Vanessa Huang
Community Service Initiative
Community Service Initiative is a service-learning module with the intention to expose students to real community in a real-life situation. The idea of this module is to create a sense of awareness, care as well as develop personal and social responsibility towards communities and the world.
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By joining this module, we were given an opportunity to participate in volunteer work as well as enhance our knowledge in service strategies, creativity and reflective skills.
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Proposal
On week 4, we were to present our proposed activity and programmes. Our group decided to choose Rumah Charis, Kuala Lumpur, as our beneficiary. Rumah Charis is a welfare organization that provides spiritual guidance, shelter, education and healthy community activities. There are two branches for this organization, the Old Folk's Home and Children's Home, which we have selected.
The program that we proposed, after discussing it with our tutor, is a series of interactive learning entertainment that features role-playing games and activities based on the real-life occupational situation. The occupational roles that we provide include Scientist, Architect, Performing Arts, and Bakery. The activities were selected with many considerations such as ease in execution, suitability with the provided space at Rumah Charis, age consideration, and degree of interest. On the execution day, we also decided to incorporate lunch as an ice-breaking event and opening ceremony as well as a closing ceremony. A detailed explanation of each scene, initial budget allocation and task assignment which we have discussed and planned are listed in the proposal.
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Preparation
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From week 4 onwards, preparation is done. The preparation includes finalizing the schedule and re-confirm the event as well as visiting the beneficiary. Materials for props and gifts are bought and collected. The props are also made and crafted beforehand.
The execution day fell on 27 May 2019. We arrived on site and set up the props for each designated scenes. At exactly 12 pm, the event started as we distribute lunch that we have prepared beforehand and spent the time to get the kids to open up to us, to get to know each other. As we have visited the place before the execution day, it didn't take too long for the children to warm up to us. During, the execution day, I was in charge of documenting the event as the videographer.
Execution Day
We then continued to our first game scene, Architecture. After a brief intro to the activity, the children were divided into groups and led to the appointed place. Through this activity, they learn how to communicate their ideas and manage a good teamwork between themselves. Next activity was the Scientist. Through a simple experiment, the kids were taught how to conduct an experiment in an orderly manner, to evoke their curiosity and to find the answer through logical thinking, just like scientists. Third activity was the Bakery. The children were divided into the baker who sells their donuts and the buyer who buy the donuts with the money that they've earned from the previous games. This gives them a sense of accomplishment, both for the seller and buyer, as well as teach them hard work will be paid off in the end. Last but not least, the Performing Arts. Children were encouraged to express their creativity by creating costumes of certain characters and to do a simple act in front of the other kids. This will further enhance their creativity and their confidence.
Finally, the event came to an end. We shared some gifts and t-shirts to them. After giving some closing remarks and took some photos together as a memento, we took some time to talk to the kids. With genuine smiles plastered on their faces, they told me that they were elated and contented with the activity that they've done that day and in that moment I felt a surge of happiness. It was truly an one of a kind of emotion.
Through this module, I learned a lot of things. It was definitely a good opportunity to be able to participate in service work and used our knowledge to help and improve even a little bit of our community condition. This learning process has exposed me to real-life community problems and intensifies my sense of empathy for the world. It has restored my humanity and reminded me of how important it is to notice the people around us.
Reflection
Another thing that I've learned is how to manage a group and how communication is very important. A tremendous amount of time was put in to hold meetings, discussions and plannings in order to achieve the best end result. We've learned how to work together with different kind of people that each has a unique way of thinking. The collaboration with a third-party group and constant communication to a real-life organization has also taught me a sense of professionalism. From this, I noticed that we were put in to experience a real-life working scenario, which skills could be applied in our future.
Lastly, a big thank you to my teammates for putting on a great amount of effort to make this work and to comply with the designated tasks. It was not easy, as we have to do it with people that we're not used to working with yet, but in the end, we made it successful and even met new people in our life. I am grateful for the opportunity given to be able to experience this kind of exposure and learning which has surely opened up my eyes. Also, a big thanks to Rumah Charis, because without their support and collaboration, this would not have happened. The genuine smiles of the children will be remembered always.