Sutera Emergency Fund
Same-day deposits and bill payments for life-threatening cases — plus fee-reduction applications and instalment negotiation with hospital social work departments.
RM 5,000 funds one Emergency Lifeline
Community-led · Hospital-direct · Fully transparent
Every mother a safe birth.
Every life a chance.
Setiap ibu selamat bersalin. Setiap nyawa berharga.
Sutera Cares is a community-led medical fund for refugees in Malaysia. When a refugee mother — or a family facing a medical emergency — needs money in hours, we pay the hospital directly, walk with the family through the system, and publish every ringgit.
Need medical help for your family? Message our hotline →
Why Sutera Cares exists
≈190,000
refugees and asylum-seekers are registered with UNHCR in Malaysia — with no legal status, no right to work, and no public health coverage.
RM 3,000+
is what a hospital can ask as a deposit before a delivery — often equal to three months of a refugee family's income.
24–48 h
is how fast Sutera Cares moves from an emergency referral to a funding decision — because emergencies need money in hours, not weeks.
At government hospitals, refugees pay "foreigner" rates. A UNHCR card halves the bill, but a single delivery can still cost thousands of ringgit — and unpaid bills bring debt, blacklisting from future care, and fear. Pregnancy is the most common reason a refugee family faces a large medical bill. Emergencies are the most catastrophic. Clinics for refugees exist; a rapid, community-led way to pay the bill and walk the family through it did not. That is the gap we fill.
Three programmes, one promise
We don't run clinics and we never hand out cash. We finance care, navigate the system, and refer everything else to trusted partners.
Sutera Safe Birth
Antenatal care, delivery costs at partner clinics and government hospitals, postnatal and newborn follow-up, mother-and-baby kits, and help registering the birth.
RM 2,000 sponsors one safe delivery
Care Navigation
A hotline and navigators who speak the family's language — interpreters, hospital accompaniment, paperwork, and referrals. The person who walks in with her.
From RM 20/month — the Sutera Circle funds the navigators
How a case works
-
Call
A family, community leader, clinic or hospital social worker messages our WhatsApp hotline — in Bahasa Malaysia, English, Rohingya, Burmese or Arabic.
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Verify
We check UNHCR documents, medical papers and the hospital's own quote, and confirm with a community leader — within 24 hours for emergencies.
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Fund
The Emergency Fund or a named campaign covers the bill. Payment goes to the hospital or clinic directly — never cash, and every receipt is published.
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Accompany
A navigator sits with the family through admission, treatment and paperwork — including the newborn's birth certificate and UNHCR registration.
-
Follow up
Postnatal and recovery checks at day 7 and 6 weeks. The case closes with its outcome, and every donor gets the third update: Recovered.
Our promises — the rules we publish
Hospital-direct only. We pay clinics and hospitals. We never hand cash to anyone.
100% of campaign gifts go to patients. Operations are funded separately, by Sutera Circle monthly donors.
Every case on a public ledger. Amount raised, amount paid, receipt — with the patient's privacy protected.
Three updates per case. Funded → Treated → Recovered, to every donor who gave.
Surplus is never quietly kept. If a campaign raises more than the bill, the extra rolls into the Emergency Fund — stated on every campaign page.
Two people approve every payment. An independent treasurer, monthly reconciliation, quarterly public financials.
Live case ledger — our first cases will appear here, each with the amount raised, the amount paid to the hospital, and the receipt.
Ways to give
Every giving product maps to a real cost line — that's what makes it credible.
RM 150
Mother & Baby Kit
Newborn essentials and the first postnatal visit.
RM 500
Antenatal Package
4–6 clinic visits, tests, scans and supplements.
RM 2,000
Sponsor a Safe Birth
One supported delivery, start to finish.
RM 5,000
Emergency Lifeline
One emergency admission or C-section.
RM 20+ /mo
Sutera Circle
Monthly giving that funds navigators, the hotline and transport.
Zakat
Zakat pool
Ring-fenced for eligible beneficiaries. General funds serve everyone, of every faith.
DuitNow QR
QR code
coming with our
first campaign
coming with our
first campaign
Bank transfer
[Partner organisation account name]
[Bank · Account number]
Reference: SUTRA
Online giving page
Card and FPX giving page — coming soon.
Donations are received by our registered Malaysian partner organisation and paid directly to healthcare providers. Donations are not yet tax-deductible — we say this plainly, and we'll tell you the moment it changes.
Who we are
Sutera is Malay for silk — from the Sanskrit sutra, "thread". The thread that holds: soft as silk, strong as a lifeline.
Sutera Cares was founded by a refugee community leader with trust and reach inside refugee communities in Malaysia, together with a Malaysian co-founder with standing in the local community, mosques and institutions — the two halves this problem needs.
The fund is governed by an independent Malaysian committee including doctors, an accountant and a lawyer, while a Community Advisory Council of refugee leaders keeps the work community-led. We operate under a registered Malaysian partner organisation while our own society registration is in progress.
We serve any refugee or asylum-seeker — any ethnicity, any faith — starting in the Klang Valley.
What we deliberately don't do
- Run a clinic — we fund and navigate care at existing ones.
- Hand cash to patients — payments go to providers.
- Duplicate other NGOs — we plug the financing gap and refer the rest.
- Make loans — help is a gift, never a debt.
- Publish anyone's face, name or location without consent.
Working with clinics, hospitals and NGOs
We are agreeing terms with partner clinics and hospitals now. Their names will appear here as agreements are signed — we only show what is real.
Run a clinic or an NGO? Talk to us about partnering →
Sutera runs on volunteers
Navigators, interpreters, medics, storytellers, fundraisers — two hours a week changes someone's worst day.
Volunteer with usQuestions donors ask us
Why refugees, when Malaysians also need help?
Malaysians in hardship have government schemes and subsidised care; refugees have none of it. Kasih is not zero-sum — many of our donors also give to Malaysian causes, and we cheer them on.
Is this legal?
Yes. Donations are received by a registered organisation — our Malaysian partner now, our registered society once approved — and paid directly to hospitals and clinics.
Is my donation tax-deductible?
Not yet. Tax-exempt status in Malaysia takes about two years of audited accounts. Where a gift can be routed through a partner whose approval covers it, we will say so clearly.
Where does my money go?
100% of campaign gifts go to patients; operations are funded by Sutera Circle monthly donors. Every case appears on the public ledger with receipts.
How do you know a case is real?
UNHCR documents, medical papers, the hospital's own quote, verification by a community leader — and we confirm with the hospital before any payment is made.
What if you raise more than a case needs?
The surplus rolls into the Emergency Fund for the next family. This sentence appears on every campaign page.
Can I give zakat?
Yes — to the ring-fenced zakat pool for eligible beneficiaries. General funds serve every refugee, of every faith.
Can my company be involved?
Yes: Safe Birth Sponsor packages (RM 10,000 sponsors five births, with a named outcomes report), mother-and-baby kit days, and volunteer navigators from your team.
Contact us
WhatsApp hotline
+60 1X-XXX XXXX
8am–10pm daily · BM, English, Rohingya, Burmese, Arabic
Where we work
Klang Valley, Malaysia
Penang and Johor by referral.
In a life-threatening emergency, go to the nearest hospital emergency department first — treatment comes before billing. Then message us, and we'll take the bill from there.