Founded by a firm ground of belief and hope, Mentor-mentee Anak Yatim Caring Project (MAYANG) was born out of dedication and motivation amongst Caring Club IIUM members in delivering the help needed by orphans in order to drive them towards a successful life. The theme of “Propelling a Sustained Happiness” manifests our continual effort in providing the support toward orphans regardless of their religion and race. Balanced specialized modules were to be conducted to enhance both of their academic level as well as the much needed soft-skills. In an effort to create impactful modules to the children of orphanages, our activities will feature modules that can expose them to the interest of entrepreneurship and multimedia. It is believed such beneficial knowledge can be further expanded and can act as a stepping stone for the orphans to be more independent and self-sustained.

The main objectives are focusing on both academic aspects and the soft-skill development for the orphans. The specialized modules are created with the necessary syllabus needed by each orphanage respectively. In this project, we collaborated with 5 orphanages across Gombak and with respect to the orphanages caretakers’ discretion, we are able to develop modules that encompasses both academic and soft skill aspects that are specialized for each orphanage. The objectives in accordance to respective orphanages are:

Rainbow Home, Cheras

-This shelter home for underprivileged children as well as orphans would be our second non-Muslim affiliate ever. Mathematics and multimedia skills are two of the main emphasis.

Rumah Anak Yatim dan Asnaf Raudhatul Faeez, Gombak:

- Modules are built upon the foundation of facilitating the orphans in enhancing their academic performance regarding the subject of Bahasa Melayu. Furthermore, soft skills and self-confidence are carefully implanted within the scope of the modules enabling them to apply the pen-and-paper methodology into a practical real world usage.

Rumah Kebajikan Anbu Illam, Taman Permata:

-The very basic core foundation of Bahasa Melayu has been the primary focus in developing the modules for this orphanage. Besides academic-oriented skills in the likes of reading, comprehension and writing, basic application of Bahasa Melayu such as inter-personal communication skills were also heavily facilitated. In addition, since the establishment of Caring Club, this orphanage is the first nonmuslim orphanage that we collaborated with, it is hoped that this project will pave the way for a longer line of many more non-muslim orphanages that will get benefit from our support.

Rumah Penyayang Darul Ilmi, Gombak:

-For this orphanage, the modules are solely focus on the soft skills enhancement.

Rumah Kasih Nurul Hasanah, Ampang:

-English subject is the focus for this orphanage. Here, modules are made incorporating casual and easy English learning together with moral etiquette and ethics.

Moreover, in a bigger picture, the MAYANG project is also organized in bringing a sense of awareness to the society towards the existence of orphan community. This project is believed to have the potential of instilling the spirit of giving back to the community.

For each of our mentoring sessions, the orphans from each orphanage will be divided into groups and each group will be instructed by two Caring Club members who will become the mentor for each session with the help of student facilitators.

There are two approaches involved in executing this project, the tutoring approach and the physical activity approach.

Tutoring approach;

A set of modules will be prepared by mentors aimed at assisting the orphans in their learning process. The modules are meticulously structured to suit their academic levels in regards to the academic performance in school (with advice from the caretakers) and in regards to their age. The specialized modules are meant to ensure the orphans are able to catch up and fully grasp the full meaning and messages behind the modules. This approach made exchange of information and personal thoughts possible between the mentors and the mentees (the orphans) as this approach allows communications to be made naturally and on a personal level.

Physical activity approach:

Similar to the tutoring approach, physical activities are done in every mentoring session. The aim is to provide a medium for the orphans to boost their self-esteem and more importantly, knowledge that can be useful to them in life. The physical activities will be executed in the form of multimedia skills exposure, sewing skills and handicrafts/DIY projects creation. These activities are aimed at enhancing creativity as well as to provide them a glimpse of entrepreneurship skills and talent. Besides that, we will also conduct cooking class for the children. The objective for this is to provide the awareness on the importance of knowing necessary skills in life as cooking is one of the basic knowledge that can be very helpful for them in future as it promotes financial savings and other benefits. All these physical activities are themed at providing an exposure for the children to create their own independent lifestyle through business or can be further developed, if their interest prevails, into their career path after leaving their orphanage in years ahead.

Parallel to the benefits gained by all the beneficiaries throughout this project, the orphans are expected to have better understanding in their studies and improvement on their self-esteem in regards to the soft-skills acquired from the program. It is in our interest to deliver the necessary platform for them to be fully ready in facing the challenges and realities that they will face in their future. Furthermore, Caring Club members are expected to gain the necessary skills in facilitating orphans. In conclusion, we have very high hopes in achieving our objectives and it would be beneficial to all parties involved hence.