AMBIGA A/P KRISHNAN CEB150003         



               I am Ambiga A/P Krishnan, a first year student from Bachelor of Business Administration, University Malaya.  First of all, I would like to thank our group supervisor lecturer Dr. Zalfa Laili Binti Hamzah, who gave a lot of support and advises to help us in carrying out our social engagement.

             As a human being, it’s our responsibility to serve for the community, help people and make people’s life happy.  That was the main mind concept that I developed within me during the entire social engagement course.  People might think that, helping people depends on personal interest and from my view, it’s not a personal interest, it’s a must.  First when we were signing up for the two main events as our 30 hours social engagement service, I was worried about that 30 hours.  I might use that 30 hours for movies and hangout with friend instead of helping others.  All these perception and worry changed when we started to engage more in this course.

         So,our first volunteering programme is Dapurjalanan.Dapur Jalanan is a volunteer-based soup kitchen services operate every Sunday which is located at Jalan Panggong, Bangsar. They offer free food and drinks to some people who live in the city known as ‘’urban poor’’. Dapur Jalanan does not refer all of them as homeless because some of them have job and shelter but they are lack of financial support. On 20th of March 2016,my  fellow  course mates from Faculty of Business and Accountancy, University of Malaya being accompanied by our lecturer Dr. Zalfa Laili Binti Hamzah went to Dapurjalanan.   

          We managed to arrive there early in the morning at Bangsar.Then,ice breaking session took place.Later on,the person in charge told, we need to help to prepare simple meals only which are  sandwiches and fruit salad for the food distribution activity  later in the evening as there a food sponsored by a restaurateur. Without any hesitation,we all  started to do our preparation right after the briefing session. 

 

      We decided to finish the food preparation earlier than we expected since we have distributed the tasks efficiently. We then get an opportunity  to get more and various information about Dapur Jalanan Kuala Lumpur from the club members.

       We had  small break  after the sharing session ended. Then, we moved together to the food distribution location which is located at Jalan Panggong by LRT. We  managed to set up the food station before the food distribution activity takes place.

 We then decided to distribute the food to the people who are already waiting for our presence at the venue.It was a heartbreaking situation actually to see so many of them who are financially down and are suffering to get a meal of the day. We also managed to chat with them to know more about them. I have a nice time with them as they are approachable and friendly too. Time flew so fast that day as we all fully engaged in serving the community there.A group photo is a must when  good times happen so here it is: 

          For me ,I was really satisfied with our entire teamwork on the day.I had the chance to see and experience myself what it really takes to be a volunteer in any project or events.And the thing  that most strikes me on that day and make me feel devastated was the fact that, there are so many of them out there who don't get food and I don't think twice to waste my food if i don't finish them.I realised that 

thank you for the exposure Dapur Jalanan :)

The next event was in Sekolah Jalinan Bimbingan Kasih

25th of March 2016, Friday. 

                                      curiosity that deepens in me to know more about the school( screenshot of headline of the school in newspaper-source internet)

        Sekolah Bimbingan Jalinan Kasih (SBJK) is one of the initiatives by Malaysia Education Ministry as the access for the street children around Kuala Lumpur that are abandoned in this country to get better education.The school, set up by the Education Ministry  years ago as part of the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025, is aimed towards helping street children and undocumented children get proper schooling. This special school is located in the centre of the city, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, Kuala Lumpur. The school is not the same at all  as other government schools. They are not just focusing on academic and the students are free to wear any attire because they do not have uniform.We decided to go to SBJK for social engagement project as prescribed by our lecturer Dr. Zalfa Laili Binti Hamzah.

          We were briefed by the honorable principal of SBJK shortly about the school. I personally felt very anxious and happy  to meet the principal, the teachers and the lovely children for the first time.My team members and I were already  assigned to carry out  various types of games and activities which we earlier planned for our event. We had aerobics session, filling water game, eagle game and so on. I was assigned for the game "dance with video songs".  Also, I noticed that whatever the situation is,the teachers are so patient with the kids no matter what.They are really dedicated to their  work and responsibility.    

         I realized that I should be positive and be responsible with my task or work after noticing the teachers.And at the same ,experience with these kids really made me to appreciate my life better as i  always differentiate my situation with those people who  have more than me. But after seeing those under-privileged children in person, I realized that I should always be really grateful for everything i have been provided.  In  a nutshell,spending a day with the kids with various games and activities really give me a wider look on how noble is our government in initiating such school for these underprivileged children.I learned alot from the children and teachers itself.This experience also opens a different perception  for me to more engage with the community and try to lend a helping hand in anyway possible in the future.

      The first value that I learned in these entire social engagement events is teamwork.  We as a team ,worked hard to make sure all our duties that  being delivered to us during the events run smoothly.  We started to understand each other, communicating with each other more often.  Via this, I was able to identify various personality people with various character.  As an assistant leader,I managed to  help my team leader  and learn how to divide different task to different people based on their character and style.  Giving the right task to the right person developed the teamwork value among us. From this 30 hours of Social Engagement, I've realised that they are so many people need our kindness and our help.However, the benefits of volunteering are enormous to us, family and community.     

        The right matches that can help us to find friends, reach out the community, learn new skills and even advance our career. Volunteering can also help protect our mental and physical health. Time management is another good value that I learned through out the entire semester.  Dealing with studies, collage activity and social engagement preparation taught me how to organize time with all this activity and at the same time spending a good time with studies and family.It has opened my mind and I gained a new perspective in my future life.

          Thanks to my teammates who taught me so many things during the Social Engagement.

This was a great experiences and i'm sure that i will continue to involve myself in social volunteering.