On October 3, 2026, sisters and partners-in-mission gathered to celebrate 70 years of Good Shepherd presence in Malaysia. Under the theme Rooted in Gratitude, Renewed in Mission, the jubilee looked back on how the mission has developed since the arrival of the first sisters in Malaya in 1956 and toward the work that continues today.
The Good Shepherd mission in Malaysia began in Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur, in 1957. A junior international school, kindergarten, and nursery were established alongside a home where teenage girls from low-income families received vocational training. In the 1960s, the sisters and girls moved to Madonna Heights in Ampang, where they established a vocational school and residential home. During the following decade, the mission expanded further through services in Ipoh and Damansara.
By the 1980s, the mission had reached Sabah. Seri Murni Hostel in Kota Kinabalu provided accommodation for young women from rural villages who came to the city for education or employment, while the Seri Murni Crisis Center supported teenage girls facing pregnancy crises and women experiencing domestic violence.
The work continued to change in response to emerging needs. In the 1990s, the sisters took responsibility for a hostel for secondary school girls from rural communities in Sabah. During the 2000s, the Rose Virginie Welcome House in Ipoh provided transitional accommodation for women experiencing gender-based violence, while the Rural Community Development Program in Sabah worked with communities on leadership and communication. As the ministries expanded, partners-in-mission with professional expertise increasingly took on leadership responsibilities.
The 2010s brought changes in how the mission was organized. Good Shepherd Services (GSS) was established in 2015 as a legal entity serving the Malaysian public, while Global Shepherds Berhad was established to work with both Malaysians and non-Malaysians, including in areas related to migration, human trafficking and statelessness. Early childhood education continued through Joyful Steps.
Today, the mission includes crisis support, education, livelihoods, mental health, safeguarding, youth development and community-based programs. Recent initiatives show how this work continues to adapt. In rural Sabah, women have learned to turn used cooking oil into multipurpose soap that they can sell at local markets, linking income generation with waste reduction. In Kota Kinabalu, the Community Kitchen has provided women from low-income communities with training in cooking, baking, food handling and entrepreneurship. Mental-health programs have worked with students, teachers and parents in secondary schools, while rural projects have introduced communities to solar energy and other sustainable practices.
These developments reflect a shift from ministries established and led primarily by sisters toward a mission increasingly shared with partners-in-mission. During the Congregational Leadership Team’s visit to Malaysia in 2025, sisters and partners from Good Shepherd Services, Global Shepherds and Villamaria reflected together on what sustains their commitment to the mission.
The anniversary celebration began with Mass, presided over by Archbishop Julian Leow and concelebrating priests. Sisters from Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore joined partners-in-mission, members of other religious congregations, parishioners, program participants and other guests for the celebration.
In her address, local community leader Sr. Grace Chiong remembered the pioneer sisters and the many sisters and lay partners who have contributed to the mission over the past 70 years. She also spoke of God’s faithfulness throughout a journey that has seen the mission change in response to the realities faced by women, girls, young people and communities in Malaysia.
Following Mass, participants sang the anniversary song before Archbishop Leow and the sisters cut the anniversary cake. A meal together gave sisters, partners-in-mission, friends, and program participants from different periods of the mission’s history an opportunity to reconnect and remember their experiences together.
Seventy years after the first sisters arrived in Malaya, the forms of the mission have changed considerably. What began with education, residential care and vocational training now encompasses responses to gender-based violence, poverty, mental health, education, migration, human trafficking, livelihoods and environmental sustainability.
The anniversary theme, Rooted in Gratitude, Renewed in Mission, therefore looks in two directions: toward the sisters and partners-in-mission who shaped the Good Shepherd presence in Malaysia over seven decades, and toward those who are carrying that mission forward in response to the realities of today.
