Ada Apa Dengan Projek Kalsom? What Is With Projek Kalsom?

The Kalsom Movement is now recruiting our volunteers – Malaysian students studying at tertiary education globally, for the 21^st edition of our award-winning flagship event – Projek Kalsom 21 Motivational Camp

Projek Kalsom has been dear to me, I hope it will be for others as well. This year might be my final year with the movement, and I wish it will continue to touch the lives of others (I will write more on my personal reflection on it later)

The project is more than just a motivational camp – for most people it has been a life-changing experience. You can experience it on your own by applying to join it. The application is tough and strict, because we always want to pick the right people for this.

Apply here: www.projek-kalsom.org

My personal story on The Star:

Dated: 9 November 2014

Source: http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Education/2014/11/09/Making-adifference/

I HAVE always wanted to contribute to society.

Since many opportunities have been made possible to me, I feel it is my calling to give back in any way I can.

When I first joined Projek Kalsom in 2012, I thought it was going to be like any other volunteering programme. Little did I know that it was a turning point in my life.

I always tell people that they need to come and experience the project themselves; I can say that this is a motivational camp for the less fortunate students, but trust me, it’s more than that.

The objective of Projek Kalsom is a grand one, which is to eradicate education inequities in Malaysia.

Sometimes, it is easy to feel overwhelmed by the scale of the problem, that we often become paralysed by the uphill task that we face. But I have always believed that small changes lead to big differences.

It must not be forgotten that Projek Kalsom, in essence, was inspired by a single newspaper article back in the early 1990’s which highlighted the plight and struggles of Ummi Kelthom, a single mother of six.

That article drove a handful of students to initiate a community project which has become the mammoth project it is today.

The project has always been a student-based project – by students and for students.

The burning ideals of our youth are captured and translated into an empowering mechanism, as each facilitator acts as a role model for the participants. Whatever gaps of knowledge that would normally have been deprived to the participants are filled. Slowly but surely, the inequity gaps are narrowed.

Each year, the programme modules are tailor-made and designed by different people to cater to different environments and target groups. This is to maintain the dynamics of the programme.

During my first year with Projek Kalsom, I was a facilitator in Miri, Sarawak. It was challenging, as we had students from both extremes – those who had a string of As and could speak perfect English, to those who had a poor command of both English and Malay.

Some were from very wealthy families, while some were orphans, and others from problematic backgrounds.

The challenge was not just trying to communicate with them, but also making them feel that they were very much part of the project.

We also cannot be too hard on the children and make them feel intimidated.

This is why we emphasise the need for volunteers to listen to the students, and treat them as friends and not just participants.

The welfare of the students has always been our priority, and we want to make them feel as comfortable as possible.

I myself was initially intimidated by the volunteers, as many of them were high achievers in their own fields. However, I soon bonded with them as we had a mission to focus on.

Some of our volunteers have since graduated and have jobs now but they have come back as Kalsom Alumni.

I was the module manager during my second year with Projek Kalsom, in Kuantan, Pahang.

Since we design our modules to cater to the needs of the students, we had to raise the bar of the programme as most of the children could speak English well. We had to push them to broaden their horizons, while making sure their dreams were still realistic.

This is my third year with the project, and as director, I need to make sure everything falls in place, especially since all volunteers and committee members are based in different universities and countries.

Video conferencing, Skype calls and Facebook messages are essential in making sure we plan things well to make full use of our three-week programme in Malaysia.

I am very lucky to be blessed with such dedicated and committed organising members as well as volunteers.

The biggest challenge now is to ensure Projek Kalsom continues to be relevant to everyone while remaining true to its founding values and ethos. It has come to a point that we need to increase our scale as well as depth.

We also want to think of ways to inspire students even though we are miles away from Malaysia. In conjunction with our 20th anniversary, we devised a more sustainable year-long monitoring plan called Kalsom Harapan.

We will also run a workshop for students here in January, which will focus on academics. It will be conducted by Malaysian university students studying in Australia.

Besides bringing in new partners, as well as introducing new initiatives, I hope in a few years to come, Projek Kalsom and volunteerism will be in the hearts of students.

I really hope that Projek Kalsom will run as a social enterprise entity one day. My vision is to make sure everyone understands the “Kalsom” spirit – that drive to inspire people to make a difference in society.

For more information on Projek Kalsom, log on to www.projek-kalsom.org.

* The writer, a medical student is director of Projek Kalsom.

2015

In my effort to not let the blog die, I have promised myself (again!) that I shall update the blog with interesting posts

2014

So I guess I am back now. Have been neglecting my sweetheart for quite some time, only to realise that I need to continue doing things I want to do - writing

Here is to a great year! Insya allah

Is Ignorance A Bliss?

I used to live with a rule of life that ignorance is never a bliss. You need to care even to the little things. You need to always be alert and on top of your game

And now, I need to 'readjust' it back. Especially when it comes to hopes and promises. I start to tell myself that it is a bliss

24/4/2013

Miza Liyana Ayub @ Lily. The one and only, will always be. I miss you, a lot.  Happy Birthday to you and Tok

22 02 02

I thought I wanted to make this number quite a memorable one even though my birthday passed by more than 1 month ago

I was born on 02 February and now Im 22, thus making the number above quite special to me

A year older, and hopefully it’s a year wiser. Its getting busy right now, and theres nothing I don’t do, would put me at a good advantage.

SPM result was released and apparently MCKK was ranked Num 9. Kudos to them, though my time has gone long time ago

I just realized that Kijang Emas scholarship is not open to everyone, not during my time. So, go and apply for it!

It’s true that SPM is not the end of everything. However, I believer that SPM will provide a quicker path for everything else – provided that you do well and work hard. Those who says that SPM is nothing is too arrogant I must say – knowing the fact that it used to be everyone’s biggest fear, only for those who care about their future

Trust me, for some everything will fall into pieces as planned, but for some, you might notice there is more than what you bargain for, that you have to go through

I need to keep this blog alive, and I shall come back with more proper posts!

Tranquility

Everyone need a treat to themselves. I find mine. Here

Wake up everyday, only to look at the window this kind of beauty, who can say no to that?

Everyone needs to refresh themselves. But how do you that?

For One More Year

Sorry for taking a short break from writing because of the bundle of academic works that I have to bear - perhaps it is just another excuse I made to myself

I hope it is not awfully late to wish a Happy New Year to everyone. 2013 is just another year for everyone, with a list of resolutions and promises we make to ourselves

2012 passed by quickly. With many downs that ups, we can only pray to God to make us stronger, that making life easier. Life will always push us to the limits, but only in it we can see the broad horizon ahead of us. Day by day, I learnt that it is essential to create and enjoy the moments you have because you cannot be sure of what lies ahead of us later on

It is the rule of nature, with death comes life, and with life, death will follow closely. Thus, make sure you embrace what you have, create the Wonderland that you wish for

Till we meet again, take care everyone

#I miss Lily so much that every day I wish I can see her now and then. God has promised that later on we shall see.

#Thought of the Day

Today, a Malaysian’s son, Auntie K passed away early of this morning due to the last stage of thyroid cancer in Aberdeen. I have never met him, but knowing Auntie K personally, I believed he has got the same character as his mother, loving, helpful and caring.

Sometimes I wonder, are we ready for death? As muslims, we believe there is a life after this, which everyone is dreaming of. We all try our best to make all the good deeds, because everything will be paid back after this

Yes, we try to be the best. We try to protect our relationship with Quran. Have we ever looked at all the little things we do in life?

For instance, people say that smoking is bad. Some people don’t like smokers, as for them this is about integrity –if we can do something bad i.e. smoking or clubbing, how is it possible we wont something else in the future?

Another example, if a kid starts learning to steal just 1 pound, there will always be tendency he will grow up as a thief if we wont do something.

Same as our life as a Muslim. If we don’t protect all those little things, our aurat, prayer, what is the guarantee we would be a good Muslim?

I once heard a talk by a Muslim brother, sincerity is when you don’t realise that you do it. But right now, I just feel its hard to know whether you do something out of sincerity or not

Making a difference: My first experience in Kalsom

I have always wanted to change the landscape of how things work in our society, from the way we interact with each other; to the way we contribute back to people.  Growing up in an environment that stresses on the importance of being responsible for my own life and the environment I live in, I become more aware of why is it important to make a difference and fight for a cause, in any way we can do. I am a strong believer in the gift of life; hence helping others to experience theirs is a gift to myself. The world we live in is not entirely about us, but also how we provide the path for others to achieve better than us, letting them to experience it the way we do.

My experience as a facilitator in Kalsom was beyond my expectations. I was surprised by how passionate the participants were, not just to change their lives, but also to achieve better. I became more aware that not all of the kids were born with silver spoons, some of them really had to work hard, much harder than their friends of the same age, to achieve the same goals in life. It was the power of will that has driven them to see the value of success from a different angle. Determination has become the new ‘obsession’, pushing them to see beyond the confines of their norms.

Joining Kalsom was not about the children only. For me, Kalsom has brought a mutual benefit to the facilitators. We became more inspired and touched by their hard work, how they have been working hard overcoming all the struggles in life. Each of them had a very unique story to share with us and helping them to create their own dreams was the most satisfying feeling to us. All of us felt blessed to have been given this opportunity, and being beside them through this exciting journey was a gift to us.

I still remember vividly a girl in my group who started as someone who could not even talk a single word in English. On the last day of the programmme, she asked for the microphone from me. Standing there, watching her singing an English song for us, was the most amazing moment in my life. I was not only touched by the courage she has shown to me, but also the difference Kalsom has made in her, in such a short period of time. It was all of these little things that have made Kalsom different, especially when we did all these things from the heart, hopefully it would touch the heart back.

I am proud to say how successful Kalsom has become. It is not just about inspiring the kids, but also a catalyst for everyone who has truly involved in Kalsom, to understand our society better.

We can simply blame them for not having the motivation to work harder, but sometimes we tend to forget to be in their shoes. We blame them for not going to school, but we don’t know the struggle they have to go through to just be there, without worrying what to eat later on.

We blame them for not having a dream going abroad, while for them being a mechanic is even beyond their reach. We blame them for being in poverty and having no inspiration to change their lives, without knowing that they also don’t wish to live like that. Sometimes we think too much of all the big dreams that we can do, putting all the little things aside. That is how Kalsom has touched us, making us more realise on the reality of our society.

Kalsom is not just about the children to be better. It is also about creating a chain effect, so that everyone involved will not only have the responsibility to contribute in their own ways, but also to create a better ‘Malaysia’ 20 years down the line. We all can make a difference in society

Life Under Construction

There is so much to do, and so little time for everything, but yet we make time for everyone and everything. That is the fundamental rule I believe we should be holding on, even sometimes it is so hard to make people understand that.

We tend to forget, that we wish people will make time for us but we never make time for others, which is why we should walk our talk. We dont run around, chasing after people, but we keep those close to us, closer

I am currently busy with many things at the moment. The workloads as a medical student, and added to that, I am currently joining UKEC and Kalsom as a part of it. I am also working and helping those homeless people in Aberdeen through our charity club, HoMed.

I purposely make my life busy this year, rather than reminiscing the old stories and live in the past./ So bear with me while my life is under construction

Thought of the Day

Sometimes, things have never been the way they should be. But, that is the rule of life. We can always plan, but everything lies in God's hand. Life can sometimes put us in misery, we are being left wondering what is the reason for everything to happen, even though sometimes we force ourselves to believe that there will always be a rainbow during the rainy day. 

I am a strong believer in the gift of life itself, hence I always view it as something mysterious for every human being to question. It works in unthinkable ways, and when things do not go as planned, the only way if to find alternatives and start drawing back the picture again. There is always be a need to move on and for that reason, I believe this blog requires so much needed 'uplifting' in a sense to make it more valuable and meaningful.

We all have the past that we have gone through, and it is in the best interest of all to keep moving on, let the past stay behind, treasure the memories and write a new chapter. As for what we believe we should be fighting, we have to continue fighting for it, until one day God shows what is the best for us. Giving up is never an option. Determination and hard work always stay right in the middle of the heart

Sometimes, logical thinking cannot explain everything. Everything is not based on facts. That is why God gives us heart and soul.

I'm Sorry

I did not mean to hurt you. I am so sorry. You mean the world to me, and I want to have a brighter future with you

Sometimes it is always hard to make people understand, especially when they are not in our shoes. But yet we will try our best to be the best in everything. The past shall remain as our history, and now the priority has changed. We cant continue living in the past, otherwise we will only lose our focus and the worst thing, we might lose ourselves. For now, let us enjoy what we have, not thinking too much about anything else

The history shall remain as a part of my life. Whether we like it or not, it is hard to forget people in our life, yet we know moving on is necessary especially when the door of the heart is opened for others. Allow others to touch your hearts and Insya allah everything shall be fine

Time

All of us have given 24 hours per day to start think and reflect things. But certain things deserve more than we think

Im giving you time to reflect everything I say. After knowing me for too long, you should know that I speak for a reason. I believe you will make the right choice, and thus let me know

Im running slowly. Sometimes, I do wish for you to stop me, but I know you know exactly what to do ;-)

I dedicate these few pictures for you, if you happen to read my blog ;-)

Words

All of us have something that we are afraid of telling. Some secrets are meant to be left untold, but most were revealed unintentionally. We all make promises whether to keep that decrets to ourselves or not, but the closer we get to know each other, the greater our desire to know more. Sometimes, we feel that if we would be able to turn the clock even once, we hope that we know nothing about that person because holding to the promise is always the hardest thing

Nothing will ever happen between us and I promise. Im so sorry but I really need your trust ;-). We have learnt from the past, but do not let it ruin everything that we have now.

Nota kaki: Kalsom was awesome. After several attempts of going there, i managed to join it. It is the feeling that we know we have contributed something that matters, the sense of fulfillment that we wish everyone to feel. If it comes from the heart, it will surely touch the heart too ;-)

Reminder to Myself ;-)

Something To Ponder