On the 7th of January, sixteen BSA New Zealand members, along with our friends and family, paid a visit to Pusat Ehsan for a day of activities and fun with the Pusat Ehsan community. The day started off with us watching a video which introduced Pusat Ehsan, its aims as well as the programmes that are currently being provided at the centre. We were originally quite apprehensive and nervous about interacting with the Pusat Ehsan community, but one of the teachers explained to us that the community was in general a welcoming group of people, and that it’s not necessary for us to be overly cautious around them.
After watching the video, we then divided ourselves into groups that had already been assigned to us: some of us would work with the children, some with the teenagers and others with the adults.
Those of us who worked with the children got to join their rehabilitation session, which involved a lot of dancing and jumping around, and observe their lessons. The children that we met that day had a range of disabilities; a couple of the kids had been diagnosed with speech and cognitive delay, and majority of the children had been diagnosed with Down’s Syndrome and Autism Spectrum Disorder. Because of their special needs, their lessons were specifically structured around songs and graphics. These made it easier for the kids to remember the words they learnt as well as the syllables and sounds.
Teaching vocabulary and comprehension
Helping with the packaging for KFC!
The many dishes available that day - nasi briyani, fried chicken, potato boat, banana fritters and more!
Thinking of what costume to make...
"If my mama could see me now... bangga kah ia ni aku betudung cemani.."
"This isn't working, let's just cover him up."
Royston thinking, "Hm.. What am I supposed to be..."
Qilah, the only female model! Still smiling despite the heat and the many layers of newspaper she's covered in!
"Buatkan ku lawa lawa... Lawa lagi sikit.."
Team Ikan Duyung with their mermaid model, Azwan!
Team Princess Elsa with their model,Qilah Princess Elsa! "My dress is so versatile, I can recycle it and wear it for raya this year!"
Team Iron Man, with their...er...model, Royston! Also known as the stuff your nightmares are made of.
Team Pendekar Mawar with their model, Waie!
A picture of all the volunteers and the Pusat Ehsan members involved in the competition. Everyone was a winner that day!
A photo of the BSA volunteers and their friends and family!
Performing the haka, as requested!
Following Azim and Royston's lead..
Watch me whip! Now watch me nae nae!
After watching the video, we then divided ourselves into groups that had already been assigned to us: some of us would work with the children, some with the teenagers and others with the adults.
Those of us who worked with the children got to join their rehabilitation session, which involved a lot of dancing and jumping around, and observe their lessons. The children that we met that day had a range of disabilities; a couple of the kids had been diagnosed with speech and cognitive delay, and majority of the children had been diagnosed with Down’s Syndrome and Autism Spectrum Disorder. Because of their special needs, their lessons were specifically structured around songs and graphics. These made it easier for the kids to remember the words they learnt as well as the syllables and sounds.
Helping the kids get their daily dose of exercise! Judging by how tired we were at the end of the session, this was our monthly dose of exercise.
Morning tea-time!
Learning the sound "ng" for the day - "if you're strong and you know it, say ng!"
Those of us who worked with the teenagers helped them with activities such as sewing, housekeeping and preparing simple dishes.
Sewing with the Pusat Ehsan members!
Preparing cocktail pudding followed by pizza!
Vacuuming and making the bed
Some stretching exercises for the teenagers' rehabilitation programme
Helping with the packaging for KFC!
Once the morning session ended, all of us went to the dining hall for lunch. The BSA committee organised a potluck lunch for all the BSA volunteers as well as the Pusat Ehsan community, so everyone got to share the food that they brought!
Members of the BSA committee looking forward to their lunch!
In the afternoon, everyone congregated in the dining hall for more activities, this time to be done together rather than in the groups that we had split into for the morning session. Lincolm, our Food Officer, as well as Royston, our Vice President, kicked off the afternoon session as our MCs, and thanked the Pusat Ehsan community for welcoming us so warmly that day. They then proceeded to introduce the first game for the afternoon, which was a classic round of Pass The Parcel with a slight twist! The person holding the parcel at the moment the music stopped, explained our MCs, would have to answer a question, and only after successfully answering the question would they be able to unwrap the parcel and collect the gift inside.
Waiting for the game to start - and hoping for the grand prize!
The next game required everyone to form four groups, and each group had been provided with a stack of newspapers, Scotch tape and a slightly reluctant member of BSA NZ who had volunteered to be the model. The MCs gave each group ten minutes to fashion a costume out of the materials provided - everyone took their tasks very seriously, but considering the results, we all agreed that no one in the competition had a future in fashion design.
Thinking of what costume to make...
"If my mama could see me now... bangga kah ia ni aku betudung cemani.."
"This isn't working, let's just cover him up."
Royston thinking, "Hm.. What am I supposed to be..."
Qilah, the only female model! Still smiling despite the heat and the many layers of newspaper she's covered in!
"Buatkan ku lawa lawa... Lawa lagi sikit.."
Team Ikan Duyung with their mermaid model, Azwan!
Team Princess Elsa with their model,
Team Iron Man, with their...er...model, Royston! Also known as the stuff your nightmares are made of.
Team Pendekar Mawar with their model, Waie!
A picture of all the volunteers and the Pusat Ehsan members involved in the competition. Everyone was a winner that day!
A photo of the BSA volunteers and their friends and family!
After the competition ended, we decided to end the day with a couple of dance routines, led by the BSA students. First, several BSA students performed a version of the haka for everyone, as it had been requested by the Pusat Ehsan staff. Afterwards, the very talented BSA committee members Azim and Royston led everyone in performing a dance/aerobics routine, which was very well received by the crowd! Lastly, two Pusat Ehsan members requested that we play the hit song "Whip/Nae Nae", as they had been taught the dance by one of their teachers - this was also very popular with the crowd, especially several BSA members who always wanted to learn the dance for this song..
Performing the haka, as requested!
Following Azim and Royston's lead..
Watch me whip! Now watch me nae nae!
One of the Pusat Ehsan members signing the BSA banner
It was a day very well spent at Pusat Ehsan, and it felt really nice to give back to the community. All the volunteers agreed that it was a great learning experience, and all the new friends we gained that day were a bonus! The volunteers would also like to thank the BSA committee for organising this event, as without them the day would not have gone as smoothly as it did. Hopefully BSA will have more opportunities to give back to the community in the future!
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Thank you to Mumtazah Ghazali for writing the lovely piece above!
BSANZ committee would like to extend our gratitude to BSA members who volunteered for our very first visit to Pusat Ehsan as well as their families and friends.
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