Eric's Journals

Name: ERIC GOH JIAN JUI

Matric Number: CIC 150010

 

Social engagement (26/2/2016)

The first day for my social engagement programme . The school that we visited is SK Sri Kelana. We were doing fitness assessment with the special children in that school. These children are in under the PPKI(Program Pendidikan Khas Integrasi).

Before this, I never interact with special children. I worry about how to communicate with them, I don’t how what they are thinking because I thought their thinking is different from the normal people. During the activity, as the leader of my social engagement group 1, I arrange all the job to my members and try to assist them. I found that some of the children can communicate with me normally. But some of them didn’t talk so much and also didn’t give us respond hence my members and I met some trouble in giving them instruction.

After the recess time, I try another way to communicate with those children, and I found that we need to use different ways when communicate with them, but the most important thing is you must let them trust in you. After this activity, what I learnt is to be patient. Try to observe their action and character patiently. Sometimes, they don’t know what are we try to say. However, I still scare to interact with them, because when they are not talking, they will show impatient and irritable. But one of the teacher who having her internship in the school said that the children in this school were high qualities as compared to others special children.

Social engagement (4/3/2016)

After the first social engagement in SK Sri Kelana, we moving to SMK Kelana Jaya to continue the fitness assessment. Although we had the experience interact with the special children, but this time we were facing secondary school students.

The most memorable thing must be the boy that always hug us. He always giving us a hug. At the very first time I am very much against this action with him. But he still giving me hug for so many times. Then I suddenly think of an article that I read before. When the special children doing this action its show that he or she feeling lack of the sense of security, they need more love and care.

 During this activity, they divided into 3 groups to carry out the fitness assessment. I found that they are also having a friendship relationship among them. Before this I never thought that they realise the relationship for the friendship. And I was surprised that most of them can making friend with different races and not facing any trouble in communication. Sometimes we must pay more attention about the issue of the disabled.

 

Social engagement (27/3/2016)

The third social engagement activity is totally different with the previous activity. The event we are going to is Petaling Jaya Car Free Day which organized by Petaling Jaya City Council (Majlis Bandaraya Petaling Jaya) and our NGO partner(Challenges Media) was setting up a booth there. Start from 7am the road around Menara MBPJ was closed for the car free day.

The main purpose for this event is to create awareness of environment problems especially negative effect to the public by using car. We conduct many activities such as painting, bicycle cycling and playing traditional games. By the way, beside spreading the awareness of environmental friendly, I found that the other meaning of this activity. The society is lack of the community activities like this, to promote the community harmony . 

Social engagement (8/4/2016)

The third fitness assessment was held at SJKC Sam Yoke. This time we are visiting a chinese primary school but when I asked the teacher there they said that we can communicate with them by using English or Malay. I no longer worry how my members who never learn chinese language before  in communicate with the students.

This time I became the photographer to take the photo of the activities. But during this time we faced a very big problem because many of the children cant follow instruction and some of them been crying for missing home. Luckily the teachers there are willing to help us take care of them. May be they feel very strange when interact with us.

Conclusion

After joining these buddy club programme which conduct by Challenges Media, I had the chances to interact with those special children and try to understand their thinking. They need more caring from the society and actually we can do something in educate them but not like waiting government to do all these things. We can join the NGO which take care a lot of these issue and if I have the chances, I will try my best to contribute to them, not only in the financing way but also involve in educating them.

Unfortunately I cant join the last social engagement activities which visited SK Sri Kelana again to having interact time with them . But I tried my best to help my members and other groups to plan the activities that we could carry out games and activities with the children.