GIG1005 Social
Engagement
Reflective Writing
Visit to Orang Asli Village at Desa Temuan
Alice Lee Ern Ern MIC170004 Date: 5th May 2018
I was
excited when our course coordinator announced that we will be carrying out our
social engagement project at an Orang Asli Village. I believe the Orang Asli
community is one of the most overlooked and marginalised community in our
nation, not only due to the fact that they are categorised as “lain-lain” in
many of our official documents, but also because many of us in the urban areas
or suburb would not know a single thing about them for instance their culture,
their language, and most importantly, the struggles that they face. The youths
in Malaysia need to be exposed and introduced to our fellow Malaysians -- the
Orang Asli, in order for us to progress and develop together, because if not
now, then when? If not us, then who?
Sure
enough, the journey of the planning and confirming a venue was not easy at the
beginning. I was elected as the head of bureau of external relations and
transportation and we started off by trying to get in touch and propose our
project to few of the villages that we have in mind, but it didn’t work out and
we were unable to find any village in a full 2 weeks’ time. After being
informed that we should go through the Jabatan Kemajuan Orang Asli to apply for
permission to carry out our project, we finally received the confirmation that
we are given the green light to hold our project in Desa Temuan, Bukit Lanjan.
Through the application process, I learnt how to compose a project proposal and
formal letter with the help of the secretary and our lecturer. I am certain
that these skills will be helpful in the future events and activities that I
will take part in and can also be useful in the workplace in the future.
As the head of bureau, I was in charge
of delegating tasks to my team members and supervise the progress of all our
tasks. I faced the problem of being unable to ensure everyone has an evenly
distributed workload as our job scopes is not very wide. We solved this issue
by discussing openly then coming to a consensus about everyone’s job, and
supported each other whenever anyone of us faced difficulties in completing the
task assigned. I gained the understanding that a good leader should first
identify the potential and capability of his/her members and then delegate the
job accordingly. This way, the members can make use of their strengths to
produce a satisfactory outcome. I also had the privilege to work with other
head of bureaus and high committees where I learn how to communicate more
effectively as we come together to find the best solution to some of the
challenges we faced such as unable to reach the person-in-charge of the
village, preparing games for an increased number of children who will be
attending, and a greater amount of funds needed to prepare food for more
participants. I realised that teamwork and support among us is what led to our
success in the project eventually.
On the event day itself, I was
arranged to help out with the food preparation and also in liaising with the
law students to make sure our collaboration go smoothly. I really had fun
making sandwiches with my friends although it was tiring preparing food for 200
pax. I can now say that I definitely have a greater sense of appreciation for
people who have to prepare food for large amount of people every day, and the
closest person that I can think of is my amazing mother who has never
complained about preparing 3 meals in a day for all my family members. There
was one unfortunate incident that happened whereby 2 boys had a fight and one
of them had eye injury. Through this experience of sending the child to
hospital, I learnt to be flexible and resilient at times like this to solve the
problem and make the best out of the worst situation. Although I did not have
much time to interact with the kids due to duties, I still had the chance to
observe them during the career talk session and play with them during free
games time, their proactivity to participate and eagerness to learn truly
encouraged me. I am glad that our effort did pay off as the children had fun
and gained knowledge through the activities.
I have participated in a few social
projects which involved the Orang Asli community previously such as education
camp and flood relief project. I witnessed their poor living condition, where
not every house have electricity supply, and some families still live in
self-built houses using bamboo and Attap roof which rain can leak into, and children
running around with muddy feet and dirty clothes. Since then my heart was
burdened by the lack of comfortable shelter, hygiene awareness and academic
knowledge among the Orang Asli. However, after my visit to Desa Temuan, I feel
hopeful for them, that by proper management by the government as well as help
from NGO and public, the children can one day have proper access to basic
living needs and education just like what the community in Desa Temuan are
entitled to nowadays. This experience in Desa Temuan has aspired me to help and
serve the even more unfortunate and needy communities to overcome poverty,
believing that one day they can live a better life.
I have always held to this belief in volunteering
and serving others, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” – Acts 20:35. Indeed, amazingly and
unknowingly, the lessons and benefits that I have gained throughout the journey
of carrying out this project is worth way more than the work and effort that I
have put in. After this social engagement project, I have reaffirmed the pledge
made to myself, that I will utilise my time during every semester break to
serve the underprivileged and marginalised communities even more actively.
(995 words)
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