Hikayat Mutiara was a team of 22 students from NTU Malay Language and Cultural Society (MLCS), that sought to engage in community outreach despite limitations posed by the pandemic. If not for the pandemic which restricted overseas travel, the team would have gone to neighbouring countries to conduct activities and construction projects in towns.
Over the course of five days in June 2021, the Hikayat Mutiara team successfully impacted 85 lives from Darul Ma’wa Jamiyah (DMJ) and Morning Star Community Services (MSCS), organisations that offer services to children from low-income families.
The team set out to do something fun and enriching for the residents of DMJ and MSCS by planning events with interesting storylines, such as immersing the service users in a world set in outer space. The service users played the role of a star in outer space, who had to help the story’s protagonist through completing a series of activities and challenges.
Hikayat Mutiara sought to impart life lessons to the service users through centering their activities, which included calligraphy and traditional Malay Games, around the themes like financial literacy and care for the environment. The team also ensured that the activities were in line with the 5 key competencies from the Ministry of Education’s Social Emotional Learning (SEL) guidelines, namely self-management, self-awareness, social awareness, responsible decision-making and relationship management. This helped them ensure that the activities were of a high standard and were able to impart valuable skills and lessons to the children.
The team also prepared goodie bags for the service users to lift their spirits and were heartened to see the joy of the children’s faces when receiving them. This project proved a fulfilling one for all involved as the service users reported that they truly enjoyed learning the life lessons the team tried to impart. The team also found great joy in engaging and helping these children.
The community programme was onerous but extremely fulfilling. Having to constantly be on our toes to adapt to the changes was challenging but our team pulled through. Witnessing our plans bear fruit was super gratifying and I hope that the organisations we’ve worked with enjoyed it as much as we did. Elliya Elldyna, Head of Programmes
About NTU/NIE Malay Language and Cultural Society (NTU/NIE MLCS)
With the mission of preserving the Malay language and culture in mind, NTU/NIE MLCS was formed (in 1991) to be a platform for the Malay community to convene and contribute back to society.
Events and activities have been fine-tuned to cater to the Malay community in NTU/NIE and the younger generation.
