The basis of volunteering is to give back sincerely without wanting anything in return and this is exactly what needs to be instilled within the hearts of many youths.
Initially the idea of wanting to participate in volunteer work started from last year when my batchmates and I did not get the chance to participate in any community service program during school. One thing about the nature of volunteer work here is that, it is not a common practice. We need teachers to tell us to do it without wanting to try to try it by ourselves. More often than not, most of us would never even think of volunteering. We live in a society where when one does it, the others follow. This is principally why we need pioneers to actively start whatever that is needed.
During Labour Day last Monday, I brought a few friends of mine to a local park here in Kuching. It was nothing extravagant for a starting project. PMX had this activity done ages ago, but then again there's nothing too big or too small of a project, especially when it comes to volunteering. A few weeks ago, when i went to this very exact park, it was filled with rubbish. Unfortunately for last Monday, the park was almost very clean. Still, we carried on to clean whatever was needed.
You would not find extremely visible rubbish other than plastic bottles, drinking cans or even used tissues. Otherwise you will be greeted with finer ones such as cigarette butts and candy wrappers. Even if it is small and almost invisible, it is still an eye sore. As PMX's main objective is to keep it going in the long-term, i figured that what we did opened the eyes of the citizens who were around exercising on that fine day. The different age group of people, including youths, adults and mostly the elderly took a bit of their time to stare at us while we were picking up trash. Even if it is rather rash to simply conclude what we did was big enough to instill awareness about the importance of cleanliness especially in a public place often used by the community, we figured that slowly, they will pick up the habit of not littering. If banners or fliers were given out, it still could not be enough for people to dispose their trash properly. Kuching's Reservoir Park was already almost clean to begin with, and i hope it stays like that for many more years to come.
by Amirah Farwizah Ahmad Pahmi
Volunteer, Kuching
Initially the idea of wanting to participate in volunteer work started from last year when my batchmates and I did not get the chance to participate in any community service program during school. One thing about the nature of volunteer work here is that, it is not a common practice. We need teachers to tell us to do it without wanting to try to try it by ourselves. More often than not, most of us would never even think of volunteering. We live in a society where when one does it, the others follow. This is principally why we need pioneers to actively start whatever that is needed.
During Labour Day last Monday, I brought a few friends of mine to a local park here in Kuching. It was nothing extravagant for a starting project. PMX had this activity done ages ago, but then again there's nothing too big or too small of a project, especially when it comes to volunteering. A few weeks ago, when i went to this very exact park, it was filled with rubbish. Unfortunately for last Monday, the park was almost very clean. Still, we carried on to clean whatever was needed.
You would not find extremely visible rubbish other than plastic bottles, drinking cans or even used tissues. Otherwise you will be greeted with finer ones such as cigarette butts and candy wrappers. Even if it is small and almost invisible, it is still an eye sore. As PMX's main objective is to keep it going in the long-term, i figured that what we did opened the eyes of the citizens who were around exercising on that fine day. The different age group of people, including youths, adults and mostly the elderly took a bit of their time to stare at us while we were picking up trash. Even if it is rather rash to simply conclude what we did was big enough to instill awareness about the importance of cleanliness especially in a public place often used by the community, we figured that slowly, they will pick up the habit of not littering. If banners or fliers were given out, it still could not be enough for people to dispose their trash properly. Kuching's Reservoir Park was already almost clean to begin with, and i hope it stays like that for many more years to come.
by Amirah Farwizah Ahmad Pahmi
Volunteer, Kuching