Izam's Story
Izam's Story
“Hi, my name is Izam. I am the eldest out of four siblings. Since young, I love making new friends and getting involved in the activities carried out in the Kampung Sungai Bil community school. My brother, Speranza Atalia is also attending the village pre-school. He is only four years old this year but has learned to write the alphabets and numbers well. The best thing about attending this school is that everyone helps each other out. We also help our weaker friends who need the extra guidance. I will continue to study hard so that I am able to do well in my studies. I want to carve a pathway leading the way for the younger Orang Asli generation by being a successful example in the future.”
Illustration by Fany Erwin
Fany is from Indonesia and she is a design student who specializes on children book illustrations. She is currently in the midst of improving her style so that she can produce better quality children books.
Instagram : fanyerwn
“Hi, my name is Izam. I am the eldest out of four siblings. Since young, I love making new friends and getting involved in the activities carried out in the Kampung Sungai Bil community school. My brother, Speranza Atalia is also attending the village pre-school. He is only four years old this year but has learned to write the alphabets and numbers well. The best thing about attending this school is that everyone helps each other out. We also help our weaker friends who need the extra guidance. I will continue to study hard so that I am able to do well in my studies. I want to carve a pathway leading the way for the younger Orang Asli generation by being a successful example in the future.”
Illustration by Fany Erwin
Fany is from Indonesia and she is a design student who specializes on children book illustrations. She is currently in the midst of improving her style so that she can produce better quality children books.
Instagram : fanyerwn
How do we start and operate preschool education projects within Orang Asli villages that are located in deep interior parts of our country? Even with the best of intentions to help, the reality is that most of us urban folks can’t. Many among us do not have the resilience to live and teach in these isolated villages, “deprived” of the modern comforts such as internet connection, easy road access, electricity and in some places – running tap water.
As such when we developed our Empowered2teach Project, we recognised the need to use an empowerment model in order for us to achieve the goals of the project. The empowerment model looks at tapping into the strengths of the community we are working with and to empower individuals within the community with the capacity or potential to achieve the goals or needs of the project.
For example, our Empowered2Teach Project trains and equips Orang Asli young people with tonnes of potential to start and run preschool classes within their own village. The preschools we help start and sustain belongs to the community and we serve as their biggest supporters. The OA teachers, the parents and leaders in the community play a crucial role in ensuring that their children receive quality education and attain good results.
Over the years, through our preschool education initiatives, we have had numerous examples of how empowering people has brought communities together in solving various challenges. A highlight we often talk about occurred in Kampung Tapai, Gua Musang. The community needed a new school building to run their preschool class. Led by the husband of our OA teacher; the community got together and cleared the land for the preschool. They then harvested building materials from the jungle and with their bikes, transported zinc sheets over really rough terrain into the village. Within two weeks they got the building up and ready for the young children in their community to use as their preschool class.
We also remember how the community in Kampung Pos, Gerik kick started their own fundraising project to collect funds from each household in the village so that they are able to pool together resources to build a water collection system so that they can channel clean water into their village. We assisted by chipping in the needed resources for them to complete the project. For a community that struggled to get clean water, it is now a joy to see the community having running water flowing from their taps in their own kitchen and bathrooms.
By empowering communities, we have seen ordinary heroes who are motivated to overcome their daily struggles in securing basic necessities that we urban folks often take for granted. We have also seen communities pushing hard to ensure that their children receive education even though their own resources are very limited. Today, we have the privileged of partnering nine different Orang Asli communities in pushing for education. But we truly believe that together, we can do a lot more in paving a brighter future for all children in our country.
How do we start and operate preschool education projects within Orang Asli villages that are located in deep interior parts of our country? Even with the best of intentions to help, the reality is that most of us urban folks can’t. Many among us do not have the resilience to live and teach in these isolated villages, “deprived” of the modern comforts such as internet connection, easy road access, electricity and in some places – running tap water.
As such when we developed our Empowered2teach Project, we recognised the need to use an empowerment model in order for us to achieve the goals of the project. The empowerment model looks at tapping into the strengths of the community we are working with and to empower individuals within the community with the capacity or potential to achieve the goals or needs of the project.
For example, our Empowered2Teach Project trains and equips Orang Asli young people with tonnes of potential to start and run preschool classes within their own village. The preschools we help start and sustain belongs to the community and we serve as their biggest supporters. The OA teachers, the parents and leaders in the community play a crucial role in ensuring that their children receive quality education and attain good results.
Over the years, through our preschool education initiatives, we have had numerous examples of how empowering people has brought communities together in solving various challenges. A highlight we often talk about occurred in Kampung Tapai, Gua Musang. The community needed a new school building to run their preschool class. Led by the husband of our OA teacher; the community got together and cleared the land for the preschool. They then harvested building materials from the jungle and with their bikes, transported zinc sheets over really rough terrain into the village. Within two weeks they got the building up and ready for the young children in their community to use as their preschool class.
We also remember how the community in Kampung Pos, Gerik kick started their own fundraising project to collect funds from each household in the village so that they are able to pool together resources to build a water collection system so that they can channel clean water into their village. We assisted by chipping in the needed resources for them to complete the project. For a community that struggled to get clean water, it is now a joy to see the community having running water flowing from their taps in their own kitchen and bathrooms.
By empowering communities, we have seen ordinary heroes who are motivated to overcome their daily struggles in securing basic necessities that we urban folks often take for granted. We have also seen communities pushing hard to ensure that their children receive education even though their own resources are very limited. Today, we have the privileged of partnering nine different Orang Asli communities in pushing for education. But we truly believe that together, we can do a lot more in paving a brighter future for all children in our country.
Hi! My name is Izam and I am thirteen years old. I am the eldest out of four siblings. Since young, I love making new friends and getting involved in the activities carried out in the Kampung Sungai Bil community school. The extra classes have helped me with the opportunity to learn and mingle with the other children in the village. My teachers are always there to help me with my homework and school lessons whenever I need the extra guidance.
My brother, Speranza Atalia is also attending the village pre-school. He is only four years old this year but has learned to write the alphabets and numbers well. The best thing about attending this school is that everyone helps each other out. We also help our weaker friends who need the extra guidance. My favourite activity in the community school is learning about the Orang Asli traditions, the Semai language and traditional games.
The highlight of my life last year was when I collected my UPSR examinations results. My family, teachers and friends were so proud of me when I achieved 2A’s, 2B’s and 1C. I really want to thank my teachers and friends for their guidance. I will continue to study hard so that I am able to do well in my studies. I want to carve a pathway leading the way for the younger Orang Asli generation by being a successful example in the future.
Music Credit: Inner Light by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.
Hi! My name is Izam and I am thirteen years old. I am the eldest out of four siblings. Since young, I love making new friends and getting involved in the activities carried out in the Kampung Sungai Bil community school. The extra classes have helped me with the opportunity to learn and mingle with the other children in the village. My teachers are always there to help me with my homework and school lessons whenever I need the extra guidance.
My brother, Speranza Atalia is also attending the village pre-school. He is only four years old this year but has learned to write the alphabets and numbers well. The best thing about attending this school is that everyone helps each other out. We also help our weaker friends who need the extra guidance. My favourite activity in the community school is learning about the Orang Asli traditions, the Semai language and traditional games.
The highlight of my life last year was when I collected my UPSR examinations results. My family, teachers and friends were so proud of me when I achieved 2A’s, 2B’s and 1C. I really want to thank my teachers and friends for their guidance. I will continue to study hard so that I am able to do well in my studies. I want to carve a pathway leading the way for the younger Orang Asli generation by being a successful example in the future.
Music Credit: Inner Light by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.