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Book Aid Asia was founded in 2016 by Abu Hassan Ahmad and Amelia Chik Abdullah as a personal and private initiative driven by a shared passion to improve access to reading materials among underprivileged children in Malaysia. The organisation was established with a simple but meaningful mission — to ensure that children, particularly those living in rural and underserved communities, have the opportunity to access books and cultivate a reading culture regardless of their socio-economic background.

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From the very beginning, Book Aid Asia was fully funded and personally driven by its founders, who actively sourced, collected, and distributed reading books to deserving children and schools across Malaysia, particularly in rural and underserved areas. The initiative focused on providing free access to reading materials for children from low-income communities, many of whom had limited exposure to books beyond their school syllabus.

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Through these efforts, Book Aid Asia assisted schools with limited educational resources in establishing reading corners, mini libraries, and learning spaces that encouraged children to develop reading habits and expand their knowledge beyond the classroom environment.

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As the initiative grew, Book Aid Asia recognised that access to books alone was not sufficient to create long-term educational impact. This led to the development of the Book Advocacy for Children Achievement (BACA) programme, which expanded the organisation’s focus beyond book donations into holistic educational and literacy support. Through BACA, Book Aid Asia introduced various community-driven educational activities including reading advocacy campaigns, literacy engagement programmes, and English Language Appreciation Programmes aimed at improving confidence, communication skills, and learning motivation among school children.

 

Over the years, the organisation continued to evolve in response to the needs of communities and partner organisations. In 2023, Book Aid Asia broadened its social outreach by incorporating humanitarian and welfare-related initiatives such as food donation programmes and the provision of school supplies for primary school students from low-income families. These additional efforts reflected the organisation’s growing commitment towards supporting children not only academically, but also socially and emotionally.

 

A significant milestone was achieved in March 2026 when Book Aid Asia was formally absorbed under the Social Impact division of Honey Leisure & Corporate Travel Sdn Bhd. This strategic integration was undertaken to strengthen the sustainability, operational capacity, and long-term growth of Book Aid Asia. Through the support of Honey Leisure, the initiative is now positioned to operate on a larger scale, expand its outreach programmes, establish stronger partnerships, and secure greater funding to benefit more communities across Malaysia and potentially the wider Asian region.

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Today, Book Aid Asia continues to champion the belief that education, literacy, and community support are essential foundations for empowering future generations. Through collaborations with schools, NGOs, volunteers, corporate partners, and local communities, Book Aid Asia remains committed to creating meaningful social impact by nurturing knowledge, compassion, and opportunity among children and underserved communities.