Our main goal is to instill an interest upon creative English writing among year 5 rural students by publishing the student’s short stories and poems. This is to prepare them for university where all the subjects are in English and we do not want the students to struggle.

         An initiative we did to fund raise was selling food to lecturers during lunch hour. The food bought from the supplier was RM4 and was sold for Rm6. We managed to fund raise for 2 weeks and the total money earned amounted to RM 200.

        There were a total of 13 students and 6 lecturers involved in this program. There are a total of 53 students form 2 classes that was assigned into 5 groups where 2 facilitators took charge. There are a total of 5 sessions within 2 months. The first session was an ice-breaking session so we can create a bond with them and also to get the students to feel comfortable with the facilitators. The 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th session was where the students started writing their short stories or poems with inputs given to them from reading and also from the guidance of the facilitators. Every session except the last session started with a game like charades to get the students to test their vocabulary and have fun at the same time. The last session was the closing ceremony where we launched the book. We mainly had trouble with the budget and were forced to use our own money for MOST of the expenses. Though we managed to compromise with the other expenses like transport, we still had to pay a hefty amount in order to finish the project. We had difficulty in keeping the program English oriented since the students had trouble understanding most of the instructions given. We had to repeat a sentence said in English to Bahasa Malay, but we didn’t say the full sentence in Malay, we just substitute the words that was not understandable to the students. Fortunately, we had no trouble with the students in terms of behavior. They were cooperative and full of joy which made the experience fun. The total students involved in this program is 53 students. Through this program, we have guided the students to write a short story or short poem to be compiled in a book which will give them the motivation to learn English more. There are also some students that have the potential to write well. For the upcoming projects, we will try to improve anything that can make the program better and impactful to the students.

       Our project can contribute to happiness as it helps the students to feel more exited and fun to learn English. This project contributes short and long-term happiness. In terms of short-term happiness, the students involved will feel happy and joyful to learn English and not feel awkward to speak English as we encourage them to constantly speak English throughout the program. We start each session with a game and give treats to all the students when they are active in the program. In terms of long-term happiness, the short story or poem they wrote in the book will give them the flashbacks of learning English in a fun way without any awkwardness and it will also give them the motivation to write more.

        At first, you might underestimate rural students' ability to shine in writing, but they have high potential in creative writing if they got the exposure. The project helps you to learn how teamwork is crucial even though you are more comfortable working alone; two heads are always better than one. Simple things could be complicated if you don't experience the ways of handling issues. As time passes, you experience great ways of simplifying and solving problems.

       “I was able to express myself through writing because I am a shy person and the only Indian boy in my class. I am now active with my classmates than before” Kannan A/L Rajendran