At first, we had our first briefing regarding our Social Engagement course few months ago and during time, we were clueless
about what we are about to experience. Everything was blurry and we were not close enough to each other although we are from the same faculty. Through
many discussions among members and under Dr. Zalfa’s supervision, we decided to
go to two places to complete our course; Zoo Negara and Tadika UM. We allocated
3 days for our trip, 2 days at Zoo Negara and 1 day at Tadika UM.
We reached the zoo early in the morning as we were told. Both of the days, we had to gather with other
groups who were doing volunteer jobs there too. We were divided to group of 5
members for a specified task. We experienced cleaning animals’ shelters,
feeding and also customer service. Besides getting close to the animals, we
also get to interact with the zoo visitors and assisted them when they needed
any help.
Our visit
to the Zoo Negara actually raised the awareness regarding animals and how they
are important to the society. The endangered species need to be protected for
the sake of our future generations. This activity also taught us how cleanliness of our surroundings affect the health of the community. Zoo Negara is located in the middle of the city. Without proper cleaning routines, the zoo could cause harm to the visitors and the neighbourhood nearby.
Besides that, even though we didn't get enough interactions with the community, the time we spent with the group members actually make us closer. We came across many obstacles to plan for the activities and struggled to make it happen. As full time students, we could hardly find free time without a good time management. Nevertheless, everyone learnt about importance of teamwork and a task won't be fulfilled by one person's commitment.
Our final
destination for the course is Tadika UM.
Our visit to Tadika UM was the highlight of our social engagement. It
was such an interesting experience for us. As we grow up, we always busy with our
studies and endless assignments. We rarely had the chance to meet big groups of
toddlers every day. We were assigned group of 4,5,6 years old and became their
teachers on that day. We did coloring competition, storytelling, and singing
sessions with the children. We had prepared some gifts and food to enlighten
them. Other than that, we assisted the teachers such as organizing and
supervise the children during their meal time.
Even though our
day felt really long, we learnt so much from these children. Most of them were
very friendly although some of them was quite mischievous and difficult to
handle. They are so pure and they actually heavily influenced by adults. On thay day, one of the children came to me and said she wants to be a teacher
when she grows up because she likes us. These children also were taught not to
say bad words, recite prayers before and after their meals, and how to greet
adults properly. I realized that as an adult, we really need to show them good
examples. We were so busy growing up until we forgot basic values in life that
were taught by our teachers and parents when we were young too.
Meeting
these children made us go back to our childhood time. Made us remember how our
teachers used to sacrifice to put up with us as a child. They were also delighted
by small things in life and very cheerful
every day. At some point, I felt like going back to those times because
life was so simple and carefree.
As conclusion, we would like to thank the university for giving us the chance to
such a memorable moments in our lives together with the communities. We also
would like to thank Dr. Zalfa for guiding us throughout this course. Thank you
for all your consent and time for us and not to forget the communities who
gave us cooperation to fulfill our tasks.
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