UPM Students Organise ‘Helping Hand 2.0’ Programme To Help The Homeless | SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES
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UPM students organise ‘Helping Hand 2.0’ programme to help the homeless


By : Nurfarhana Mohd Azmi

KUALA LUMPUR – The Mathematics Club of the Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), with the cooperation of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) - PERTIWI Soup Kitchen and I.M.A.N - organised a ‘Helping Hand 2.0’ (H2O) programme to enable volunteers to be involved in distributing packed healthy food and drinks to the homeless in Kuala Lumpur recently.

The program’s director, Nur Syahirah Samsudin, 22,  said the objectives of the program were   to empower the undergraduates to reach out to the community and  develop their soft skills to fit into the employment sphere. 

“The perks of volunteering allow you to be connected with your community and to make it a better place. The volunteers went on four different sessions which took place between November 2015 and March 2016,” she said.

She added that  in each session, volunteers from UPM went to Medan Tuanku and Kota Raya to distribute food and drinks to the homeless. There, they were guided by PERTIWI Soup Kitchen crew to ensure the smoothness of the distribution process.

“While learning new skills can be beneficial to many, it’s not a requirement to fulfil a volunteer’s experience. Bear in mind that the most valuable skills you can inculcate in any volunteers are compassion, an open mind, willingness to do whatever that is needed and a positive attitude,” she said.



Head of PERTIWI Soup Kitchen, Munirah Hamid said volunteering was all about rotation and taking turns.

“The difference that you’ll make in someone else’s life will make an even bigger difference in your life. Thanks to that, the volunteers got to experience everything that the program got to offer without anyone slacking off,” she said.

A representative from I.M.A.N, Ahmed Adrees Meah Azlan Meah, 22, said the program helped the volunteers see the value of helping others.

 "I not only learned great organisational skills but I was also able to identify things that I need to be better at such as dealing with setbacks,” she said.

“In addition, volunteering not only provides us with the opportunity to get involved in a cause that we are passionate about but also provides us with the chance to look beyond our own circumstances and appreciate what others are experiencing.”

I.M.A.N is a non-governmental organization registered under the Registry of Societies (RoS) in 2015. This NGO which has been active for the past three years is founded by four medical graduates of Alexandria University, Egypt, in December 2013.

The four founders are Izzati Jamaluddin, Mardiah Ghazali, Alia Azlan and Nabila Yahya. The NGO is named after the initials of each founder. The aim of this organization is to give out equipment supplies to hospitals in Alexandria, Egypt. – UPM

 


Date of Input: | Updated: | amir_peli

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