JUST Children update

Our apologies for the lack of updates this past year. This entry will have to suffice as a summary of the Mentari Voluntary Tution Project this past 11 months.

2009 has been a challenging year for JUST Children, the new entity for the Mentari Voluntary Tuition Project. JUST stands for Join Us to Serve and Teach Children, a non-profit organisation that is bound by the Company Act. However the kids of Mentari have chosen to retain the original name of the project. As the main aim behind the Mentari Voluntary Tuition Project was to provide learning opportunities for under-privileged kids so that they develop self-confidence and self-esteem, keeping the original name seemed only fitting.

Our aim is to generate enough funds from regular donations to rent a flat or a shop lot as permanent premises for an after-school self-access learning centre with books, educational materials , games and laptops and pay a teacher aide or tutor to attend to the students. We are still sharing facilities with a kindergarten as the owner of a shoplot we were eyeing backed out. We are currently looking for a flat in Block 8 that we can rent.

In the beginning of this year, we had an influx of students that exceeded our capacity to handle. We had a small number of loyal facilitators (esp Yasir, Afif, Zahidi, Imran, Yasmin, Aedi, Fadhia, Murni and friends) and opened two classes that ran simultaneously every Saturday to cope with the increased number of students. In June, the kids participated in Fiesta Femina by presenting a recital cum sketch of a poem by Usman Awang on unity from a child's point of view. We also had visitors from Turkey and USA who chatted with the children. Hopefully these visitors and sharing of experiences with Dr Iman who studied in UK and worked with children in Africa and Afif who travelled to Spain helped to open windows to the world for the children and inspire them to work hard at their studies.

Due to extra classes on Saturdays at their schools , exams and the festive break, the number of students eventually dwindled. We now have about 20 students coming on Saturdays with classes for a small group of Form 1 students starting at 12.30pm - 2pm and classes for Yr 4,5 and 6 starting from 2.30pm to 4.30pm. We are currently tutoring the Form 1 kids in specific weak spots as their final exams are still on. The Mentari class is the only tuition class they can afford to go to.

On the evening of 22 Oct, we talked to a group of bright young people from CIMB about the Mentari Project. We would like to thank Tarmimi for organising the talk and and TCBs who came and those who spread the word about the kids of Mentari. Since then, the past two Saturday classes have been stimulating ones for the kids with new facilitators (Erlina, Safwan, Kam Loong, Kuo Wei, Ah Seng, Nicholas , sorry if I've missed some names!)) coming in to spend time with them. It's great to see new faces and the energy and enthusiasm they brought with them and a relief for the kids as well. I'm sure they were getting tired of us! We hope to upload the pix onto our Facebook before the end of the week.

Thanks to the generosity of our donor, we used the funds to buy educational games and books for the kids and had them work in small groups with the facilitators. By rotating the different games/ cards, the kids were able to provide a variety of learning experiences. Without enough facilitators, we have to resort to 'chalk and talk' or classroom style teaching. At the same time. we've had to attract kids back to the Mentari Project especially as holidays are around the corner. The carrot we're using is a trip to Aquaria on the 15 or 22 Nov. Kids have to attend classes and qualify for the trip by completing a project or participating in a group activity like a 'Spelling Bee' or tell a story. We hope to have a 5 kids to 1 Faci ratio for the trip so if any one would like to volunteer, please register on Mentari Project's Facebook Group or email us.

The other activities we are planning before the end of the year are:
1. A Language Camp ( in collaboration with the Atmah Group)
2. An Appreciation Day ( our 'Speech Day')
3. A Leadership Camp
4. 'Donate Old Laptops' Campaign
5. A new website with time tabling features for our facis to register and book their slots

We ask for a basic fee of RM10 per child with a cap of RM 20 per family with more than two kids in our classes. In this way, it's not charity, more of a commitment fee for both sides. It keeps us honest - this small fee that represents a bond of trust between us, the volunteers and the children we hope we have inspired in some small way to work hard towards a better and brighter future.

Thanks to all our facis who have kept the light burning even though at times it felt like the wind was going to blow it out amid their hectic schedules, unexpected challenges , exams, assignments and travels. Thanks to our patron YB Nik Nazmi for his ideas, networking and writings. Thanks to our generous donor who have given us the opportunity to provide stimulating learning materials and experiences for our kids. May Allah swt Bless our efforts and all those who have helped to sustain this project.

mawarni
2 November 2009