2021 marks an exceptional year for all of us at EAP Malaysia. We are officially 15 years old now! To celebrate this special milestone, we held our 15th Anniversary Gala on the 11th of December! 

Other than celebrating our 15th year, what makes this 15th Anniversary Gala even more memorable is the fact that it was also the first physical company event since the pandemic! It was surely a joyful day, buzzing with excitement and heartwarming reunion. The Gala was also live streamed, so those that are unable to be there physically could still join us online! Check out some of the highlights from the day here!

At 3pm, our esteemed guests and VIPs started arriving at GSC Mid Valley Megamall. They spent some time at our art exhibition featuring our kiddos’ artworks, before moving to the main event hall where the Gala is held.

An art exhibition was set up in the hallway, to display the artwork of our kiddos, as part of the Early Autism Project x UTme! project. This year, The Hope Project has collaborated with UNIQLO Malaysia to launch the Early Autism Project x UTme! collection, featuring animal artworks by our kiddos. You can get these customizable prints featuring our kiddos’ artwork at UNIQLO DA Square and UNIQLO Fahrenheit 88! We are honoured to have our esteemed VIPs and guests joined us at our 15th Anniversary Gala – Professor Dr Alvin Ng, Datuk Dr Denison Jayasooria, Dr Yap Hsiao Ling, as well as our guests from NASOM, PDK Putrajaya Precinct 9, Genius Kurnia, and not forgetting, our EAP families!Other than it being EAP’s 15th year anniversary, 2021 also marks The Hope Project’s 5th year anniversary! The Hope Project, non-profit arm of EAP Malaysia, was launched in 2016 and has since made significant contributions in the autism community through campaigns, services, and resources. We took upon this special occasion to appreciate and honour various parties, whose involvement in The Hope Project has enabled us to reach more people. Earlier this year, we were also given the opportunity to conduct a complimentary training workshop for medical professionals at Hospital Tunku Azizah KL in the specific topic of supporting children with autism in the emergency room. We then had the opportunity to be part of a discussion group to set up a special waiting room for children with special needs. One of the discussion points was on appropriate toys that can help calm and occupy the children while waiting. It was our privilege to contribute 50 Fun Packs which included Social Stories and some little sensory toys for children with autism coming to the Emergency Room.Service awards were also presented to our EAP team members, in appreciation of their dedicated service and contributions made. Not forgetting the service award for EAP Malaysia’s longest-serving employee, and also our Director, Jochebed Isaacs, of 15 years!Finally, we have reached the highlight of the event with our brand new Who We Are video! 

Our 15th Anniversary Gala ended with a big “Happy Birthday” song dedicated to EAP Malaysia and The Hope Project for turning 15 and 5 respectively!After the Gala event, our EAP Team made their way to Bukit Kiara Equestrian Club, where our 2021 Annual Dinner was held! This year, we were finally able to host the Annual Dinner as a physical event where we could all attend in person! The excitement was beyond words.

With the theme of Dark Blue and Gold, everyone was dressed at their best for the night. Lucky draw time! Look at all the Golden prizes!Who was the best-dressed?Time for presents!More fun times!It was a fun-filled and heartwarming time, definitely the perfect way to end the year!

Special thanks to our wonderful Gala and Annual Dinner team for making this happen!It was a wonderful time celebrating the last 15 years but as our Director, Jochebed Isaacs said in her speech “And now we look towards the future, we celebrate all that is in the past but we have to make a conscious effort to look ahead. And with that, our theme for the next 5 years before we turn 20 years old is Strengthen to Lengthen!”

We are proud to say that we are no longer just EAP but synonymous with our nonprofit The Hope Project, and now our online resource platform Autism At Home.

And we hope to continue in our efforts to provide world class services that will be accessible to all!