Cycle 1 of the Re:ed Project has come to an end. We have all had the chance to make new friends with one another, and maybe some of the pupils too! Despite some of us coming from different departments, we all came together for one purpose, and that is to change the life trajectories of our kids. We certainly have had our challenges, particularly in the area of transport, but nonetheless we have made it to the end of our 1st cycle.
We started with only a handful of volunteers but we have grown to a good size over the course of just a few weeks! We have volunteers from the Psychology and Business departments. We even have one international volunteer with us! Many new faces only joined on our last day of this cycle but they will be back next cycle in 15 June.
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| Meet Karen, an Indonesian from Psychology Department and her student. |
Retrospectively, RE:ED would not have been able to achieve the current stage if not for Brian’s zeal in tackling the calamities of illiteracy and innumeracy amongst the students. Contributing an exuberant amount of his time and effort, Brian started this project to close the gap; aiding those who were left behind in their studies, giving them a second chance to the students. Soon after, his enthusiasm rubbed off on many volunteers who, too, share the same empathy and vision. Thanks to Brian, an incremental amount of volunteers are interested/willing to join this cause; changing the lives and future of these student.
These children are no different from any of us. Albeit being from poverty-stricken communities, these children are willing to learn and catch up with their studies; they are still striving for a brighter future, in hopes of achieving their dreams and ambitions. Despite their less fortunate circumstances, they have not given up on their dreams, so why should we on them?
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| Students at SMKTIS |
Feedback is always welcomed and plans have been made on how to improve the volunteers’, as well as the pupils’, experience for the next cycle. There are also plans to expand this project to another school located in Ampang.
The proposed school will be SMK Bandar Baru Ampang and will be led by TFM fellows, Andrew and Connie. The school is about 15 minutes away from KLCC with many students coming from the urban poor. Many of their parents are not well-educated, and struggle to make ends meet. Some of the students also work to help support their families, while others just skip school for lack of interest.
And that’s it for this cycle. We hope to see you again in the coming cycle!
