Transformative journal of SITI HAWA BINTI JOHAR

Reflective Journal

Siti Hawa Binti Johar (CIA 160163)

                University of Malaya requires all students to take course GLT 1005, Social Engagement. I am a accounting student had been divided into groups with 10 members each, and my group was supervising by Dr Yazkhiruni. As a co-director to this project, I felt responsible to make this project meaningful and interesting to our members because most of them were the first time joined the social work. We faced the difficulty in choosing the placed. Most of the place needs huge budgets. We are students, we do not have enough money. So, we decided to find a place that needs our energy contribution. Ashraf, a director of this project was finalized a few places towards this project. After Ashraf and I met with all the organizers, we decided to choose Sekolah Kebangsaan Pendidikan Khas Selangor. I recommended this school because not many university students want to approach the disabilities kids. We managed to finish our social engagement project at Sekolah Kebangsaan Pendidikan Khas Selangor. This project held on March 24^th and 25^th in year 2017.

A day before the event’s day, I felt excited and nervous at the same time because I did not know how to approach the students. As we knew that the students in this school have disabilities in hearing and speaking. The student’s age range is between 7 to 13 years old. On March 24^th, we gathered at Dataran Zaaba to check all the things and presents. We went to the school by cars. When arrived, we rushed to the school’s hall because the students already wait for us. They are very cute. At the first session, we needed to introduce ourselves and the activities to be carried out during the program. At first, I thought that I will face a difficulty in communicate with the students since I know nothing about sign language. Luckily, there was a kind teacher who volunteered to be our translator, so that we were able to communicate and deliver the instructions to the students.

Before the activities began, we divided the students into four groups with two facilitators per group. I thought that we will face the difficulties in handle the students since they are still kids. But my thought went wrong because they are kind and smart. They followed all our instructions throughout this program. Not all of them have disabilities in hearing and speaking. Some of them can hear but cannot speak, and some of them can talk but they have hearing problems. The school’s senior assistant, Mr Mohd Khairi bin Abdul Rahman, asked us to do the activities that helps students in their studies. During this program, we provided the activities that improved their creativity and thinking skills such as Colouring Session, Crossword Puzzle Challenged, ‘Bangunan Idamanku’ and Supermodel. The results were unexpected. At colouring session, the students knew how to blend the colours to make the colouring looked attractive. I am impressed with their creative buildings that they made during ‘Bangunan Idamanku’ session. In testing their IQ, we asked them to do the crossword puzzles. At first, the teachers told us that the challenged was difficult to the students, but they shocked with the students because they finished the challenged before the time limit end.

At evening, we planned to have a football match, but it cancelled due to the rainy day. Then, we deciced to play traditional game called ‘Galah Panjang’. Although the students live in modern life as we knew the kids nowadays like to play video games rather than traditional games, but they still know how to play ‘galah panjang’.  After having a dinner, we prayed together and watched a video that motivate all the students including us. I enjoyed when I saw they enjoyed the video. After that, we had teaching and learning session between UM students and the school’s students. The teacher also there to supervised the students because he said the students like to play a lot during learning time. Unfortunately, I did not believe what he said because the students were studying and they finished all their homework.

On the next day, we continue our program with aerobic exercise, explorace game, supermodel and egg parachute. All the games during the explorace were conducting by the facilitators and the games went well. Time flies so fast and the program came to the end. At 3pm, we started the preparation to closing ceremony. I was busy editing the video that contained the compilation of pictures during the program starts. The closing ceremony went well and it ended at 5pm. After that, we went to hostel to pack our things and go back to UM. We won’t forget to give sourvenirs to the schools as a sign of gratitude. They let us slept in the hostel and provided us foods throughout this program.

It was hard for me to say ‘good bye’ to the students. Even though the program held in two days and one night, I had a lot of memories and we shared the love with the students. Physically, we went there to teach them in study, but we also learned a lot from them. From this program, I learned how to introduce myself in sign language. Most of the students come from the poor family and some of them are abused by parents. With this social program, they can share their problems and we also can share our love to them. Besides, I felt grateful because the government provides this kind of institutions to the disabilities students because it can protects and give a lot of benefits to them.  The value I learned from this program is do not under estimate with disability people because every person has their own strongest and weaknesses. For me, they not disable, but they are ‘SPECIAL’.