Having the desire to give back to the community, a group of students from NTU / NIE Malay Language & Cultural Society also known as PERBAYU, embarked on a journey to Little Stone Village in Guizhou Province. The main objectives were to assist in building up a preschool in the area, and to provide basic education to the students there.

Education plans involved exciting hands-on activities for the preschoolers to retain their attention during the course of the lessons. Colour contrasts were also used as a stimulus. For example, at a particular Science lesson, one of the activities was to document the growth stages of green beans. To give them an idea of what to expect, the team produced a video showing the steps to grow green beans, which was dubbed in Mandarin.

Other than planning lessons, the team was determined to improve the school’s infrastructure. The team carried out mural painting and garden construction to create a more conducive environment for learning and to give the students a sense of pride and belonging.

The painting team wanted to ensure that the walls looked as exciting as possible, and used high contrast colours with themes such as Noah’s Ark. At the garden, colourful crops such as tomatoes and white corn were planted in designated lots built from scratch by the gardening team. The team stepped out of their comfort zone and performed construction work that they have never tried before.

Ultimately, this expedition was a great experience for the whole team. Being able to gain so much knowledge and cultural exchange and to experience great hospitality from the locals left a deep impression. For example, bricks were required for the construction of the garden, but there was a shortage. Upon hearing this, the locals brought the team to a brick-making factory and even helped to transport the bricks back to the construction site. Furthermore, the locals continued to teach the team how to efficiently lay bricks and provided the finishing touches to the garden. Upon reflection, the team felt that the help provided to them from the locals was more than what the help they were able to provide. Precious values such as being humble and thankful for what they have common takeaways by team members.

I think this trip was a very meaningful one for me. I got the chance to paint the walls of the school for the kids but more importantly, it also opened up my eyes to a different culture and place that I don’t see in Singapore. I’ve also learnt to adapt well to the unfamiliar place and I think the team bonded very well over in China and was always willing to lend a helping hand to one another, which I hope they will still practice even back home. All in all, I think the team has grown as an individual from this overseas expedition.
Nuraqida Bte Mohd Elias, Student Organiser

 

 


About NTU / NIE Malay Language & Cultural Society (MLCS)

NTU/NIE MLCS also known as PERBAYU, is a student organisation that strives to instill awareness in the importance of good values to benefit the society and future generations.