We know. There have been days when a few of you have looked up to the sky wondering what is wrong with the world today — sometimes even desperately searching for a way to remedy the bad that you see every day.
There is good to be done and there are ways to get started, especially for those of you who may not have an idea where to begin. We caught up with a few people who could set off the latent angel within you.
At the Change for Good event recently — hosted by the Hong Leong Foundation and co-organised by Tandemic and Do Something Good — we talked to five changemakers and compiled a list of ways you could begin your own journey to make a change within your communities.
1. One hour. 30 minutes. Ten minutes.
Volunteering is often perceived as work that would zap all your time, energy and effort. But as RE:ED project founder Yih Ling Pow says, people have the wrong perception that volunteering is all about giving up seven days of your week.
“If an hour or ten minutes is all you have, that’s really more than enough.”
So, spend an hour teaching someone to read a book or 10 minutes to speak to a homeless person, you know you will be making a difference.
Yih started RE:ED to provide special tuition classes for needy students. She began ‘recruiting’ volunteers simply by involving her friends, and now her pool has grown to 100-odd volunteers that includes working professionals and senior citizens.
2. Be a guerilla
These changemakers all share the same strategy: guerrilla tactics.
Human rights lawyer and LoyarBurok blogger Edmund Bon found alternatives to air his cause when traditional channels failed him.
“We wanted to raise awareness about the situation about Malaysia’s skewed laws but the mainstream media didn’t want to carry our articles. We went online.” Among their latest initiatives is to set up an online do-it-yourself kit for users to learn about litigation processes, a curveball approach to learning about lawsuits.
Meanwhile, Edmond Yap, founder of free online tuition provider Edunation, wants to replicate the Toastmaster’s Club model, and replace professionals with teachers so these educators have a place to meet and learn from one another.
3. Talk to someone younger
Social workers who have been in this field long enough have felt the frustrations of being overwhelmed with the monumental tasks that lie ahead.
Sometimes, they run of steam to keep the cause going but it never fails to refresh their spirits when they work with young people.
Bon shares that it always inspires him to see one of his volunteers lead movements and initiate projects of their own which meet the aims of a social cause.
So sit up and listen to younger people, hear their new ideas, while training them new skills to empower them to change mindsets, attitudes and find new ways to solve age-old problems.
4. Show love, care and compassion
A little soppy we know, but this is a basic and surefire way to get you started in the social sector.
“Respect others, show compassion, even if they are drug addicts.” — an unforgettable piece of advice from Stephen Chow, as he relates his experiences in running the Taiping Community Service Society.
Having Ataxic Cerebral Palsy himself, he completely understands how the disabled are often discriminated. He had been bullied so much in secondary school that it made him determined to stand up for the underdogs of society.
Chow now runs the centre that offers training programmes, tuition and gives free clothes and food to the hardcore poor and Orang Asli community in Taiping.
“I felt blessed to have overcome so many difficulties and I simply wanted to share my fortunes with others, by helping them.”
5. You need grit
All these changemakers say — persevere, persevere, persevere. If you fail the first time, try and try again. Failure isn’t really an option.
Take on board criticisms or better as the saying goes, “have thick skin”, persist with your questions, efforts and activities.
Susie Devaki Arumugam was an orphan and because of the grit that others had in overcoming obstacles when raising her she became inspired to do the same through her Kajang Children’s Welfare Society.
Here, she provides reading classes and tuition for the less fortunate in Kajang. One of her proudest stories was having adopted an eight-year-old girl from the streets more than 15 years ago — a child who, sadly, literally ate from the rubbish tip. Susie cared for her and through the support of the society, this girl is now a medical doctor. So, Susie says, “Don’t give up! Something’s got to give, or better yet, something may turn up to help you in your cause.”
6. Cup half full
At the end of it all the most important tip when wanting to set up or be a part of a social movement is to stay optimistic.
There are always two sides to a story and instead of embracing the dark and depressing side, try and stay optimistic.
Yap coins it quite dramatically – just re-programme your brain! Instead of always thinking negative, stay positive about yourself, and about the cause you want to support.
Yap’s words carry incredible weight. Having lived with a mother that fought depression and tried to kill herself, Yap has risen from the dark periods of his life to spark positive change in the lives of young students.
But remember you don’t need a personal story to motivate you to do community work. All you need is the heart to make a change.
Image credit: www.wfpiweb.org
Know about something happening in KL and Malaysia? Want to share? Send us an email: kl@coconuts.co – don’t just read the news, make it!
Get Coconuts news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our newsletter below for a chance to win a limited edition Coconuts hat.
Reader Interactions