Malaysia.” This resource is designed to help producers identify problems and implement solutions to protect children’s rights in plantations.
- 2021 – Child Rights in the Palm Oil Industry Webinar.
- 2021 – Training Palm Oil Companies in Malaysia on Strengthening Child Protection.
- 2021 – Partnership with Wilmar and BSR to Scale Up Child Protection in Malaysia’s Palm Oil Supply Chain.
- 2022 – “Partnership for Collective Action: Driving Change for Children in Oil Palm Plantations in Sabah”; an online event organised by Earthworm Foundation.
Located within the Sabah landscape, SIKK actively contributes to deliver landscape-scale social outcomes, collaborating with stakeholders to foster resilience among local communities and ensure the protection of children and young people.
Positioned at the intersection of supply chains and production regions, Earthworm's landscape-scale collective actions serve as hubs for scalable regeneration and address sustainability challenges. The Sabah landscape is financially supported by Nestle, Reckitt, IOI Group, Groupe Rocher, ADM Cares, Givaudan, Clariant, Colgate Palmolive and benefits from the engagement of communities, local government, and other local stakeholders. For more information about the project, visit Sabah landscape page.
