Early Childhood Education Critical To Children’s Lifelong Learning Journey
Since its inception in the vicinity of Pangsapuri Enggang seven years ago, Tadika Kassim Chin Humanity Foundation has attracted a total of 223 children, aged between five and six years old from the flats and surrounding areas.
The collaboration between F&NHB and KCHF is part of the F&N Empowering Lives Through Education (E.L.I.T.E.) programme which provides educational assistance to the children of Pangsapuri Enggang, a ‘Program Perumahan Rakyat’ development in Bandar Kinrara, Puchong.
Aimed at empowering the children to take ownership of their own learning, the F&N E.L.I.T.E. programme offers marginalised children aged between five and 20 from Pangsapuri Enggang the opportunity to attend a kindergarten and tuition centre at the housing development for free. The programme promotes greater access to education and gives the children a chance with early education that helps to shape their academic and personal life trajectories.
A graduation ceremony was held recently for the 51 graduating students from Tadika Kassim Chin Humanity Foundation to celebrate the kindergarten students’ achievements in completing this year’s session.
Cariessa Goh, Corporate Affairs Manager, F&NHB said that she was happy and thrilled to see the increasing number of kindergarten students this year. “The higher enrolment rate can be translated into an increasing awareness on the importance of early childhood education among the parents at Pangsapuri Enggang. Several kindergartens around the area closed down recently and the parents are now more aware of Tadika KCHF and its services, and began sending their kids to the kindergarten.
“Education is the fundamental right of every child regardless of their race, religion or socio-economic status. However, these young children from Pangsapuri Enggang come from lower-income backgrounds and sidelined communities which limit their access to learning opportunities.
“F&NHB feels privileged to be given the chance to work closely together with KCHF for the past few years to enable the children to be equal members of society just like other kids their age. We hope our contribution will continue to encourage parents to be more involved in their children’s early educational development and understand how crucial it is to build a strong foundation for their kids before they enter Standard One. We are confident that with a solid footing, the kids will grow up to be better people and give back to the community when they are older,” Goh added.
Meanwhile, Miliee Kassim, Executive Trustee of the Kassim Chin Humanity Foundation expressed her utmost appreciation to every party involved in generating a greater awareness of preschool education at Pangsapuri Enggang and providing the children with an avenue to discover their talent and full potential, irrespective of their life circumstances.
“Since 2011, F&NHB and KCHF have worked tireless to give the children the right knowledge and skillsets in order to prepare them for primary education. We are fortunate to have received additional assistance in the form of student and young adult volunteers for the past three years whereby AISEC from numerous universities in Malaysia have requested to be part of our initiative.
“To date, we have been collaborating with AISEC from Sunway University and Monash University Malaysia to recruit overseas volunteers who are keen to teach the kindergarten children as part of the AIESEC Global Volunteer programme. The volunteer teachers come from various countries including Indonesia, China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and Egypt. Their presence is refreshing as they are young, passionate and energetic, and allow the children to open their minds to different cultures and perspectives. This inspires the children to dream big and believe that they have the capability to be successful like their teachers,” said Miliee.
Both Goh and Miliee agreed that the volunteer teachers and the AISEC team have played an instrumental role in making the F&N E.L.I.T.E. programme a success. “The AISEC team from Sunway University and Monash University Malaysia help to oversee the smooth running of the AIESEC Global Volunteer programme and ensure that the volunteer teachers receive all the assistance and resources they need,” said Goh.
“I am pleased with the volunteers’ hard work and dedication, and I look forward to a long-lasting partnership with AISEC from these universities as they have left positive impacts on the children in developing good characteristics and personal values,” Miliee added.
The team leader from AISEC Monash University Malaysia, Huei Ting, 21, said that she and her team were honoured to have been part of the F&N E.L.I.T.E. programme for the past three years. “We try to engage up to three volunteers for every batch which lasts between six and 12 weeks. So far, we have received positive feedbacks from the kindergarten teachers and parents on the volunteer teachers’ contribution to Tadika Kassim Chin Humanity Foundation.
“Overall, the teaching faculty and parents commented that the volunteer teachers motivated the children to develop their imagination and creativity through interactive and engaging activities. These fun activities also encourage the children to develop a greater interest in learning and be more motivated to attend their classes,” she added.
Nineteen-year-old Yessi Isnain Adzanya from Indonesia who recently completed the volunteer programme felt happy to have been able to teach the children and be part of their lives for six weeks.
“I love children and I took part in this initiative to realise my passion in working with children who are from challenging situations in life. They are a loud and playful bunch but at the end of the day, they are children who need love and attention in order for them to succeed in life.
“I’m glad and thankful to have gained this memorable experience with the children alongside the wonderful teaching faculty and AISEC team who have helped me a lot in adapting to the local scenario. I hope to come back to Malaysia and do more volunteering work with the children here,” said Yessi who works as a Marketing Franchise Executive in Indonesia.
Madam Umayavalli, a teacher at Tadika Kassim Chin Humanity Foundation added that the participation of the volunteer teachers and AIESEC team have significantly helped facilitate an effective and enjoyable learning experience for the children.
“The volunteers lead successful careers back in their home countries and took time off work to help change the lives of these children. The kids admire them and look up to them as role models. Thanks to the volunteer teachers’ friendly demeanor and creative methods of teaching the children, the kids are more excited to learn and come to school. Hopefully the children will realise that the world is their oyster and they can be successful if they set their mind to it,” she said.
Meanwhile, Puan Fauziah Binti Ijar whose six-year-old son, Muhammad Hazrin Nafis was part of this year’s graduating batch, mentioned that the establishment of Tadika Kassim Chin Humanity Foundation at Pangsapuri Enggang helped to ease parents’ burden in providing quality early childhood education to the chidren.
“I would like to extend my sincere thanks to F&NHB and KCHF for their willingness to run a free kindergarten for our children here. I am also glad that kids from surrounding areas are also welcome to attend the kindergarten too. My son is now very good at counting and I am truly delighted with my son’s progress since joining Tadika Kassim Chin Humanity Foundation,” said Puan Fauziah.
Besides the kindergarten, KCHF also runs a free tuition centre for children aged between seven and 17 years old at Pangsapuri Enggang. F&NHB began its journey with KCHF in 2011 and so far, has contributed RM480,000.00 in cash and F&N milk and soya products to the Foundation to assist them with the financial resources and the nutritional needs of the children who attend the kindergarten and tuition centre at Pangsapuri Enggang.
To date, a total of 442 children have benefited from the F&N E.L.I.T.E programme (223 from five to six years old and 219 from seven to 17 years old). Since 2011, 107 children from the five to six age group have graduated, whilst the older children have graduated and managed to find jobs and live independently.
KCHF’s Pangsapuri Enggang education centre was officially established in 2006 and housed in two shop-lots, amongst eateries and sundry shops within the grounds of the flats. The humble teaching facility currently has an enrolment of 81 students of all ages, from pre-schoolers to secondary school children. The teaching or volunteer staff are mostly the residents themselves, many with their own children enrolled at the centre.