"The impact this international experience had on me is immense.
It cannot be expressed in words but it can be experienced by all of us. It’s
never too late. It’s always the time to change yourself and change another
person’s life for good."
It was the 2nd of February that I flew to Malaysia with my
friend for a project of AIESEC. That project was conducted by UTM (University
of Technology in Malaysia). It was a project regarding the education of
Children in an Orphanage called Amitabha Centre in Johor. The first day in Malaysia was one unforgettable day in my
life. A new day, new place, new people, freshness in almost everything. An air
flight, ride in the train to Bandar Tasik Station and the bus to Skudai; phew!
That was one hell of a day. Malaysian AIESEcers were very clear in their
communication regarding the directions that we should take to reach our
destinations which made us come across our first ever AIESEcer from Malaysia;
Azreen. She was the project conductor and wow!! I must say she was a very
friendly person even though I have already met her through skype. To be honest
I was nervous about my journey to a totally different place with totally new
people from several countries. Yet the first day itself the feeling faded away
with the smiles of the Malaysian people.
People in Amitabha Centre were also welcoming and so warm
hearted. They treated us as their own and it was easy to work with them. Mr. Chong was the Principal who was a nice gentleman. There
were four ladies who worked in the orphanage and they all had the name “Mama”.
Among them the Vice Principal was called “Shau Mama” who was very kind,
hospitable and decent. Whenever we met she used to ask me “Did you have your
meal?” “Yu- Mama” was the one who looked after the small children
with love and care. “Wu-Mama” was managing the donations given to the orphanage
and was very methodical.“So-Mama” was the chef in the orphanage and there was
lady for housekeeping as well.
It was in an unforgettable time period that we went to Malaysia.
It was the Chinese New Year and it was THE TIME FOR ENTERTAINMENT. The children
had their New Year vacation just like we have in Sri Lanka which made me feel
that I’m in a familiar country rather than an unfamiliar country. So they had
lot of fun playing games and enjoying fireworks.In fact, the orphanage had so
many visitors during the New Year received a lot of donations along with some
pocket money to the children. Then came the real work which was coordinated, supervised
and guided by Mrs. Cloe who was the Manager of Amitabha Centre. Unlike in Sri
Lanka the Malaysians start their week with Sundays, as in they start working
from Sundays to Thursdays, which kind of took me by surprise. We were teaching
the Primary and the secondary school children. Apart from that we helped them
with their housework as well.
There were four members in our project. Fiona was from
China, Patrick from Indonesia and
Shehani and me from Sri Lanka. We worked together, ate together and did
shopping together. Did everything together as a family! In fact we were family. Fiona
was our room mate. She was literally our translator. One that i’ll never forget
about her is her favorite words“ Oh! My God lah! and “Thank you”. The only boy
in our team,Patrick was the funniest. We used to call him “Saibaba” because he
had long, frizzy hair likes Saibaba.
There were Primary and Secondary school children in the
orphanage. Speaking of my experience it was easy to teach the Secondary school
children as they were easy to handle. I enjoyed teaching the primary school
children as well because they were cute. We had to teach four subjects.
English, Mathematics, Chinese and Bahasa. We split them up among the four
members and I had to teach English. Shehani was teaching Mathematics, Fiona
Chinese and Patrick Bahasa. The amazing experience was that there were
different types of children. Some needed more love and care. Some were rough
but we managed to work with them and spend time along with them. I learnt how
to be with children with different behaviors.
Shopping was my next desire. Fortunately for me there were,
not just one two big shopping malls near the orphanage. We used to go and do
shopping whenever we had time. Speaking of food, well in the orphanage they
only provided vegetarian food. Sometimes we went out and tasted Malaysian food.
Oh My God! They were so good. There was one special day where Mrs. Chloe invited us over
to her place for the New Year. There were so many people just like us from many
countries and it was one hell of a party. It was like a global celebration
where every country was represented.
Another inspiring and touching day
was when we went to a village with edibles. It was the most touching sight
which I never thought I would see. We offered the edibles to the villagers and
their faces filled with such innocence, happiness, gratitude and relief. I will
never forget that day and the act of kindness. I was in fact grateful that I
was able to become a part of it through AIESEC and help those in need. It
always occurred to me that AIESEC International Exchange experience is indeed a
life changing experience which taught me alot and which made me realize that
one simple act of kindness could make a huge impact to another individual.
Last but not least, we had loads of fun with my other
members and the kids. Once we went with the children to the cinema and watched
Legoland. There are so many things to do and so many places to visit in Malaysia.
Oh! What an experience that was! Guess what, we met a Sri Lankan in Malaysia
who owned a restaurant and that was the first time I had Sri Lankan food in
Malaysia which was more exciting.
Then comes the most difficult part; Saying Goodbye. It was
just six weeks but feels like a decade. My team members, the children and the
officials, we were like a family. The impact this international experience had
on me is immense. It cannot be expressed in words but it can be experienced by
all of us. It’s never too late. It’s always the time to change yourself and
change another person’s life for good. There are no tangible presents for the
impact you do to the society. It’s the change that you see in yourself and the
others around you. Sometimes you might not realize the good you have done, the
positive impact you have made, the change you have made to the lives of others,
but it will always be continued. Be the change the world needs. Be the change
the youth needs.
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