Banting, Malaysia - Under the theme ‘1 Community for Peace Service’, a small town 55 km from Kuala Lumpur was the venue for the Multicultural Youth Service project December 4-11, 2010. Forty youths from all over Malaysia plus two from Thailand and Singapore came together for a period of eight days for the Religious Youth Service experience.
After an intensive orientation session conducted by RYS alumnae Madame Santha and Madame Shakirah, the participants poured their heart and sweat into the service work – a key element of the RYS experience. The service sites selected were two primary schools that desperately needed a new coat of paint.
The RYS was organized by UPF Malaysia with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Department of National Unity and Integration. The participants completed the mammoth task of painting the old wing of the school in Jenjarom. They were assisted by skilled professionals who taught them the finer art of painting. The local community also joined in to help in the service work.
RYS was not all about physical work. There were educational and motivational talks conducted by invited speakers. Topics of these talks include Emotional Intelligence, 8 Summits of Success and Say No to Smoking. The participants spent some of their free time at the beach close by. They also visited the famous Dong Zen Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Temple, a mosque, a Hindu temple, and a Christian church to experience first hand the various faith traditions in Malaysia.
Madame Shakirah conducted a few educational modules, ice breakers, and team-building sessions that helped to bond and open up the participants' hearts. As the orientation ended, the service project was introduced. All the participants were divided into groups with assigned tasks.
The RYS project concluded with a cultural show, which included great performances by each group contributing their unique skits, dances, and songs. Representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Department of National Unity and Integration, the headmasters of the two schools, UPF-Malaysia Committee, and members of the local community participated. The Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, YB Kohilan, congratulated the participants for the service they provided as well as UPF Malaysia for its initiative through RYS that is in line with the vision of 1 Malaysia.
Although the youth came from different cultural background, they concluded the project in the spirit of one community sharing common experiences, appreciation for one another, gratitude for their own lives, and a confidence in a better future.
This was the 14th project Religious Youth Service has conducted in Malaysia.