Monday, 23 December 2019
Another year and 2020 next: Update
It has been exactly a year since my last blog entry on Dec 23, 2018. Have not updated the many things that have happen over the year. Better later than never - time to document and reflect on the progress made in 2019.
A highlight in 2019 was the visit by YAB Dr A XAVIER JAYAKUMAR, Minister of Water, Land and Natural Resources. The CheWong Resource Room that we have been trying to equip became a new focus.The visit was viewed with a pilot internet connection from a webcam installed in the room. Our internet sponsor has created a blog. More about the work at Elephant Centre can be read from the link: https://dleapkualagandah.blogspot.com/2019/07/minister-yab-dr-xavier-visits-kuala.html.
One significant outcome of this visit led to dLEAP being nominated for the Star Golden Hearts Award 2019 (SGHA) - the SGHA is an annual award by The Star and Yayasan Gamuda to celebrate Malaysians who demonstrate extraordinary commitment to community/social work. dLEAPproject made it to the semi-final which is an achievement in its own right.
In October the volunteers organised an event to decorate the door of the CheWong resources room. Color palm prints by kids and volunteers created a new playful atmosphere to the room. This year a kid who have been us for 5 years (in the picture below) will be taking her leaving school certificate (SPM). Over the last month she received support and tuition from our volunteer teacher. A scholarship is lined up for her by another volunteer to pursue her future study.
While making good progress in 2019 there are new challenges in 2020. We need to make the resource room easily accessible for learning resource as destinated.That will require some effort from all parties - kids, parents, volunteers and staff of Elephant Centre. Wish us luck.This accessibility issue when resolved can help us to get the children to learn new things - drone flying , robotic, coding to STEAM education.
Thirdly we need to outreach to growing kids who lives in the deep jungle with their families. Exploration of portable solar panel is underway to make the XO laptop functional. If we can continue to nurture this current group of kids to support off the grid deployment, the chance of success is higher.
In November 16 this year a group of volunteers attended the SLRC musical concert. This end of the year program was memorable. We saw the kids having fun,witnessed by family members, teachers, members of the SLRC board, etc.
In 2019 dLEAP has expanded to Kuching, Sarawak. Collaboration with Dr. Cheah from UNIMAS who now have access to twenty XO4 from OLPC Asia is bearing some fuits. A recent visit was made to support his new deployment.University volunteers were exposed and trained to conduct deployments. We are looking forward to Sawarak as it has a large rural children population and potential to benefit from dLEAP if done right.
1. CheWong Kuala Gandah (EC) Deployment
We have come a long way with this group of children. - from piloting XO play sessions to complete XO laptop ownership over the years. Each participating children is given his/her own XO laptop in 2017 to take home. In 2019, we wanted to know if the XOs were well utilised and its physical condition after 2 years of ownership. The kids are maturing and circumstances have change our expectations. For example we are losing contact with the boys in our group. Some have to follow their parents into the jungle. Girls are our majority paticipants now. Recently, one new boy joined our group. He received a recycled XO and was able to learn how to replace its broken screen..One significant outcome of this visit led to dLEAP being nominated for the Star Golden Hearts Award 2019 (SGHA) - the SGHA is an annual award by The Star and Yayasan Gamuda to celebrate Malaysians who demonstrate extraordinary commitment to community/social work. dLEAPproject made it to the semi-final which is an achievement in its own right.
In October the volunteers organised an event to decorate the door of the CheWong resources room. Color palm prints by kids and volunteers created a new playful atmosphere to the room. This year a kid who have been us for 5 years (in the picture below) will be taking her leaving school certificate (SPM). Over the last month she received support and tuition from our volunteer teacher. A scholarship is lined up for her by another volunteer to pursue her future study.
Thirdly we need to outreach to growing kids who lives in the deep jungle with their families. Exploration of portable solar panel is underway to make the XO laptop functional. If we can continue to nurture this current group of kids to support off the grid deployment, the chance of success is higher.
2. Solid Rock Learning Centre (SLRC), Melaka
Very little has been written about his deployment in Melaka but work has been ongoing for at least 4 years now. SLRC is operated byAgapeCare, a NGO in historical Melaka where the first basecamp2013@Melaka was held. They support children who are disadvantage with educational programs by paid and volunteer staff. Students benefiting are from diverse background - some are indigenous Malaysian, kids of poor families to refugee kids from Mynamar.
dLEAP with SLRC kickstarted with 10 new XO4 donated by my classmates. Today it has 20 XO4 and 20 XO-1 which makes this the current largest deployment in Malaysia after the first Malaysia SEMOA deployment in Raub in 2014.
In November 16 this year a group of volunteers attended the SLRC musical concert. This end of the year program was memorable. We saw the kids having fun,witnessed by family members, teachers, members of the SLRC board, etc.
3. New deployment in Kuching, Sarawak
In 2019 dLEAP has expanded to Kuching, Sarawak. Collaboration with Dr. Cheah from UNIMAS who now have access to twenty XO4 from OLPC Asia is bearing some fuits. A recent visit was made to support his new deployment.University volunteers were exposed and trained to conduct deployments. We are looking forward to Sawarak as it has a large rural children population and potential to benefit from dLEAP if done right.
2020 and Beyond
We have come a long way, we will suceed however small our impact can have on children, organisations or volunteers. Laying the seeds and getting it right progressively is crucial. Now with years of accumulated experience from various deployments, we trust things can grow organically into sustainable impact over time. From our very first deployment in 2014 we confirmed that adult champions who believes children with technology can learn by themselves or peers are invaluable for dLEAP. Putting children first and easy to access to right tools for joyful learning is however not easy as adults have different demands on how education should be conducted.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
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