#KitaTerangi Lights Up the Hearts of Refugees and Unitenians

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KAJANG, 4TH JUNE 2018 – On May 28, 2018, KitaTerangi was held in the UNITEN’s students’ lounge at the UNITEN Student Centre (USC). KitaTerangi is an initiative by #KITAUNITEN to engage with the most vulnerable community in our society, refugees. UNITEN reached out to students from IDEAS Academy to help provide a holistic education. IDEAS Academy is a secondary learning center for underprivileged children, including those who are refugees, stateless and undocumented. It is located in Kuala Lumpur.

Preparations for KitaTerangi were ongoing ever since UNITEN’s recent semester break (May) and took place on May 28. 50 students from the academy attended the event. There was street sketching activity for the students, conducted by a freelance artist, Mr. Aliff Danial. The session started at 3 p.m. and lasted for two hours. They were taught about shades and even sketched the faces of their friends.

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The ‘Majlis Iftar’, or Iftar ceremony, followed shortly after at 6 pm. The event started off with the emcee welcoming everyone to the ceremony and a few words from the program director, Siti Nurwala binti Zulkifly Hani. She was thankful for all the support she received throughout the event and beforehand.

 

Next, the general manager of IDEAS Academy, Ms. Sopiah Suid gave out her speech. She expressed her highest gratitude to the program director, Siti Nurwala and UNITEN for carrying out such an event. This is mainly due to the fact refugees do not have many dedicated facilities for themselves. She stressed that the notion of carrying out the program itself was an overly kind and thoughtful gesture.

 

In her speech, she spoke about how they have been running IDEAS academy for past few years and their background. IDEAS Academy is an alternative learning place and not a school as they are not registered under the Ministry of Education. They have just started for a few years and this year is the first time for the academy to have representatives for IGCSE program.

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After the speech, program director Siti Nurwala officiated the donation distribution, amounting to RM2793. As a sign of an appreciation, the students of IDEAS academy had prepared a performance for the audience on the day. A key feature in the set of heart-warming performances was the inclusion of three languages in one Nasyeed, which is a musical recitation of Quranic verses. The event was concluded with a bountiful buffet for all attendees.

Thanks to Skuad Media Uniten for images

Written by: Sharmella Ramalingam

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