Josephine Ho ’16 wrote in to tell us about her crowdfunding campaign. Read on for details, and please consider supporting Josephine’s project, which will connect Malaysian high school students with children in local orphanages for the benefit of both groups.
Project Malaysia 2014: Transcending Barriers
WHEN?
May 26, 2014 to June 8, 2014 (Malaysian mid-academic year break)
WHERE
Kuala Selangor, Malaysia
WHO?
A team of 15 college students recruited from around the world. Some native Malaysians are included to help bridge the cultural gap by allowing the foreign students to make local contacts.
Project Malaysia 2014 (PM ’14) is a Southeast Asian Service Leadership Network (SEALNet) project. SEALNet was founded at Stanford University in 2004. The organization envisions a Southeast Asia that is more regionally united and internationally integrated. To work towards that vision, SEALNet continually builds and nurtures communities of service leaders who are passionate about social development in Southeast Asia.
WHY?
Many high school students in Malaysia face intense pressure to do well in a highly exam-oriented academic system, which leaves them few opportunities for personal development. In contrast, many children in local orphanages suffer the lack of formal instruction and incentives to excel, which produces low self-esteem and a sense of alienation from the community. The project aims to connect these two groups and enhance their mutual understanding through hands-on service learning activities.
We hope that the children will leave the project with a greater sense of self-esteem and community connectedness. We hope that the high school students will develop soft skills not taught in traditional academic settings, and will be inspired to become agents of change in their own communities. Lastly, we hope to further facilitate collaboration among schools, parents, and local partners in order to provide a supportive environment for a more holistic development of the students.
WHAT DO WE DO?
- Foster friendship among high school students and children from local orphanages to help them develop greater appreciation for and sensitivity towards people from different backgrounds.
- Enhance the children’s self-esteem through positive peer interactions and involvement in community service activities.
- Create an environment for the students to develop and practice planning skills, critical thinking, and personal reflection.
- Strengthen collaboration from the schools, parents, and local partners to ensure the continuation of the service initiatives.
HOW CAN YOU BE PART OF THE PROJECT?
Josephine Ho ’16 is currently a member of the project. She has spent most of her personal savings on flight tickets to the site of the service project and is hoping to raise $500 for the project. The money will go to transportation, lodging and food for participants of the project.
In addition to promoting social change in the local community, this project is a valuable opportunity for her leadership development. She will meet like-minded people with whom she can collaborate to create future social movements in other places in the world.
Josephine’s Wesleyan education has helped her to view the world in many different perspectives. She learned to appreciate cultural diversity and to seek to change the status quo for the better. She hopes to instill a yearning for novelty and progress in the community that she will be working with.
Show your passion for social development by donating to Josephine’s Crowdrise fund!
https://www.crowdrise.com/projectmalaysia2014/fundraiser/khuyenbui
SEALNet is a 501(c)(3) organization. Donations will be tax deductible.
Please send any suggestions or questions to jholokar@wesleyan.edu.
LEARN MORE:
http://www.sealnetonline.org/current-projects/project-malaysia-kuala-selangor-2014/