Section I

A. Project Goals:

To bring happiness to rural primary school students by building a proper space for reading activities. Besides that, through this social project, to gain public awareness of the increasing need for assistance for the rural primary school due to the expansion in student numbers via our social media.

B. Fund-raising support (Crowdfunding)

As the project is integrated into the SULAM course, crowdfunding is conducted by team members and students taking a Social Inequality course (SULAM project), UMS.

C. Project implementation

1. Project Flow Summary​​​​​​

• 5 May 2022 - First site visit to assess and understand the school’s condition and discussion with the school principal, Mr Ebly regarding the assistance we can offer
• 14 May 2022 - Second site visit for detailed observation and assessment, accompanied by the school principal and staff
• 24 May 2022 - Third site visit to measure the site, draft and design the outdoor reading nook layout plan
• 16 July 2022 - Project for Happiness Judging Session 03
• 20 July 2022 – 10 September 2022 - Searching for sponsor & get quotation from different company for the reading nook
• 19 September 2022 - Received funding from My Starfish
• 20 September 2022 – 22 October 2022 - Still searching for sponsor because not enough budget
• 23 October 2022 - Received some books from NGO
• 24 October 2022 - Collect books from Seri Mengasih Centre Tanjung Aru and sort books by type
• 25 October 2022 – 28 October 2022 - Visit SK Kokol, discuss with them about project progress and finalize the design of reading nook
• 29 October 2022 - buy some material (steel pole) from Borneo Regal SDN BHD
• 2 November 2022 - leader and supervisor of project consult SULAM’s student - everyone has their own team and task (construction, decoration, multimedia, fund raiser and remote collaborative team)
• 3 November 2022 – 17 November 2022 - fund raiser team started to find another funding & sponsorship (got around RM7000 by sharing the poster and open photobooth at UMS)
• 5 November 2022 – 27 November 2022 - construction work begins
• 30 November 2022 - The building of reading nook completed, but decoration team still decorate it to be more organized and comfortable for SK Kokol students.
• December 2022 – Outdoor reading nook complete.

2. Difficulties

- The construction of the project had to be postponed several times due to weather factors

- Students had to find additional funds to cover unexpected costs

- PRU-15 also affects project construction delays

- Construction can only be carried out on weekends because project member and SULAM’s student have lectures on weekdays.

3. Language or cultural barriers

We had a good relationship with SK Kokol staff and students throughout the project. We always discuss with the principal, Mr. Ebly about the progress and any changes that we made.  We have also interviewed students about the design they like for the reading nook. They are too many choices that they want for the decoration of reading nook, but after all the discussion and majority, we choose minimalist theme.

4. Project Implementation Process

Overall, everything went smoothly although there were some challenges encountered throughout the project. The project leader has divided the tasks fairly and clearly, and the team members also carry out the tasks well. Furthermore, the trust and cooperation given by SK Kokol made it easier for us to carry out the project. We were pleased that all the student and the staff were satisfied and happy with the project outcomes. Last but not least, our project successfully raised the amount of crowdfunding which is more than RM7000 and at the same time encouraged public support and taking care of the special needs community and their needs.

On the other hand, we lack skills in construction. It would be better if we cooperated with construction students for the next project. However, we were still able to do the construction with the help of carpenter SK Kokol, Mr. Johny who guided us throughout the construction. Besides, the funds we need are very high but we don't have enough budget. However, we were able to overcome this problem by opening a booth to collect funds.

5. Beneficiaries

The main project beneficiaries are the students of SK Kokol. Around 187 students from Year 1 to Year 6 and 21 pre-school students will be able to have a space for reading activities. On top of that, they will also have a new conducive learning space for the students to enjoy their readings while accompanied by pristine scenery. Besides that, the school, especially teachers, will benefit from having more proper infrastructures, and spaces that assist them in accommodating the increasing number of students- as the school is no longer Sekolah Kurang Murid (SKM).

Futhermore, through this project, it is a great opportunity for us to add experience in communicating with the community as applied in the course Sociology and Social Anthropology. With this, it is easy for us to know about the needs of the community and help them for a common future.

6. Long-term impact and sustainability of this project.

For the long-term impact,  the school will have a proper and comfortable space for reading activities and the students can use the newly-built nook to enjoy their readings while surrounded by lush scenery. Futhermore, our project was to raise public awareness, namely in the local community, to assist and support the growth of the rural primary school. As our group is also working on another project (SULAM project) with the school, we hope to create a bond between our university faculty- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, UMS- and the community by continuously providing assistance and care parallel with SK Kokol’s growth. In other words, this project will be continued by our group members, who will supervise and guide the program juniors in the near future. Besides that, the implementation of the project itself is not too hard to be replicated as we primarily provide assistance and solutions to the school based on the needs they informed us of. In addition to that, the design or idea of the outdoor reading nook is easy to replicate to build in other schools or places related.

SECTION II (a)

How does or will your project contribute to happiness? Short-term? Long-term?

Project Reading in Paradise  bring happiness to rural primary school students by building a proper space for reading activities. Whilst we are working on another community project- service learning project with the school, the school principal has brought up other concerns with us- SK Kokol does not have a properly built and designated space for a library, and place to set up Information and Computer Technology (ICT) equipment for their students. Due to the school’s growing number of students and the implementation of distanced seats in compliance with SOP procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic, they were forced to turn their previous library (pusat sumber) into a classroom. This caused the library's space becomes tiny and only used to store limited numbers of books. Initially, we plan to build a mini library which can store books and also set up Information and Computer Technology (ICT) equipment for student use. However, the construction of the library is costly and needs several clearance documents, especially the letter of approval from the Sabah Education Department (JPNS), which might take longer to be permitted. Hence, while waiting for the letter of approval, we decided to build an outdoor reading space for student use as also listed in our prior plan-build a reading hut. But, in this project, we will build proper outdoor reading nooks which are way better than huts. So for the short-term, Reading in Paradise outcome is to build a new and proper space for their students’ reading activities while waiting for their new library. Whereas in the long-term, this project can improve reading culture and quality education by providing relevant school infrastructures, educational materials and equipment for rural primary school students.

Has your project changed the way you think about the world? How has it changed you?

This project opened our minds that there are many more communities that need help for their future development. The cooperation from all parties in making the mission and vision of this project a success makes us feel very happy and proud. We also feel inspired by other groups that participate in helping the community in need. Although there are many challenges faced, this project is still being carried out in the hope of providing a better quality of education to rural schools. If given the opportunity, Project Reading in Paradise 2.0 and other projects will be continued by future generations as long as they provide benefits to the community.

SECTION II (b)

1. Happiness is helping someone in need. (Artikah)

2. I couldn't live a week without a private library - indeed, i'd part with all furrnite and squat and sleep on the floor before i'd let go og the 1500 or so books i possess. (Eastafania)

3. Be grateful for the blessings you have today, because there are many more out there who want the pleasure you are feeling now. (Pamela)

4. Reading is the gateway skill that makes all other learning. What i learned through this project is the importance of reading places, reading materials and references to help people who want to increase their knowledge. (Azreen)

5. A room without books is like a body without soul. (Syara)

6. When you feel too scared to jump in, thats when you jump in. (Azmir)

7. If you make your internal life a priority, then everything else you need on the outside will be given to you and it will be extremely clear what the next step is. (Riswan J.)