Making an impact
MyCorps acts as a platform for participants to serve and create a positive impact, allowing them to discover a renewed sense of purpose.
MyCorps is a channel for young people to change the world in a positive way.
THE United Nations describes young people as key agents for social change, providers of creative ideas and determined drivers of innovation and reform.
“Volunteerism is an important and increasingly popular mechanism for young people to bring positive change in society, and it is becoming more and more relevant as a mechanism to engage young people in global peace and sustainable human development,” it said.
The world has witnessed increasing atrocities in recent times and in their bid to overcome extremist activities among the youth, the Government has taken various initiatives. One of them is MyCorps.
Inspiredp byy the US Peace Corps,p, MyCorpsyp wasw established in 2011 by the Youth and SportsS Ministry to create a viable volunteer forcef among Malaysian youths aged 18 to 30.
The venture acts as a platform for them to serves and create a positive impact, and allows participantsp to discover a renewed sense of purpose.p
“MyCorps was established as a platform for youngy Malaysians to volunteer globally.
“There are many volunteerism programmes (in place) within the country, but there was a vacuumv for young Malaysians to go abroad anda volunteer, so MyCorps allows them to spends a meaningful amount of time overseas,” saids Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.J
Khairy told StarEducate that one of thet objectives of the programme is for iti to become a channel for young peoplep to change the world in a positive way.w
“We discovered that while some aspire to change the world, they want to do it in negative ways.
“So, we want to give a them a positive platform to change the world and change lives,” he added.
Choong Merril, 23, who was sent to Lebanon, said volunteering in the Middle Eastern country opened her eyes to the importance of education.
“I saw its value among children, especially to those who lost their opportunity to study since the war began.
“My team and I provided English classes for the kids everyday and published a colouring book.
“I could see their eagerness to learn, but due to various barriers, they are denied the opportunity,” she said.
Human Rightsg Watch states that more than 250, 000 children have been out of school for five years since the conflict began.
The figure is at least half of the nearly 500,000 school-aged Syrian children that registered in Lebanon.
The situation is so bad in the country that the human rights organisation further states that some have never set foot inside a classroom.
One of the 45 volunteers who was selected to serve in the Middle East, Choong said many children had no legal identification documents and passports, thus, were left with no choice but to stop their formal education.
“I was glad to see the enrolment for the English classes we conducted increase by the day.
“Parents were excited to receive their children once they returned to their tents, to know how their lessons went.
“They would read and show their parents what they learned from us,” she added.
For over two months, the diploma in accountancy graduate stayed in refugee camps, helping victims of the Syrian war.
Thanks to the generous donations she and her team garnered from fellow Malaysians, they carried out several projects during their time in Lebanon.
“There were 11 of us.
“Some of the projects we carried out were the production and distribution of bread,” she said.
Not too far from their camp, was an abandoned bread factory.
Due to financial constraints, the factory’s licence was revoked and terminated from production but after collecting approximately USS1,000 (RM4,340), Choong and her team successfully got the factory up and running.
“We produced almost 1,000 loaves of bread for the families in Beqaa Valley, Lebanon.
“We also built a futsal court on a piece of land that was originally filled with mud and potholes.
“I am glad we brought happiness to their lives — seeing the smiles on their faces was certainly invaluable,” she said.
Urging youngsters to actively participate in social work, Choong believes it can even be turned into a full time profession if one has the passion for it.
“Being a volunteer for humanitarian causes has been a humbling experience as it has allowed me to see things differently,” she added.
Dubbed the “field of freedom” by the refugees - the futsal court - Choong’s team-mate Shameen Rihana Rosmatali, 22, said the refugees thanked the volunteers for providing them with the opportunity to play and fill their pastp time.
“Many expressed their gratitude, saying they are aware they have the world’s support in these trying times,” said Shameen Rihana.
Being a part of MyCorps’ volunteer mission was a
dream for the physiotherapy graduate whose lifelong ambition is to serve victims of war in the Middle East.
“This was an opportunity for me. “Carrying out charity work has become an addiction, it gives me a sense of fulfilment. “MyCorps has changed my life and I hope it will continue changing more lives,” she added. For Abdul Rahim Abdul Aziz, interacting and living with the Syrian refugees has left a lasting impact on him.
“A mother of three shared that when she fled the war, she had nothing with her, not even milk to feed her extremely malnourished infant.
“Another man was a Syrian millionaire, but due to the war, he lost everything. “Conditions were so deplorable. It taught me to be more gratefulg that I at least have a place to live in,” said Abdul Rahim, 23, who spent two months in Jordann under the MyCorps programme.
During his time there,t Abdul Rahim carried out several prrojects with his teammates.
He workked with a Malaysian non-goovernmental organisation (NNGO) in a school called “Sekolah Kita”.
“It can fill up to 120 pupils, aged between five and 12.
“We taught English, Science and Arts. Despite the communication barrier, we found interesting ways to educate the children,” he shared. Abdul Rahim and his friends used interactive methods such as games and songs to help the children understand their subjects.
A mini library was also built in the school to encourage the pupils to read, alongside an IT centre for the Syrian and Jordanian youths, benefiting both locals and refugees.
He said many Syrian youths dropped out of school to work in order to support their families.
“We opened an IT centre to equip them with basic computing skills, which would be useful in the future.
“We collaborated with an NGO in Jordan to build the centre.
“They recently updated their Facebook page, showing the growth in the number of people joining lessons in the centre,” he said.
The first year Bachelor in Administrative Science student and his team-mates built the centre in just two days.
They also built a sheep barn for the Syrian refugees as a source of income.
“Although many of them are professionals with Master’s degrees, there are restrictions to working due to the lack of documentation.
“Many are jobless, so this is one way for them to earn an income,” he said, adding that baking classes were also conducted for the women.
Like Shameen Rihana and Choong, Abdul Rahim brought back the refugees’ lost childhood by building a playground.
“To me, these children deserve to be like any other child in the world. After we built the playground, there was hardly anyone in the camps. Everyone was out there playing,” he said.
Unlike the other three, Abdul Zahin Abdul Rahman was placed in the heart of Jordan and stayed in an apartment instead of camps.
“But the one night I spent in a tent changed my life.
“It rained heavily for at least five hours and the tents in these camps have roofs made of fabric and plastic.
“They were flooded with rainwater and people were rushing out with their children, finding refuge elsewhere in the camp.
“How does one live in conditions like these? These refugees have been living this way for at least four years,” he said emphatically.
Abdul Zahin, 23, and his team-mates, carried out eight projects in two months, one of which is called trauma healing.
The electrical and electronics engineering student said he wanted to do something significant to help the refugees.
“We wanted to do something that would bring back joy to the children and this is what the project focused on.
“We organised various outdoor activities such as painting and pop quizzes,” he added.
In a separate project known as grooming day, Abdul Zahin’s team provided school children with free haircuts and hairstyles.
“I got the idea after going online and seeing several NGOs here doing the same.
“It was impactful on the children, you see a change in them.
They began feeling confident and this indirectly saw the increase in attendance in schools,” he added.
Furthermore, looking at the condition of a library in a school, Abdul Zahin and his team mates embarked on a project to refurbish it.
“There were less than 15 books in there! Most of them were donated by Unicef.
“Besides shelves, the library had no facilities, so we rebuilt it from scratch.
“We received a lot of donations from various NGOs and we even put up a television in the library so students can watch educational programmes,” he said, adding that it took them more than a week to complete the refurbishment of the library.
Abdul Zahin believes in order to help a refugee, one first has to experience what they endure. For Khairy, changing the world is about helping people through various means of empowerment.
“It is not only about different platforms but also about leadership development for the volunteers. MyCorps is not just about volunteering and changing people’s lives but it is also about changing the volunteers’ lives,” he added.