Reflective Writing by LIM JA SON S2017416/1

Bonjour à tous (‘Hi there’ from French), my name is Lim Ja Son who is currently taking a social engagement project to help someone who is in need and worthwhile causes, and the community. I am also one of the group members in Nos Amis. After intense brainstorming and discussion with my team members, we decided to volunteer ourselves in a place called Persatuan Kebajikan Kakak-Kanak Istimewa Insan (PKKII). Persatuan Kebajikan Kanak- Kanak Istimewa Insan (PKKII) is an organization that adopts at least 65 brain-injured children that always need care from everyone. They are taken care of by the full-time staff 24 hours daily without taking any money.These brain- injured children suffer from autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), developmental delay, cerebral palsy.

Planning Stage

Despite having busy lives and endless assignments this semester, I am super excited about my involvement in volunteering myself to PKKII. Helping someone selflessly and seeing that you can be valued to someone is truly satisfying. In our first meeting among group members, a short self introduction was done by us and a leader was chosen (Song Lam) to guide us throughout this semester. He showed his professionalism by guiding and distributing tasks for us evenly without any bias. At first, group members were assigned to find the nearby orphanage or special children centre to be volunteered. However, it would be extremely difficult to pick the best place even though there were so many choices recommended on the Internet and they all looked organised and legitimate since the pandemic is still far from over. We were rejected by a few orphanages due to safety reasons but fortunately we got an acceptance by PKKII. 

In my team, I’m taking a role as public relation supervisor so I need to deal and keep updating with the person in charge to know more about their daily routine and needs. In several weeks of discussion, we came out with our proposal which includes the activities to be conducted, tentative date, estimated budget and funding plan. All group members are responsible for their respective tasks and fully commit in this course. I’m glad to see that our bonds between group members are strong and always help each other when any members face difficulties. Before going to PKKII, we bought and received a lot of necessities such as hand sanitizer, face masks and snacks for special children. One day before going to PKKII, we prepared ingredients for the egg sandwich and ‘tang yuan’ as well as making sure we were well prepared for the sharing and dancing session. For transportation, I’m truly grateful that our group leader is willing to fetch us so that we do not need to take public transport and carry all items there with hands at the same time.  

Weekly Meeting 

Daily necessaries provided by us 

Ongoing stage

We reached PKKII at 9.30 a.m. sharp. After we passed all necessities to the person in charge, Pn Zaitun, we kickstarted our activities with ice breaking session to hype the atmosphere and let us get to know each other. We conducted interactive small activities such as musical chairs and passing the ball in this session. Next, we start distributing cartoon coloring paper for them to let them do coloring. During the process, I remembered that there was a special child who shouted loudly for no reason and was forced to lock in the room. Everyone was shocked and confused because of her behavior. In fact, this was my first time volunteering myself in the brain-injured children centre. To my deepest heart, I feel admirable to the full time staff because it is definitely not an easy task to handle them. They are children with disabilities and all carry emotional baggage which may be because of their past memories or the things which have happened in their lives before. On that day, I was assigned to give a small talk with the topic of ways to have good hygiene during the pandemic and prepared the egg sandwiches as well as boiled tangyuan. During their tea break, we noticed that they were very enjoying the sandwich and tangyuan prepared by us. It was very satisfying and cheerful to see their smile on their faces. At the end of our activities, we sang songs and danced with them to wrap up our day. On this day, all of them warmly welcomed us, especially the two girls who kept clinging to me and I will never forget them. 🤣. 

Sandwiches prepared by me 

Tang yuan prepared by me 

Group Photo

Post Project Stage:

Few things I have learnt throughout this process is that I discover myself so much to be grateful for. My deep sense of gratitude is partly because we will never know how many people out there who are suffering more than us. Our standards of living are much higher than most of them and this has given me a different sense of appreciation for everything that I used to take for granted. 

Besides, I learnt to keep my heart open. During our volunteering, they were very friendly and energetic to welcome us. It’s very amazing to see how quickly they bond with you, play with you and share a part of their lives without suppressing their feelings. Even though they do not get much love and attention from the community, they are still willing to open up their hearts to us who show them just a little bit of affection. It taught me how to keep our heart open so that I can choose to live in the same way. 

Thirdly, I have learnt how important teamwork can lead to a great success in our project. Without my group members, I can’t even do it by myself in a short period of time and the project cannot go smoothly. Handling a group of special children is definitely tough for one single person so it is important to cooperate with others. To put it short, caring for orphans takes teamwork and I truly appreciate their full commitment in this project. 

After meeting them in this place, I really felt happy that because of volunteering and the thoughts of helping the society, I have seen different aspects of life and realised how blessed I am. I would like to volunteer again and in a better way possible. I do not want to limit myself to only education, I want to expand my horizons and help society in as many ways as possible. Once again, thank you for giving me this opportunity to be involved in such meaningful activities and undoubtedly one of the best memories in my life. Peace :)