Padang Jawa, 13 December 2023 - In a heartwarming endeavor to spark the joy of reading among the young, “An Expression Through Readings”, a literary program under the initiative of Service Learning Malaysia
- University for Society (SULAM), was successfully organized by the College of Computing, Informatics, and Mathematics (KPPIM) Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Puncak Perdana.
The program, which runs under the umbrella of the Children Librarianship project, was attended by 50 preschool children and 4 teachers. This progressive program, designed to increase cognitive, social, and emotional skills while nurturing the potential and competitiveness of these young bright minds, created a buzz within the preschool community as it offers an immersive joy of the combination of reading with interactive gaming. This program also involved 41 undergraduates from the Bachelor of Information Science (Hons.) Library Management program.
In the weeks leading up to the event, the UiTM undergraduates work closely to prepare a variety of age-appropriate activities that also reflect the cultural and linguistic diversity of the school community. This resulted in the “Straw Building” and “Storytelling” activities, serving as the program’s main feature.
The “Straw Building” challenged participants to construct any structure which enabled them to demonstrate their creativity and teamwork whilst learning the value of structural and engineering design. The Storytelling segment on the other hand fostered awareness of societal responsibility, environmental protection, and ethical behavior. Using various multimedia elements, this interactive session also encouraged conversations among participants and actively involved them in the narrative
Pn Fatin Hamirah Roslan, one of the preschool teachers, gave her reflections on the literary event's success as well as their insights into how the activities affected the kids. “Straw Building and Storytelling activities were emphasized for their significance as a special way to let kids express their creativity and problem-solving abilities while also absorbing important values that go beyond the scope of standard education”. In all, the literary event was a resounding success leaving the kids wanting for more similar events in the near future.
KPPIM SULAM 2023/2024 programme is one of the initiatives aimed at empowering and serving the community through volunteer activities. Undergraduates are given the opportunity to apply their knowledge practically and discover how the knowledge they have acquired can also improve the living standards of the local community. The activities also support the aspirations of Fourth, and Eleventh Sustainable Development Goals, which are Quality Education, as well as Sustainable Cities and Communities. It is also in line with the visions of Malaysia Madani.
