Implementation Phase: Day 3 _ We love you all, children @ NURI!

[25 March 2018 (Sunday)] 

‘We love because He [God] first loved us.’ – I John 4:19 

Finally, we had come to the third day of event. As I knew this would be the last day meeting the children, I was quite sad, just wished to be able to spend more time with them. 😢

     They sensed our arrival and we were so relieved to see them waiting for us in anticipation. Again, this morning, the Zumba exercise session led by Nazrul entertained the children. They were so joyfully amused by the fast rhythm of the music and the peculiar actions that were taught to dance to. 😄

     In that morning, we did some origami, which were meant to serve as decoration. We also had a simple English session, in which Sin Hui taught simple words encapsulating expressions, feelings and descriptive phrases. Later then, majority of the children went for the nasyid and dikir barat for a competition. Believe me or not, they won the first prize in it! 👏👏

▲Figure 1: Simple English session

     Almost the rest of the day became soundless, and most of us were not used to it. The remaining children played some chilled-out games with us. Later then, we had ‘Mystery Box’ session – considered to be one of the highlights of the day – whereby facilitators pretended to frighten the children with strange sounds while the children with their eyes closed, stretching out their hands to reach into the box. Some of them were really afraid and quickly ran away. After a while, we also had some casual outdoor games with the children and put up decorations for the closing ceremony.💚

▲Figure 1: Casual outdoor games with the children

     At the same time, Adilah, Solihin, Putri and Arif went to Batu Caves Giant Hypermarket nearby with Dr Arpah to buy Pusat Jagaan NURI some food, drink, clothing and suchlike provisions. 💜

     However, it rained in the evening while we were all prepared for our closing ceremony. Therefore, we were coerced to have the closing ceremony indoor instead of having it at the garage. Mama Nora came, and our programme coordinator Dr Sarinder was invited. The high point of the ceremony came when the facilitators, together with the kids, gave performances. It was a thrilling finale to the days’ events. The birthday surprise marked the successful culmination of our entire 3-day-2-night social engagement programme at Pusat Jagaan NURI. 3 birthday cakes were prepared for anyone whose birthday falls in February, March and April. When the cakes were sliced, there came the children back from the competition. Their faces fell, probably they were greatly downcast and disappointed because they had missed the celebration and the happy moments with us. 😡

     As time silently passed by, it was time for us committee members to bid farewell to the kids. However, we were so unwilling and reluctant to leave this shelter home. We burst into tears in that rainy evening. The children waved their hands with their tears rolling down their faces / welled up in their eyes as the vans we were in cruised past the house and the compound. Some of us, even cried their eyes out as we headed back to KK 5 for post-mortem. See you, children! It was such a great and fun time with all of you! May our moments with the children lie within their minds forever. 💞

     And here we are. We had come to the end of our social engagement programme. This programme, which was initially unexciting to me, turned out to be one of my unforgettable moments, filled with bittersweet memories with the children.😆

Posted by: Lee Jian Di

Implementation Phase: Day 2 _ Amendments and the concomitant expectations

[24 March 2018 (Saturday)] 

‘Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters … It is the Lord you are serving, giving thanks to God the Father.’ – Colossians 3:23, 17 

My second day started off quite punctually. This second day’s pick-up point is at KK 5. Being nervous we arrived Pusat Jagaan NURI in good time around 7:30 a.m. To our astonishment, the children were waiting for us eagerly at the gate. 😍

     Nazrul led the morning Zumba exercise very well, successfully lifting the children’s spirits Almost all the activities were carried out as planned punctually. Seeing the children dancing merrily cast away all our wearies and fears. The children were so enjoyed in trying hard to follow the steps. 👏

     We had many indoor activities, including art and craft, guessing pictures and committee members’ sharing of experience to the kids. We also introduced star counts as a means to attract their interests. A star will be awarded to be pasted on the board for every single win. This, indirectly, stirred up their competitiveness among themselves. 👍

     The highlight of the day was also the Mandarin session in which simple greetings, expressions and descriptive phrases were taught. I was really impressed by the inquisitiveness of the children. Their curiosity led them in asking many questions. I was really delighted we hear them raising their doubts and questions. As the group 3’s facilitator, with patience I helped the children in the pronunciation as well as explaining the meanings of certain Chinese words. Glad to see them putting the words correctly in speech. Hope that these words may help them in the future and that they may apply them. 😄

     Thank God that we manage to entertain the children vindicated by the full involvement and cooperation given that had eluded us on the first day. Relief surged through us. We soon were able to capture their attention and interest by introducing an array of engaging activities and games to them. They were all excited for the activities especially ‘Explorace’ station games session which was also the climax of the day. The earliest group to pass all 5 stations will win the race. The game seemed to be easier for my group due to the presence of Kamil and Syakir who are the eldest among all children in Pusat Jagaan NURI. They took the roles of leaders in the group in finishing the game. I hope they can all get the lessons from this game, i.e. to be able to cooperate well, effective communications among themselves and to be able to bound and listen to the leader’s instruction as they solved the problems in each station. What’s more, hampers were given away to Group 3 and Group 1, if I’m not mistaken for winning the explore race. 👏👐

     In the evening we had outdoor games which were dodgeball for girls and futsal for the boys. We also practised for cheer performance. The whole practice was really a relaxing enjoyment as we kept the children amused by inserting humorous elements in the cheer. It was truly a pleasing moment with the children. The day then ended with the children’s dikir barat performance. Again, I would like to say that it was a conflation of their personal yearnings of love, thanksgivings and forgiveness. I was totally touched by the lyrics. Meanwhile, my thoughts flashed back to my early schooling days and childhood. Seeing them reminds of embracing and appreciating the values in life and to give thanks to God for all His wondrous gifts. 💗

     It can be clearly seen that we had improved ourselves in many aspects. Everyone had better communication and interaction with the kids which is our main purpose of having social engagement. We also made sure that the flow is kept in an orderly manner without further hesitation. We had really done a good job this second day of event! 👍

Posted by: Lee Jian Di

Implementation Phase: Day 1 _ Plans thrown into chaos and disarray

[23 March 2018 (Friday)]

‘Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from Him.’ – Psalm 127:3

I woke up late around 7:00 a.m. as I just slept for about 2 hours the night before. I quickly rushed to the pick-up point in front of the UM Bioinformatics Building. Everyone has already gathered waiting for me. Really sorry for being so late. What a bad start of the day! Because of me, we departed a bit late, about half an hour behind time, to Pusat Jagaan NURI in Setapak which took around 30 minutes from UM by the ISB van. 😟

     Upon reaching our destination, we were warmly welcomed by the person in charge, Tok Mek. All of us exuberantly got into the house to meet the children. As soon as we gathered all the children, we were surprised to see only 20 children or so turned out instead of a total of 67 children as told. We were then informed that some of the children were back for their school holidays with their parents. We were agitated for a while. However, having just a few children as such was not at all a depressing matter I presumed, as then we might be able to take good care and concern of the children in the shelter home. Thanks to Dr Arpah for reminding us earlier to come out with backup plans. Arinah and I, being the facilitators of Group 4, looked out for the kids stated in the name list. After a cringeworthy self-introduction and ice-breaking session followed by a casual opening ceremony by Rehana, we had breakfast together and after that, gotong-royong. Together with the kids I swept the floor around the garage, cleaned up and tidied the whole compound up while some others cleaned the indoor environment and in the kitchen. Also, my heartfelt admiration for Amir and Hazimin in volunteering themselves to clean the toilet – not an easy task indeed. 💚

     Our gotong royong finished earlier than expected and then the kids practiced nasyid and dikir barat for a competition on Sunday. To me, their performance was full of sombre and poise, presenting the fragile hearts of these unprivileged children. Tears rained down their cheeks as some of them practiced the dikir barat which features the blessings from their parents. Their need for attentive care and love, particularly from the parents, which we many a time take for granted, is a luxury to these children. Gatherings and leavings seemed to be something normal to these children though it is painful for some of them. Happiness, to them, comes and goes. No matter how imperfect their family backgrounds are, may the Lord have mercy on them and bless them, keeping them as the apple of His eye come what may. 💗

     We killed time by having several impromptu games after the Muslim Friday prayer. The kids enjoyed the games and soon got more attached to us. In the evening we planned to practice for the closing-ceremony performance, but it was really botched and messed up. Plans after plans were changed. By that time, we were well and truly lost. New groups were formed and just 3 groups remained due to the few number of children. Likewise, new facilitators were appointed for each group. And so, I was appointed as the facilitator of group 3 with two new partners, Arif and Wan Yin. Thanks Jeremy, for his hard work in making the rearrangement. And interestingly, there were two elder (17-to-20-year-old) children – Kamil and Syakir – in this group for my group. Wan Yin and I, together with some temporary facilitators taught the children dance based on some songs and to think of a cheer. ☺

     The overall implementation on the first day had been well below par though a great deal of effort and hours had been put and spent in preparing for this programme from start to finish. The children were totally out of our control, as we didn't communicate much with them, nor did we think creatively to attract their attentions. They were not listening to our advice and instructions probably because we didn’t have a well interaction with them. We also noticed that most of the kids were uneasy and shy with us. Some of them even dodged behind doors or between rooms to hide from us. I didn't seem to be engaging with the kids that moment as I felt a little bit awkward. Also, many plans were changed because of the obstruction of the balcony. We were so disconnected from those children as if we were in a different world from them. Plus, much time was wasted. 😕

     And that night we had an extremely serious and thought-provoking post-mortem at KK 5, our meeting point for the implementation phase. Everyone was exhausted, discouraged and discontented with what we had done on this very first day of programme implementation. We contemplated, listening to the comments and reviews given by Dr Arpah who oversaw our implementation. We looked onto the matter and we identified discovered and learned from our weaknesses, challenges, mistakes and failures. We also voiced out suggestions, improvements and feedbacks to be considered for the next following days to fix those problems. One of which is appointing a timekeeper to ensure organized flow of activities and to call time on them according to the tentative. We ought to be ready for any upcoming challenges and unexpected situations. Teamwork is of highly prominent here in all circumstances. 💪

     And that’s the end of the first day…

Posted by: Lee Jian Di

A 3 Days of Memory : Day 3

Hari terakhir program pula merupakan hari yang mebuatkan perasaan saya bercampur baur. Gembira dan lega kerana program ini akhirnya akan berakhir, namu sedih dan sebak kerana perlu meninggalkan anak-anak NURI ini.

            Sewaktu anak-anak NURI sedang belajar Bahasa Inggeris Bersama Sin Hui, saya membantu untuk membuat persiapan majlis penutup di bawah khemah. Saya membantu mereka untuk membuat origami kata dan rama-rama yang akan digantung di sekeling khemah. Hubungan saya dengan rakan-rakan yang lain menjadi lebih rapat sepanjang program ini dan saya berasa selesa untuk bergaul dengan mereka terutamanya dengan rakan-rakan Cina yang lain kerana kami tidak banyak berinteraksi sebelum program.

Pada waktu tengahari pula, saya dan beberapa orang lagi mengikut Dr. Arpah untuk membelikan barang-barang yang akan disumbangkan kepada rumah NURI. Inii merupakan kali pertama saya keluar membeli barangan rumah Bersama orang lain selain dari keluarga saya. Selalunya saya hanya membantu ibu saya untuk menolak troli, tetapi hari itu saya ditugaskan untuk mencari barangan yang telah disenaraikan dan memastikannya mengikut bajet yang telah ditetapkan. Pada mulanya saya agak risau bahawa barang yang dibeli adalah melebihi bajet namun nasib menyebelahi kami, jumlah barang-barang tersebut masih lagi dalam kawalan.

            Kami juga turut membeli kek untuk rakan-rakan serta anak-anak NURI yang lahir pada bulan Februari, Mac dan April. Kami bercadang untuk membuat kejutan untuk mereka semasa majlis penutuk kelak. Tiba sahaja di rumah NURI, saya berasa agak terkejut kerana hanya 8 orang sahaja anak-anak NURI yang ada di situ dan yang selebihnya masih tidak lagi pulang dari pertandingan dikir barat. Saya berasa risau kerana persembahan untuk majlis penutup terpaksa dibatalkan kerana bimbang tidak mempunyai bilangan ahli yang cukup untuk persembahan setiap kumpulan

            Selaku PIC untuk latihan persembahan dan persediaan majlis penutup , saya meminta fasilitator tetap untuk menggabungkan kumpulan mereka dan membuat satu persembahan bersama sewaktu majlis penutup nanti. Lalu, saya mula melakukan persiapan untuk menyediakan  ruang makan VIP dan meminta beberapa ahli yang lain untuk membantu saya. Suasana menjadi lebih merisaukan apabila langit kelihatan seperti mahu hujan.

Ketibaan wakil UM yang lebih awal menjadikan suasana lebih panik. Saya berasa agak cemas sewaktu mengiringi PM Dr. Sarinder, namun beliau cuba untuk meringankan suasana yang agak tegang itu dengan meminta saya melayannya dengan biasa sahaja dan tidak perlu begitu formal. Disebabkan keadaan yang hujan lebat pada hari itu, maka saya dan Rehana membuat keputusan untuk memindahkan tempat majlis ke dalam rumah sahaja. Justeru itu, ‘backup plan’ amat penting dalam setiap benda dan perlu ada untuk program-program sebegini. Disebabkan kesibukan melayan VIP serta kerisauan untuk majlis tersebut membuatkan saya tidak berselera untuk makan.

Mujur segalanya berjalan dengan lancar. Sewaktu ucapan PM Dr. Sarinder, saya berasa sebak kerana program ini akan berakhir dan saya pasti akan merindui semua ini. Tiba sudah upacara kumcak iaitu kejutan hari jadi untuk mereka. Saya dan beberapa orang lain menyediakan kek di dalam rumah sementara Erni cuba untuk mengambil perhatian mereka. Riak wajah terkejut mereka amat tidak boleh dilupakan sewaktu lagu hari jadi dinyanyikan. Mereka berasa amat teruja dan seronok kerana hari jadi mereka diraikan. Suasana menjadi lebih meriah apabila anak-anak NURI yang lain pulang dari pertandingan dikir barat. Namun begitu, melihat muka kecewa mereka kerana tidak sempat pulang untuk majlis penutup membuatkan saya berasa ingin memutarkan kembali masa untuk mereka.

  

 Saya bersama Fahmida, Chiaw Qing, Arinah dan Lee telah bersusah-payah untuk membasuh pinggan mangkuk di dalam hujan yang lebat selapas majlis penutup itu. Habis lencun baju kami, namun kami tidak kisah malah masih mampu untuk ketawa di bawah hujan yang lebat itu. Nasib baik saya mempunyai stok Panadol yang tersimpan di beg dan kami berkongsi ramai-ramai Panadol tersebut.

            Waktu untuk pulang adalah waktu yang paling sukar dilakukan. Sebaik sahaja saya melihat salah seorang dari anak-anak NURI menitiskan air mata, saya pun turut menangis bersama mereka. Saya berasa amat bersalah kerana merasakan menjadi punca mereka menangis sebegitu. Saya sedar bahawa ada yang diantara mereka adalah anak-anak yatim dan ada juga yang ditinggalkan leh ibu bapa sendiri. Jadi, meninggalkan mereka sebegitu adalah seperti mengulang semula sejarah hitam dalam hidup mereka dan membuatkan saya lebih sedih. Namun begitu, hidup perlu diteruskan. Setiap pertemuan pasti ada perpisahan. Saya hanya mampu berdoa agar anak-anak NURI ini akan membesar menjadi orang yang berguna dan akan kuat menghadapi segala cabaran. Amin.

 -Putri Nur Fatin-

A 3 Days of Memory : Day 2

Pada hari kedua pula, alhamdulillah terdapat perubahan yang besar berbanding dengan hari pertama. Nampaknya system bintang mendapat sambutan yang baik dari anak-anak NURI. Mereka lebih berdisiplin, mendengan kata malah menegur ahli yang tidak mendengar arahan kerana bimbang ditarik bintang dari kumpulan mereka.

            Sebelum sampai di rumah NURI, saya telah pun menelefon Kak Ida untuk mengingatkannya tentang makanan. Nasib baik makanan pada hari itu tiba tepat pada masanya. Ada juga beberapa di antara anak-anak NURI yang bersemangat untuk membantu kami menghamparkan tikar setiap kali waktu makan. Jelas kelihatan bahawa mereka kini lebih mahu mendengar kata dan mahu rapat dengan kami semua.            

Namun begitu, langit tak selalunya cerah, setiap program yang dirancang tidak akan berlaku dengan begitu mudah. Sewaktu sesi permainan meneka gambar, salah seorang perserta menangis kerana kalah dalam permainan tersebut. Erni, PIC untuk sesi tersebut agak panik pada waktu itu maka sesi itu terpaksa dihentikan dan perlu diganti dengan permainan yang lain. Lalu saya mencadangkan permainan ‘Charade’ di mana salah seorang ahli perlu berlakon aksi-aksi yang diberi dan ahli-ahli yang lain perlu meneka aksi tersebut. Saya meminta Nazrul untuk mengawal keadaan kacau pada waktu itu sementara saya membuat senarai aksi-aksi yang perlu dilakonkan. Atas kerjasama semua orang, maka semuanya berjalan dengan lancar dan keadaan kembali tenang. Melalui peristiwa itu, saya dapat pelajari bahawa kita perlu pantas berfikir di saat-saat genting dan sentiasa tenang dalam setiap keadaan. Semangat berpasukan itu penting untuk memastikan program ini dapat berjalan dengan lancar.

            Saya merupakan salah satu sesi bantuan untuk kumpulan dua. Sewaktu latihan persembahan, saya dan Azmil mengajar anak-anak NURI dan fasilitator kumpulan dua yang lain untuk bersorak mengikut sorakan kolej kami, iaitu kolej kedua. Sebenarnya sesi ini adalah sesi kegemaran saya kerana saya dapat berinteraksi dengan anak-anak NURI dengan lebih dekat dan mengajar mereka sesuatu yang baru. Sorakan ini sebenarnya akan menaikkan semangat mereka di samping membantu mereka untuk menjadi lebih rapat antara satu sama lain.

-Putri Nur Fatin-

A 3 Days of Memory : Day 1

Hari pertama program sebenarnya agak kelam-kabut dan tidak berjalan dengan lancar. Semua orang berkumpu agak lambat di bangunan Bioinformatik pada pagi itu. Sebelum bertolak ke rumah NURI, saya ditugaskan untuk memeriksa barangan yang akan dibawa ke rumah tersebut. Saya perlu memasktikan bahawa semua barangan yang digunakan untuk gotong-royong mencukupi serta meriksa bilangan setiap barangan tersebut. Apabila tiba di rumah tersebut, keadaan menjadi bertambah kacau apabila mendapati bahawa bilangan kanak-kanak NURI amat sedikit berbanding dengan bilangan yang dijanjikan Mamam Nora. Menurut pembantu rumah tersebut, masih terdapat segelintir kanak-kanak yang ke sekolah kerana terdapat kelas tambahan, lalu mereka akan mnyertai program tersebut selepas pulang.

  

Untuk mengumpulkan mereka bukanlah tugas yang mudah. Sebagai PIC untuk mengumpulkan semua orang dan memastikan mereka dalam kumpulan masing-masing amat menguji kesabaran saya. Hal ini kerana, anak-anak tersebut terlalu aktif dan enggan mendengar kata para fasilitatot, Para fasilitator pula sukar untuk menjaga anak-anak buah mereka sendiri menjadikan maa untuk mengumpulkan semua orang mengambil masa yang lama.Untuk menambahkan masalah yang sedia ada, makanan pada hari itu ampai amat lambat pada setiap waktu. Sebagai salah seorang yang bertugas untuk menjaga makanan, perkara ini tentulah menambahkan lagi stress saya pada hari itu. Walaupun sudah diingatkan berulang kali kepada Kak Ida, namun dia masih menghantar makanan hampir sejam lambat. Oleh itu, saya perlu menelefonnya setiap kali hampir tiba waktu makan untuk memastikan dia datang tepat pada waktunya. Lebih-lebih lagi, terdapat banyak pembaziran yang berlaku terhadap makanan pada hari itu kerana jumlah peserta yang ada kurang dari separuh. Lalu, kami berikan lebihan makanan tersebut di masjid pada waktu Solat Jumaat, dan yang lebih diberikan kepada penduduk KK5 yang lapar.

Hari itu diteruskan dengan gotong-royong di rumah NURI. Saya ditugaskan untuk mengemas di kawasan khemah yang terletak di hadapan rumah tersebut. Aktiviti ini menjadikan saya bukan sahaja lebih rapat dengan mahasiswa Bioinformatik yang lain, malah anak-anak NURI itu sendiri. Mereka amat bersemangat untuk membantu saya membersihkan kawasan tersebut dan asyik meminta kerja untuk dibuat sehingga saya buntu untuk memberi tugas kepada mereka. Malang tidak berbau, saya terjatuh dalam satu lubang yang dipenuhi dengan sisa-sisa sampah dan benda-benda yang tidak dikenali yang berbau seperti muntah. Tiada perkataan yang mampu untuk menggambarkan perasaan saya pada waktu itu. Namun, kekotoran itu  membuatkan saya tidak kisah lagi untuk membersihkan longkang yang kotor itu. Alang-alang sudah kotor, lebih baik saya buat sesuatu yang berguna. Adalah hikmahnya di sebalik kejadian itu rupanya.

Saya berasa amat penat dan geram dengan sesetengah anak-anak NURi yang enggan mendengar kata dan hal ini telah memberi kesan kepada tentatif  program pada hari itu. Banyak program yang terpaksa dibatalkan dan masa setiap program tidak menepati waktu yang telah ditetapkan hingga menyebabkan program itu habis agak lewat berbanding dengan waktu yang dijangkakan.

Sewaktu post mortem hari pertama, banyak benda yang telah diutarakan oleh semua orang. Kami membuat kata sepakat untuk membuat system bintang di mana kumpulan yang mengumpul bintang yang terbanyak akan diberikan hadiah dan ini mungkin cara untuk menarik perhatian kanak-kanak tersebut. Bagi masalah makanan pula, saya mencadangkan untuk memberitahu Kak Ida bahawa jadual makanan akan diawalkan sejam awal dari waktu sepatutnya agar makanan akan tiba tepat pada masanya. 
-Putri Nur Fatin-

The 3 Days (MEMORABLE DAYS)

Pada hari pertama,iaitu hari jumaat (23.03.2018),kami semua bertolak dari UM pada pukul 7 lebih.Apabila tiba di sana, perkara yang paling menyedihkan sekali ialah bilangan budak di rumah NURI tak seperti yang kami jangkakan.Hanya 20 orang lebih sahaja yang ada pada hari itu.Banyak juga perkara yang kami kena ubah.Sebagai biro program,aku agak cemas dan cepat2 aku fikir nak buat game apa la untuk diorang ni.Sebab diorang agak bosan dengan sebabnya hari ini kami buat gotong-royong.Kelemahan kami pada hari first ni ialah ,no back up plan,as biro program aku mengaku banyak sangat kekurangan kami hari ini.Then,malam tu ada post mortem, banyak juga nampak ketidakpuasan hati walaupun ada yang tak bersuara,tapi nampak terlakar di wajah masing-masing.Disebabkan oleh Dr menegur pada hari tu,x nampak sangat PIC yang bertugas ,so lepas post mortem aku dengan Rehana mengkaji semula kerja PIC untuk esok hari supaya perjalanan esok berjalan dengan lancar.

(24.03.2018)-Sabtu,pada hari itu adik2 memberi reaksi yang baik kepada kami. On this day, I incharge bahagian explorace.Aku suba untuk menjalankan tugas aku sebaik mungkin,Alhamdulillah it goes well.Pada hari ini jugakla, PIC yang terlibat semua menunjukkan kerjasama yang baik dan sangat nampak improvement dari hari semalam.

(25.03.2018)-Ahad,hari yang paling lawak,sedih dan sangat meberi kesan kepada kami semua.Yang lawaknya,ialah aku tertinggal plak pagi tu dekat kolej .Dah sampai baru sedar.Lepastu tak pe la.Lepas sahaja aku incharge game origami tu ,aku pergi ambil plak dengan Dr.Arpah,Putri,Adilah,Solihin dan Arif dengan menaiki van sebab sebab alang-alang nak beli barang untuk bagi dekat rumah tu, so aku pun ikut sekali.Bila majlis penutup dah nak bermula,Dr.Arpah tanya plak ada kat mana.Then, time tu baru teringat yang aku tertinggal lagi plak dalam van.Apala yang jadi kat aku hari tu.Semua lupa,HAHAHAHA..hari tu jugak la menjadi hari yang sangat sedih untuk kami semua sebab dah nak berpisah.Aku tahan nangis je bila tengok diorang nangis.Tapi bila masuk je dalam van,air mata aku dah jadi macam air terjun....Huhuhu..post mortem hari tu pun ramai di antara kami meluahkan isi hati masing-masing, dan dah nampak kemesraan antara kami semua.

Pegalaman di Rumah NURI, melupakan pengalama yang paling indah buat aku, dan aku rasa bersyukur sangat ada program jalinan masyarakat ni. Dan aku sedar,ada hikmah di sebalik semua yang berlaku iaitu tempat yang kami pilih,bilangan budak yang ada kat situ dan macam2 lagi la.Semua berlaku atas kehendak Allah S.W.T.-Alhamdulillah-

By: (Azwarozy)

Social Engagement Bioinformatics 2018 ❣ (Day 3 !)

25/3/2018 - So its the last day for our social engagement project ! Seriously i just can't believe the time passed by so fast. Mix feelings to be honest (sad + happy + excited) hahaha. So in the morning we had some activities as usual and some of the faci that are in charge for the closing ceremony (including me) decorated the stage for the closing ceremony in the evening.

In the rumah NURI some of the kids did some origami activities and English class. The kids were very excited doing the origami since the origami was very unique and beautiful. We did some frog and butterflies.

Some of the butterflies origami. So beeatiful is it?

In the afternoon some of the kids went for dikir barat for an event at a hotel.After Zohor we did some indoor activities and also performance practice for the closing ceremony. During the closing ceremony, odd weren't in our favour, its raining cats and dogs, we were little bit anxious as all the VIPs had came enjoying their meal in the Rumah NURI. But luckily we have back up plan and Alhamdulillah everything went well. Oh by the way some of the VIPs in the closing ceremony were Prof Sarinder, Mama Nora and Dr Arpah. So we did the closing ceremony in Rumah NURI.The things i wanna highlight in the closing ceremony is our performance (faci & the kids) because all the VIPs were amazed by our performance and also the birthday surprise.

 The faci perormance

 Thanks Dr Arpah for the scrumptious cakes !

 Prof Sarinder and Mama Nora with the winner. Congrats !

So i think thats all for the third day (which is the LAST DAY :'( ). So my reflection is we gained many experience and memories with the kids since its rarely to meet kids in our university haha. Next we also gained experience on how to handle a ceremony that are attended by many VIPs such as the closing ceremony. We had learnt that the back up plan is very important when there are problems with plan A. 

One of the best memories in 2018 :')

Lots Of Love,

Mohd Hazimin :)

Resubmission: My Sixth Week

We worked for the past few weeks and months together for our coming Social Engagement project. And now it is just only one week for our event. Really nervous and excited, a lot of things have been discussed during the last meeting. During the meeting, Dr. Arpah highlighted that we still lack of at least RM3000++ for our program. Frustrated, we went for donation drive to four different places on last Friday. Day by day, the bonding between the member of bioinformatics become stronger and stronger. Rehearsals also had been held in order to train those facilitators involved last Thursday. Everyone tried their best to attend the training to ensure the smoothness of the program. It was really a busy week for us as there is another rehearsal will be held again this coming Tuesday. Hopefully, the Social Engagement will be successfully held and becomes the memorable one.

My Experience in Bioinformatics Social Engagement (Day 2 & 3) (My Seventh Week)

Day 2

After the post-mortem session in the late day 1 night, we had to wake up in the early morning again before departing to NURI. Since most of the members were staying in KK5, so it was easier for us to gather in the early morning. After arriving at NURI, we started looking for our kids who were already waiting the arrivals of us. We started the day by ZUMBA DANCE at the field. Luckily, within our SE members, we have Shazrul who was a pro in dancing and also zumba. He brought so much fun to us and the kids in dancing. After that, we came to a session that is called "art and design". In this event, the kids had to draw and then used colour papars to fill up the drawings so that a colourful drawing is produced. There was a close communication between the facilitators and the kids. After the wonderful event, it came with group motivation session where we the university undergraduates had to teach and give some advices to the kids regarding to how get a better result in official exam and how to got entered into University of Malaya. We also told the kids that they have to aspire in entering UM because it is a top-class university in Malaysia and it offers a lot of great courses and experience to its students. Some seemed to be inspired but some seemed not so. After a serious discussion with the kids, we brought some relaxation to the kids by introducing a game that is picture guessing games. It was really a fun game whereby some kids were not that good in drawing had to make sure that their drawings allowed others to understand. After that, we taught the kids some mandarin words that were common in communication, such as greetings like " zao an" means good morning. The kids were really interested in learning mandarin language and they are fast learners. Next, come with the most interesting event of the day, that is the EXPLORACE. Through this event, the groups of kids had to go for stations one by one since there were 5 stations being set up. The kids had to finish doing all stations first before they can become champion. Those stations were really obstacles for the kids to deal with. They had their hard time and also fun time in the respective stations. For example, the stations were like blowing ping pong ball from one cup to the next which were filled with water. In the evening, the kids trained for preparation of closing ceremony whereby the kids danced for cheers and also the songs. At that night, the kids also performed dikir barat and nasyid for us before we went back UM.

Day 3

It was another really tiring morning but it was finally the last day of our SE project. Since the preparation started from Semester 1, we were really looking forward to this day which there will be a closing ceremony for our SE event. After gathering at the KK5 bus stop in the early morning, we departed to NURI in group. Arriving at NURI, we then had our refreshing morning exercise with the kids that is the ZUMBA DANCE. After that, we taught the kids some English idioms and also proverbs. We hoped that idioms and proverbs can be used in their study. Then, the origami class was conducted. The kids then folded the colour papers into frog shape and also butterfly shape. After doing so, they arranged those stuffs into a nice yet colourful circle. It was an amazing view to see. Then, we brought a game to the kids which is the mystery box. The kids had to put their hands into the box that could not be seen inside. The kids were so afraid to put their hands inside the box because there maybe had something creepy and dangerous inside. It really brought a lot of laughter to us by looking at the reactions of the kids. Then come the biggest things of our event that is the closing ceremony. Unfortunately, before the closing ceremony started, there was a heavy raining which destroyed our decorations for the closing ceremony. We were forced to conduct our closing ceremony inside the house. With the presence of Prof. Sarinder Kaur, the closing ceremony of 2017/2018 SE project was successfully conducted with the performances by the kids and also prize giving to the winning groups. Honestly, it was really great experience for me to be involved in this SE project. I really learned a lot of things that cannot be learned through lecture nor the GOOGLE. It is something that is precious and unforgettable for me. Thank you GUYS, Thank you Dr., Thank you KIDS, Thank you SE (XIE XIE!!!)

My Experience in Bioinformatics Social Engagement 2017/2018 (Day 1) (My Seventh Week)

D-day!

        First day tu sangat teruk ヽ(｀⌒´)ノ. Kami bertolak lambat ke sana, certain event kami kena ubah tempat dan masa. Contohnya waktu gotong royong (memang gotong royong je la yang obvious kan haha), expected time untuk habis pada pukul 4, tapi disebabkan tingkat atas berkunci, gotong royong habis awal (sebelum zohor). Kami tak terfikir nak buat backup plan sebelum ni, tapi nasib baik la ade faci² yang tolong untuk penuhkan masa gotong royong dengan game yang lain. Masa ni budak² macam tak kisah pun dengan kami ni. Itu adalah satu challenge yang sangat besar untuk tarik perhatian diorang.


        Second day tu dah nampak perubahan dari first day. PIC semuanya take note dengan apa yang dia akan lakukan. Huru hara tu masih ada, tapi taklah seteruk first day xD Yang paling best waktu explorace, saya kena jaga first checkpoint (makan gula²), dan semua orang setuju checkpoint saya yang paling best sebab dapat makan hahah. Event yang best jugak bila Erni jadi PIC, reaction budak² tu memang lawak.


        Third day yang paling relax sekali. Budak² tu banyak buat origami, dan sesetengah faci sibuk hias khemah untuk closing ceremony. Origami yang diorang buat pun kami gunakan untuk closing. Malang tak berbau, petang tu, memang tepat² waktu closing ceremony hujan turun (︺︹︺) Backup plan nak buat kat balcony tingkat atas tapi tak jadi. At last kami buat di bawah je haha. Ada surprise event time closing ni, kami sambut anak² yang lahir pada bulan Februari, Mac dan April. Muka berseri-seri je bila nampak kek. Besar pulak tu jangan main² hahah. Waktu berpisah, ramai akak² faci mengalirkan air mata ︶︿︶ (tidak termasuk saya) tapi yang paling syoknya bila Kak Azwa naik van terus dia menangis tak henti², ditemani dengan lagu 'Di Matamu' dan 'Yang Terindah' (sempat ambil video beb) . Memang terbaik lagu time tu, kena betul time Azwa tengah sedih hahah.

       Pengalaman ini merupakan sesuatu yang baru buat saya, sebab ini merupakan kali pertama saya handle satu event yang besar. Jalinan masyarakat ni membuatkan saya berfikir bagaimana untuk bercakap dengan orang, melayan karenah anak² di sana, mengenal sesama sendiri (walaupun 3 hari). One more thing, kena selalu ada backup plan, sediakan payung sebelum hujan ahahah.


Nor Mimi Farar Hana.

Social Engagement Bioinformatics 2018 ❣ (Day 2 )

Ola ! yes its me again Hazimin, so today i wanna share about our social engagement project on the second day ! So mcm biasa kol 6.45 a.m kami perlu berkumpul tapi hari kedua dan ketiga kami hanya berkumpul di bus stop kk5 memandangkan semua menginap di kk5 dan untuk memudahkan urusan kami. kami bertolak ke rumah NURI jam 7.15 am dan selamat sampai dalam pukul 7.45 a.m. Pada hari kedua sy ditugaskan untuk mengambil roti yg telah disponsor oleh sandwichbytes (ig : @sandwichbytes) bersama pemandu dan Dr Arpah di balakong dan sandwich tu seriously sedap gila !!

Sandwichbytes sedap !

Jadi aktiviti pada pagi hari kedua ialah senaman pagi,art and design, motivasi berkelompok, puzzle dan language time (mandarin). Aktiviti pada waktu petang pula ialah explorace. Explorace paling best hahah ! So sy ditugaskan utk jaga check point 1 iaitu check point "sedut". Bunyi cam pelikan ? haha tapi actually semua peserta mesti sedut coklat nips hanya menggunakan straw dan masukkan ke dalam mulut kawan sebelah.

Aktiviti last pada hari kedua lepas asar ialah sukaneka iaitu futsal dan bola beracun. Lepastu semua juga dibenarkan untuk melakukan latihan persembahan untuk majlis penutup pada hari ketiga.

Jadi refleksi saya pada hari kedua ialah setiap orang mestilah menjalankan tanggungjawab yang telah diamanahkan dengan sebaik mungkin seperti PIC pada setiap sesi. Kita dapat lihat disini hari kedua lebih baik dan teratur berbanding hari pertama kerana setiap PIC menjalankan tugas masing-masing sebaik mungkin. Hari pertama agak kelam kabut mungkin kerana tiada pengalaman atau kali pertama menjadi PIC tapi alhamdulillah hari kedua semakin baik. Sekian shj drpd saya, terima kasih.

@mohdhaziminz :)

EVENT LOG

EVENT LOG

Day1

                Everything weren’t as simple as expected, waking up earlier in the morning is a challenge. Upon arrival at NURI house, things become unmanageable. There aren’t enough participant for today, the main housekeeper also was absent at the moment. But still we stick to our main plan. The first day is the cleaning day. For me as a facilitator for the children is really a hard task, giving orders are not easy. Those children can’t stop running, shouting, and not giving cooperation. Gotong-royong ended earlier than planned, we literally don’t have any backup to fill those time left. Situation became chaotic and hectic but we managed to handle it soon enough. During post-mortem of the first day, we discuss a lot about what happened, though we were exhausted. By the end of the day, Solutions were successfully gained and we seek to apply it for the next day.

Day2

Today, I woke up earlier than yesterday. I feel a little bit excited to be honest, it’s weird, but it is what it is. I volunteered myself as a Zumba practitioner along with my other two teammates. Oh, also everything was rescheduled last night, turns out I’m no longer a facilitator for the children, which was a relieved for me. What happened today? Things went almost as planned, children became cooperative, although some are still wild (its their nature I guest). I couldn’t say any better, that today is a much success than yesterday and we would make things better tomorrow

Day 3

                Last day of this event. No more dull faces, everyone is one their feet now. We going to make this last day a bigger success than yesterday. Activities we’ve planned ongoing smoothly, despite some minor problems arose, we managed to act professionally to solve it. Though I’m not joining for most activities since I’m busy preparing for the closing ceremony. Again, I’ve volunteered myself, to run on some errand for the house. Lots of thing we’ve bought for the sake of better living in the house. During the closing ceremony, it was raining hard and we execute a backup plan. When everything was done, the it’s time to say goodbye. Farewell is not easy, some of us get really bonded to the children making its harder to let go. Those sad faces filled the entire evening with sorrow. Goodbye NURI children. Till we meet again. The last post-mortem even went on successfully, with a mixed feelings.

Conclusion

                This event thought me so much, and I believed my other friends also felt the same. Firstly, communication is really important, no matter how hard things could turn out you should’ve at least try. Next, backup plans are crucial. We don’t know what could’ve happened, but we should be prepared for the worst, just in case. Last but not least, learn from your mistakes. It’s a way of growing up and experiencing new things. Take in what’s make you stronger, throw away what’s done the opposite. Should you also know that love, friendships and families are the most valuable thing in this world. None worth compared.

An Unforgettable Experience- DAY 2 N DAY 3

24/3/2018- So after the first day we all learnt from our mistakes and did a better job compared to the first day. In the morning we did Zumba which was really exciting for the kids. Food arrived on time as well on the second day. During the day we all had more games indoor because it's too hot to play outside.We had art and craft, Mandarin Language, guess the picture and also group motivation for the kids. Since my group consisted of kids from small age they weren't very creative compared to the elder ones but the very still committed for the activities. Also to attract their attention we gave them starts for each game they won.This made the kids very competitive among themselves.They all strive to do their best.In the evening we had outdoor games which was explore race and also dodgeball for girls and futsal for the boys. Thank you to Azwa for being the PIC for explore race it was AWESOME. The kids really loved it. We also gave them hamper for winning the explore race.We also did some cheer practice for the performance for closing.Without realising it was already dinner time and soon time to go back to UM. We all felt tired but happy at the same time because we all managed to do a great job for the second day.....GOOD JOB EVERYONE....👏👏👏.

Art and craft session..Group 2 :]

Prize giving ceremony.

25/3/2018- Today was the last day we were here. I can't believe it time passed by so fast it's already day 3. Today in the morning thing went as usual just that some of the faci were busy doing deco for the closing outside. We did some origami and also english language class. Some of the kids went for their dikir barat competition outside and were supposed to be back before the closing. After 11 many of them including the faci, Dr. Arpah and kids weren't around so those who were around we did some indoor games and also Shazrul trained them to dance for tujuan song which ended up being the performance for the closing ceremony. During the closing ceremony odd weren't in our favour. It rained which forced us to do the closing ceremony inside. It was sad because they decorated it so hardly but God always has a better plan for us. So for the closing Mama Nora and Dr Sarinder was present. The kids who went for dikir barat didn't made in time for the performance. Their sadness could be seen on their faces but we had no choice to carry on the event without them. But it all went smoothly after we arranged thing inside.THANK YOU to Dr. Arpah for always supporting us. It was finally time to bid farewell to the kids. They all were sad we were leaving and some of them cried and didn't want to say good bye. But every beginning has an ending. We took lots of pictures with them. I could feel that we already created such a strong bond with them just in 3 days. I also didn't want bid farewell but I knew I needed too. I learnt that we created a strong bond with the kids there and also among ourselves in just 3 days. I felt like a piece of my heart of was left there. I hope to meet the kids soon.

Me and Farah with the kids.

Happy faces of faci.

~FAHMIDA~

Last Day . Emotional Day :'(

Sudah masuk hari ketiga kitorang punya program. Memang agak sedih lah sebab nie hari yang terakhir program kitorang dekat sini. Masa nie nampak lah fasi2 dengan budak2 nie macam emotional sikit. Sebabnya program kitorang kalinie habis pukul 7pm , yelah kan dorang pon esok nak sekolah. Kena lah bagi dorang rehat, mana boleh buat sampai malam2 sangat kan, dengan kerja sekolah lagi.

Hah gitu, banyak kan origami tu.

 Masa aktiviti origami ni, fasi tetap mengajar mereka macam mana nak buat origami katak dan rama2. Semestinya setiap aktiviti nie ada competition , kumpulan yang paling banyak buat origami, dapat bintang. HAHA.

Lepas tu, kitorang main game mystery box dekat luar.Budak2 keluar masuk rumah dengan muka happy sebab dapat mainan daripada mystery box tu. HAHHA. Untuk closing ceremony ada surprise event sikit, masa nie Dr dengan beberapa orang fasi nak sambut birthday siapa2 yang lahir bulan 2, 3 dan 4. Tak semua fasi yang tahu pasal surprise nie. Susah jugak lah nk menyembunyikan kek nie. HAHA

Aku datang tolong fasi2 yang keluar yang tengah hias khemah tu. Wuishh. Kitorang guna kan rama2 origami yang budak2 tu buat sebagai penghias khemah tu. Tu nak tunjuk yang kitorang appreciate dorang buat rama2 tu. Pandai lah dorang nie menghias khemah. Mimi dengan Arinah rasanya yang tiup belon banyak sangat2. Confirm kebas mulut dorang tiup belon banyak2 macam tu.

Fasi2 yang hias untuk closing ceremony

Hah, kan ada budak dikir barat yang buat persembahan dekat hotel tu, dah pukul 3.30 petang, dorang masih tak balik lagi. Nazrul buat backup plan kalau budak2 tu tak sempat nak sampai masa closing ceremony. Malang tidak berbau kan, petang tu hujan lah pulak.  Lastnya closing tu kitorang buat dekat dalam rumah.

Hahaa. Cakap tengok kertas je. Masalah

Part persembahan pulak, mula2 fasi dengan budak2 rumah NURI menari lagi tujuan. Then, semua fasi kk5 menari Nazrul panggil ke depan untuk menari. Masa nie , adalah spontan. Apa yang kitorang plan tak menjadi, tapi alhamdulilah berjalan dengan lancar. Hah, pasal surprise nie pulak Ruben suruh buat lepas habis penyampaian hadiah. Seriously, masa aku jadi mc nie, aku tak tahu nak cakap macam mana, Aku kena paksa dorang tutup mata, mereka-reka cerita sikit. Memang meriah lah masa nie sambut birthday , fasi2 pon tak sangka yang kitorang sambut sekali 3 bulan terus. HAHAHA. Nasib baik lah menjadi surprise nie walau agak kelam kabut sikit lah.

Lepas je selesai sambut birthday tu, makan2 kejap. Then, budak2 dikir barat tu baru je balik. Seriously, masa tgok muka dorang, dorang nampak sedih sangat sebab event kitorang mmang dah nak habis.

Kek yang dibeli untuk sambut birthday

      Then. Kitorang semua mulakan sesi bergambar dengan semua kumpulan2 rumah NURI. Yeahh. Selesai sudah sesi penggambaran dan kitorang semua pon dah mula nak kemas2 barang kitorang. Yup sebab dah pkul 7 malam, van pon dah menunggu. Dah bersedia nak pergi, kitorang pon dah start ucapkan selamat tinggal dengan budak2 nie semua. Putri orang first yang start menangis, dan budak2 NURI semua ikut menangis. Semua sedih bila kitorang semua nak pergi . Nazrul ada cerita dekat kitorang yang ada budak ckap kat dia “Abang, jangan lah pergi” Serious memang lagi rasa nak nangis lah bila budak2 cakap macam tu.

Aku menangis bila jumpa Danial, masa nie pon Danial nangis jugak Yup. Budak nie lah yang banyak mengajar aku masa program 3 hari nie. Memang aku akan ingat lah sampai bila2. Danial siap cakap dengan aku “Datang lah ramai2 bila ada cuti panjang”. Yup,aku mmang tak dapat tahan diri daripada menangis. Semua dah rapat, so bila berpisah, mmang kesan yang mendalam lah buat semua orang.

Ni lah dia Danial. 

Tak kan lupa lah apa yang pernah terjadi selama 3 hari ni, banyak yang aku belajar sepanjang program nie. Thank you kanak2 rumah NURI semoga kite berjumpa lagi. Alhamdulilah semuanya berjalan dengan lancar. Tamatlah coretan saya pada kali ini.

Memori terindah yang pernah terjadi dekat kitorang. Love u all <3

Apa yang saya dapat untuk hari ketiga ini adalah kerjasama daripada semua orang untuk menyiapkan tugasan bersama2 masa aktiviti origami nie. Kalau lah masa nie, ada orang tak nak buat, then tak kan dapat hasilkan origami yang banyak. Selain itu, kerjasama semua fasi nak hias khemah. Tiada yang merungut, dan masing2 berhempas pulas menyiapkan kerja. Benda yang paling banyak bagi pengajaran adalah selalu ada backup plan masa buat program. Sebabnya masa nie hujan, then agak kelam kabut jugak sebab terpaksa tukar last minit. Fasi2 agak pening sebab segala atur cara berubah. Bila kita dah ada backup plan lebih awal , so kite semua dah boleh ready. Tapi walaupun tukar plan last minit, fasi semua berikan komitmen dan tidak berputus asa dan alhamdulilah berjalan dengan lancar. Masa surprise kek tu, kelihatan fasi2 macam terharu dan tak sangka yang birthday mereka juga disambut. Betapa sayangnya kitorang pada mereka. Masa nak berpisah dengan budak2 nie, mata semua orang dah berkaca, sebab kitorang dah sayang satu sama lain. Layanan yang diberikan bukan lah hanya berlakon semata-mata tapi daripada hati masing2. Semoga hubungan yang kita cipta ini dapat dirahmati oleh Allat S.W.T. Terima kasih untuk segala-galanya

~ERNI MASTURA~

Week 7 ( Week Full with Sweet Memories)

Assalammualaikum w.b.t. minggu ni sebenarnya ada banyak benda yang saya nak kongsikan dengan semua.Tapi terlalu panjang jika semua memori indah ni nak diungkapkan di sini.Hehehe...
19 April 2018 (Isnin) - seperti biasa, kmai semua berkumpul untuk meeting which is meeting ni ialah meeting last kami sebelum program kami berjalan. So ,dalam meeting ni, saya rasa seronok sekali sebab semua biro membentangkan kerja-kerja yang dah selesai. Setelah lama bertungkus-lumus akhirnya hampir selesai juga kerja2 kami. Saya pun rasa seronok bila semua design plak dah selesai, Alhamdulillah. So, saya rasa meeting kali ni sangat best kerana Dr, Arpah pun gembira melihat hasil tugas kami.
20 April 2018 ( Selasa,12 tgh hari ) - kami semua berkumpul di SD6 Bangunan Bioinformatik untuk buat rehearsel penutupan program dan briefing tentang aktiviti2 oleh biro saya iaitu biro protokol.  Erni dan Arinah sebagai Emcee bertungkus lumus berusaha untuk menjadi emcee terbaik pada ari event nanti.. Seronok lihat gelagat dan semangat mereka... sementara Erni dan Arinah berlatih sebagai Emcee, kami yang lain belajar untuk membuat origami supaya dapat mengajar adik2 nanti...Saya dah nampak kemesraan di kalangan kami time ni, yang sebelum ni tak rapat pun macam ni...Alhamdulillah program ni dah sedikit sebanyak membantu kami mengenal kawan2 kami sendiri.
21 April 2018 ( Rabu,7.45 malam ) - kami berlatih rehearsel sekali lagi tetapi bersama-sama Dr.Arpah..Alhamdulillah berjalan lancar.
22 April 2018 ( Khamis,10 pagi ) - sehari sebelum program bermula. Beberapa orang daripada kami membalut hamper senagai hadiah untuk adik2.Walaupun saya tak dapat join sampai habis sebab ada kelas, tapi best sangat sebab nampak semangat tolong-menolong dan kerja berpasukan.

By:Azwa Rozy

-3 days at NURI-

     With nervousness and anticipation, we are finally heading to rumah NURI on Friday early morning. I imagined a lot before this, but reality is always shocking… Everything we prepared is in a huge amount, as the number of kids are big too. However, we only noticed around 10 to 20 kids there. The food we prepared was too many and some of them wasted. It was a mess actually, at first. We do not know how to interact with the kids. As a result, the kids are lost controlled and we are losing our mind trying to gather them. CHAOS~~ to handle this situation, the high executive did a few quick meeting to think of back-up plan. We can only gather them in one place by seeking for their attention using ice stick. This was also with the help of our coordinator. We clean their house, gather the children and busy recognising the kids’ face. Such a crazy day!! After returning to kk5, we did a really long post mortem to reflect our wrongdoing and ways to improve our organising skills. I fell asleep as soon after I bath as it was really tiring.

     Second day was really packed. Almost all our activities are planned to hold on today. I felt thankful as the children are still welcoming us warmly instead of our lack-of-sleep face. We start our session with Zumba dance.  The children are excited to dance with us. The PIC, Shazrul lead the facilitators and the children well. After the breakfast, art and design was carried out. I was amazed by the talent and creativity of the children. Some fascinated art works was produced. We pasted them on the whiteboard. I was nervous as the PIC for the next session, Mandarin class, was me. Luckily, the children are willing to listen to me while I was teaching. They are really concentrated in the mandarin lesson. Learning a new language is not easy, but they are willing to learn new things with passion. A big round applause to them!! Hope that the mandarin lesson can help them in the future. The highlight of today’s activity…..EXPLORACE is definitely a fun and interesting activity. There are a few games that required teamwork and memory skills of the children which is quite challenging. Nonetheless, they managed to score it excellently. Well done! I really learnt a lot from them, these Z generation kids are amazing and talented! Most importantly, they have the brightest smile no matter facing any challenge. Today is tiring as well but I was contented with joy as today is a well-spent day. The bonding between the facilitators is also stronger as we work everything together started from morning.

     Third day, also the last day of our project. This day is definitely a long day. We started the day with Zumba as well. The children were really into the dancing. Their smile and laughter really made my day. As a P&P bureau member, we are told to start the decoration of closing ceremony right after breakfast. So, we missed a lot activities with the children. I can only look and listen to them from the tent outside the house, such a regret! Another surprised situation happened, which was almost half of the children were going out for a performance during afternoon. No matter how, the activities are still going on. I really thankful and appreciate for the cooperation given by the children and they willing to accept the mistakes that we made. Raining is the most unwanted thing we do not want today, however things do not always come as we wish. A sudden heavy rain ruined our decoration at the tent. We have no choice but to use our back-up plan which is moved the chairs to the frontyard of the house. The ceremony is still going on smoothly as we rehearsed for n times. There are still a bit chaos but everyone was so happy. A little faulty will not affect the whole ceremony. It was really hard to say goodbye, we cry, the kids cry. I will never forget them, they are so previous!!

This 3 days at NURI is really a fantastic experience. Even though it is a university course, but I learnt a lot from this project. I learnt to be thankful to everything I have in my life. I learnt that there a lot unfortunate people out there need our help, lending a helpful hand is not a hard thing to do. The NURI children also taught me to becoming an optimistic person. Nothing in life will defeat me if I stay strong. Thank you for everything!