MAYANG: Propelling a Sustained Happiness
Helping the Underprivileged Community
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.
Overview of Issue / Background
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.
Project Objectives (Vision & Mission)
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.
Project Details (Activities and Tasks)
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.
Expected Project Result & Outcomes
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.
0% of RM1.00 Goal
Project Information
| University name | : | International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) |
| Project leader name | : | Amirul Hendra bin Abdul Rahman |
Section I
The MAYANG project which stands for Mentor-mentee Anak Yatim Caring was conducted from the 4th of November until the 9 th of December 2017 involving five orphanages which are Rumah Kebajikan Anbu Illam, Rumah Raudhatul Al-Faeez, Rumah Penyayang Darul Ilmi, Yayasan Sunbeams Home and Rumah Perlindungan Nur Qaseh. The activities done were in the form of mentoring sessions that uses high-impact modules which promotes creativity, teamwork as well as interpersonal communication skills among others
In order to further secure our financial sustainability, we organized a one-week fundraising event titled Orphans Awareness Week: Food Festival 2017 which was held at Convest Hill, International Islamic University Malaysia. The event gave opportunities to seventeen businesses; including ten foodtrucks that had rented business spots from us. Thus, the rent fees were the main source of income during the event with the additional funds raised from donations and sponsorship. The event was a success and managed to be regarded as one of the major contributors in ensuring the success of the MAYANG project, complementing the tremendous contributions given by KHIND Starfish Foundation
The MAYANG project was done through mentoring sessions that lasted up to 6 hours per session. Each session was filled with modules and activities that were aimed at enhancing the skills of the orphans in regards to their soft-skills, creativity, and communication skills. Yes, there were problems that we had faced such as last minute changes of venue as well as time and duration by the orphanages’ management which we had succeeded to overcome through further discretion and by being flexible. Proudly, we managed to include one more non-Malay orphanage to be involved in our programme - Yayasan Sunbeams Home, located in Cheras, and is home to Chinese, Orang Asli and Indian youngsters which further enhance our dedication towards strengthening the theme of racial harmony.
The main beneficiaries of MAYANG are the orphans - concurrent with our mission to develop modules that promotes the idea of self-sustainability amongst them through fundamental skills and knowledge. The public also gained benefit through the much-needed awareness raised in regards to the societal roles towards the targeted group. MAYANG managed to encourage the public in giving support from all possible aspects to the orphans. Throughout the seven mentoring sessions conducted, one hundred orphans were involved from five orphanages and a total of 120 students of International Islamic University Malaysia volunteered themselves in an effort to bring happiness to the orphans.
Section II
MAYANG proved to be beneficial both from the perspective of short and long term standpoints. The time and energy invested towards ensuring the success of this project materialized in the forms of better communication skills among the orphans as well as intellectual capabilities that includes creativity and critical thinking. Unlike before, empowered by the contributions made by KHIND, we are now able to conduct modules that had previously never been done by our team involving robotics, cooking, D-I-Y and sewing - complementing conventional leadership-themed games and fun activities. The excitement demonstrated by the orphans symbolizes the success we achieved and this surely further motivates us to continually serve them. Our efforts in nurturing the development of the orphans will never be halted. Our continuous strive towards the objective of aiding orphans to fulfil their potential will be continuously sustained through the MAYANG project
For years MAYANG project has always been long-term in nature, with the exception of the newly added Sunbeams Home, the collaboration with four other orphanages had been established for years and our relationship with them is expected to be further strengthened for many more years to come. Moving towards 2018, we are expecting one more orphanage to be included in the MAYANG project while maintaining the five orphanages that we have established this connection with. Such initiative will ensure a consistent effort in maintaining the credibility of MAYANG project as a demonstration of our continual effort in propelling a sustained happiness to the orphans.
This project unquestionably contributed a positive impact to me personally. My team knows no borders in aiding children of orphanages and welfare homes. We are proud of our efforts in nurturing the intellectual development of children especially the orphans under the banner of racial harmony. This project taught me how to be grateful by caring and sharing our privileges with the unfortunate ones. It is hoped that our effort will be a stepping stone for orphans in instilling the spirit of giving back to the community.
“The positive impacts resulted through the MAYANG project motivates us to go even further, to contribute to the community within the framework of racial harmony.”
-Amirul Hendra bin Abdul Rahman, Project Leader
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