INTRODUCTION
Community service or charity works is to
raise fund and emerge fund development for a needy one by individual, group,
organization or authorized parties. As a part of the society, we are aware that
there are many who are willing to involve in social service activities and
volunteer their time, energy and money for the needy ones.
There are many charity works or
community service work being organized by many organizations and Non-Government
Organization (NGO)s in Malaysia such as cleaning campaign, donation campaign,
fund raising activity, volunteerism, social enterprise and many more. They are
run privately and by NGOs.
One of the Perdana Leader Fellowship
program’s outline is to attend six days of community service fieldwork to
various places. We were being exposed to another part of the world that most of
us never experienced it before. I have involved actively in all visits
organized by INPUMA, our organizer and one the program’s host. We were divided
into groups so that we can go to many different places and compare them. Place
that we went were:
·
Tasputra
(PERKIM) Disabled Kid’s Day Care Centre
·
Desa Temuan,
Orang Asli settlement
·
University
Malaya Medical Centre
·
Husnah Ar-Rashid
Old Folks Home
·
Yayasan Chow
Kit, High risk children’s day care & activity centre
·
Fed the homeless
with Pertiwi Soup Kitchen
·
Pengasih Home,
Drug Rehab Centre
Our visit to various places has given
big impact on me and these visits taught me to become a good human being. I have learned that there is something beyond
work and money that I should care off.
EXPERIENCE
TRHOUGH JOURNEY
I had mixed feelings over the matter
that I have observed during my one-week visit. First thing that I had in my
mind was a shock feeling to see there are many kids being sent to the disabled
kid’s home, many parents were being sent to the old folks and the existence of
high risk teenagers around Kuala Lumpur area. I realized that there are many
people out there that need our help, not in sense of money but in sense of
care, attention and assistance.
Tasputra Home Ampang Hilir is under
supervision of an Iranian lady, Mdm Hajah Elehe Norman, who is the current
chairman since 25 years ago. She is very passionate in helping parents who need
their service to take care of their disable kid during office hours. I felt odd
because a disabled kid needs the parent’s attention and care much higher during
his/her growing period. Personally I think that either one of the parent should
take initiative to be the child all time to make sure the child is growing in
proper environment with necessary needs rather than blaming the childcare
centre for any circumstances that might happen.
The same thing I have experienced during
my visit to the old folks care centre at Kelang Gates, Setiawangsa. Rumah
Husnah Ar-Rashid. This home has been newly opened in early 2012 and received
their certificate from the welfare department on May 2012. Even though it is a
new private organization, we found that the services are still not up to their
policy. The place was unpleasant with smell and dirty washrooms. The staffs
were friendly and well educated in nursing but they are not professional in
handling the old people, as they need special like care cleaning, feeding, and
giving medication. My anger arises to know that there are still humans who
abandon their own child or parent. Even though they are much wealthier in this
millennium world, old folks and abandon kid’s centre are getting more in
quantity with increasing occupants every year.
On the other hand, our visit to Orang Asli settlement in Damansara
Perdana gives us different experience. Desa Temuan, where formerly people were
living in own made wooden house now living with half a million’s asset. The
government and developer had come to an agreement to develop the area and
influence the Orang Asli to migrate
to their new settlement. The Orang Asli
has been given a single storey house with cash compensation around RM45,000. Sadly
these Temuans never get a proper education and exposure on how to use the big
lump sum of money for their future. Some bought car for cash, some spent for
unnecessary things, some used it solely for alcohol and cigarette consumption.
When I heard this from them, I feel pity that nobody including the government
did not make any follow up or provide proper education to the Temuans. Another
case was the development caused the Orang
Asli’s culture and customs could not be practised anymore as their custom
place, “Sewang” had been demolished and replaced with modern hall. No more
handicraft making being done as well since their forest had been cut down.
When I visited the high-risk children in
Yayasan Chow Kit in Chow Kit road, I had a stereotyped thought that this kids
are dangerous, harmful and dirty. I thought was totally wrong when I enter the
centre. I saw teenagers preparing for group projects, sponsored by Manchester
United Club and they look as normal as other children out there. The only
problem they face is they are from broken or poor family, less education and
over exposed to adult world. To prevent them from spending time more on useless
things, Yayasan Chow Kit has been created to give them a place to play, work
and spend their free time. “Doesn’t matter if they did not do any activity as
long as they are at the centre is good enough”, says the centre manager Ms.
Shanti. She said that because their main objective is to avoid the children
from getting together with outsiders who are highly in risk by involving in
prohibited activities.
My new experience throughout the whole
visits was serving food to the homeless people, volunteering for Pertiwi Soup
Kitchen. That was the moment I learned that there is such a NGO that serves to
the homeless people. Pertiwi Soup Kitchen gives free food to the homeless every
four nights a week, which is on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. It was
quite fun to be mobile around Kuala Lumpur area to help serve food but it is
also tiring since we travelled by LRT and Monorail. The environment was scary
because we have to work at night around 10pm. Chow Kit road, Pudu Road and
Masjed Jamek road are not safe for ladies at night as they are famous for
crimes.
My visit over a week expose me to wider
prospect in finding issues that occurred in each organization which has become
their challenge in running it in better and efficient way.
ISSUES
AND CHALLENGES
There are many issues and challenges I
have encountered in overall visit to all places. After interviewing the key
person of each organization, I found that funding is the main issue that have
been faced them for all the years. Lack of funding caused by no proper channel
and exposure on possible funding sources by the media or government itself. We
know that almost all the charity-based organizations are registered under
Malaysia Welfare Department. Government should separate the funds equally to
all homes, without being very choosy on which home get s more and vice versa.
Apart of money matters, lack of proper
management the run the organization also become an issue that I could see
during my visit. As I spoke with the supervisors and centre managers, most of
them are new to this background and do not know how to manage the home or
centre in a proper way. They don’t even know a basic letter writing or the
procedure incur for formal applications. This makes the organization to be
improperly organized and does not have proper paper work filing as well.
Through my observation, I also found
that most of the centres and home is running on rental or lease land, which
unsafe for them for future planning. To own their own land and build their
complex is their aim but till now there is nothing can be done by government
and also private sectors to help the society. For an example, Pengasih Home
runs its operation on KHAZANAH BERHAD’s land and anytime they can claim the
land back. If that ever happens, Pengasih Home will not have a shelter for its
residents anymore. Pengasih do have its own plan to build its complex but they
cannot do anything until they have their own land.
Other than that, homes like Rumah Husnah
Ar-Rashid, the old folk’s home also do not have a proper environment for its
residences to live comfortably. The place was small, narrow, hot and dirty.
Deforestation happening around that area makes the temperature to be higher and
hotter than normal. Residences feel stuffy and irritated with the warm
environment. Te location also was not suitable for public access because it is
far inside the village. It is hard to identify the venue without a proper
signage,
Media also do no play their role is
channelling the correct information to the public. The media also become the strongest
tool to spread stereotypes about those unfortunate ones. For an example,
recently there are an article about the Yayasan Chow Kit children by a
journalist saying that they are homeless and street kids. In reality, they are
not homeless or street kids. They do have parents who are earning below
standard line and those kids are those who were involved in high risk
activities such as drug addicts, playing truant and many other which could not
be listed here. This type of wrong information will lead to misunderstanding
for public on these children and they will look down on them.
Most importantly, government’s support
towards private and individual organizations, even though it is a charity and
community service company is very less. Government is more concern on its own
government related agencies and organizations. Through some research, I found
government is willing to pay at least RM 1,000,000 for one project. But when I
compared it with other NGOs and organization, I found that government’s funding
is always not more than RM5,000 for one project.
There are also many others issues that I
have found throughout my visit and research. Briefly, they are \less awareness
in the society themselves, too deep and far from main city makes people miss
such place, transportation, cleanliness/maintenance, government’s support and
also NGO’s awareness on wider issues.
RECOMMENDATION
Earlier I had many recommendations for
the issues above to run the management in a proper way. Obviously, the
Government’s role in introducing syllabus in schools and society to play role
in accepting the needy one in the community is something serious to be taken
into consideration. However, I personally think that contributing something
good for charity is the best that someone can ever do. I would like to suggest
that when youths get their own brand or signature one day, they can contribute
by selling their products everywhere in Malaysia and certain percentage from
the sales would go for charity. It might sounds like social enterprising but
this way of contribution will create awareness to all youths. Contribution is
not only by giving things, giving food or paying them a visit, but it is also
about sustaining the contribution for the generations.
The school and Ministry of Education
also should cultivate and add in new syllabus on learning about community
service in their subject line up. Apart if that, making local community service
as a compulsory project to every branch and state levels, to check on the how
many are still in email conacts.
CONCLUSION
“They are bad people to be changed to be
good but they are sick people to be cured” is what En. Suhaimi, from Pengasih
told us early morning. We are here in this world to create an opportunity for
ourselves. Lets create a community that accepts everyone equally without
stereotyping and stigmatising them.
“Community willing to accept a rubbish
which has been recycled to be used, but the same community could not accept the
reborn of our fellow friends in many organizations”, also by En. Suhaimi.
Nothing is permanent in your life, share it!
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