30.6.09

SWEEP 09!

I mentioned on my previous post before that i was going to attend to a program known as [ Social Work Exposure And Embracement Program] by FES. It was being held on 15-28 of Jun in Klang Valley. here are some photos that had been taken, to share with you some of the amazing+eye-opening experiences and things that I had learnt throughout =)




there were 18 of us in SWEEP- 12 students from different Uni and 6 staffs from FES . we were staying in a double-storey house for 2 weeks! thx 2 Crossroad =)


ms Yeo Swee Lan- She was the speaker for our last session 'heart & mind of the christian worker'. i like her gentleness & quiet spirit =)



Rev. Pax Tan- he was the speaker for 'reality of a social worker', I like his sense of humour =)



Celebrating Gabriel's birthday ! thx Jinny for the lovely birthday card.





MAB- Malaysia Association of Blind in Brickfield, i visited this place on my 1st day of attachment. the people here are blind or having some visiual impairmnet. they can be benefited from rich resources such as library,job trainning and computer trainning provided by MAB.




this is the throne of Jesus where we surrendered our commitment and fear unto His hands, trusting Him in leading n guiding us in being faithful even after SWEEP.


psalm 89:14- righteousness & justice are the foundation of Your throne, love & faithfulness go before you.



we had our SWEEP final reflection in tmn jaya park. I really like the place except for the ants, spiders, mozzie and bugs. other than those, it is a beautiful place =)



this shot was taken on the last day of SWEEP . we were waiting for the closing ceremony to start. the one sitting on the couch on the left is Peter Young. he is being known as father of social work in M'sia.



Mr. James Nayagam-our speaker on 'opportunity for involvement'. i like his interactive way of conducting his talk.


Debriefing in the office of United Voice with Ms SweeLan.



united voice's people + SWEEPers, United voice is a project of self -advocacy caters to people with learning disabilities and it is known as the 1st registered society in M'sia being lead by people with learning disabilities.



I was giving a presentation on 'Grooming- table manner', to the members in United Voice . actually, i kindda did it badly especially when i was asked to conduct it in bahasa. i was supposed to say 'cara makan sopan' but i ended up saying 'ganas', good thing they only laugh at my mistake. that what i like bout them of being so simple and nice.


we were setting up the place for the Grooming talk given to all the members in United Voice. the session includes proper ways to greet people, communicate with people, table manner, dressing up oneself,etc etc....


Pastor Andrew Wong-he was the speaker on 'Christian Response to Social Work'. yummy jelly! Jinny and i were being taught on how to make jelly by these 2 lovely girls from United Voice. Apart from jelly, they also make cookies and omochi(a type of Japanese dessert). they are so professional in it.




Uniter Voice-An employment Project to create employment for persons with learning disabilities

this is the stall where the UV members sell their hardwork =) i miss the omochi


Sunday outing- SWEEP was not merely looking in the social concern, we were glad to have one-day-off on sunday to hang out together. this is BAR B Q where we had our lunch after Church. something that amazed me here was, they used lard to oil the surface of the pot instead of normal cooking oil. interesting





tmn jaya park


snap shot of what we learnt and being exposed to throughout the SWEEP


I had been exposed to the issues that break God's heart, now what? What are my responses and what are the things that God wants from me?


we visited Pink Triangle Foundation in Chow Kit. it is a community-based, voluntary non-profit making organization providing HIV/AIDS education, prevention, care and support program, sexuality awareness and empowerment program for vulnerable communities in M'sia.


the mural on the ceiling of PT Foudation


Summary of the 1st week


Green papers are thoughts that we had written down of what stood out to us on the 1st week, whereas the yellow papers are things that we are hoping to learn or to discover.


Questions that we asked ourselves after going through so many sessions of exposure and understanding.


What is discrimination??!! it covers so many things ...which group of people do I discriminate in my daily life?!


Initially my thoughts on social work is an act of compassion and a pair of helpful hands. During SWEEP, it made me realised that s. w. is an act of living out God's kingdom with the complement of professional skills and willing heart to serve others sincerely.




We had the privilege to pay a visit to UNHCR and Refugees' camp to understand 1st hand on their situation. we were also blessed by the sharing given by 2 refugees-a Burmese and a Rohingyas.


the one on the left is a permanent staff in united voice. she works with people with learning disablilty for 4 yrs already.


adorble


they are a bunch of nicest people who had made me see how life can be simple but meaningful =)


magnetic holder done by people in United voice

Steven is a child with autism, yet i find him very helpful and thoughtful.


master piece! -this piece of magnificient art was being drawn by a kid with autism too. Bravo!



Jennifer- the girl that makes omochi and jelly =)
Wai han- i enjoyed working with her in the UV stall selling cookies, jelly and omochi.



Packing up omochi


in the midst of 'producing' edible omochi, see the girl beside me? her name is Intan, lovely! for understanding poverty session, we went to selayang flat and by the help of YKPM, we managed to visit a poverty-stricken Indian family. here was also the place that i had my most embarrassing moment throughout SWEEP, if you want to know, ask me personally. She was a single mother that trying to make end meets and to feed 6 schooling children on her own. I really praise her for being so tough and never gives up hope despite the circumstances. to me, she is beautiful.



this is the meeting hall that we had our debriefing with YKPM on understanding poverty. I like their objective on transforming the mindset of the poor towards self-reliance and development of their own communities through knowledge.



SWEEP banner that survived the rain and storm and sunlight! colourful isnt it?!



these are a group of blind children being trained in MAB to adapt to the society. they were singging national anthem when i was taking this photo.
the boy in green is Rafi- he was being diagnosed with eye-cancer few years back. the medical practitioner taken out his eye balls and replaced them with artificial eye balls.it hurt me when he mentioned to me that he felt painful during chemptheraphy.

childrean at the ABC centre in MAB.



Before we ended our attachment in MAB, we discovered this cute little donation box on the wall, very antique, i coudnt resist the temptation of taking photo with it ;p

this teacher was also having partial vision impairment, he was teaching this young girl on how to use a Braille type-writter.
trying out the type-writter, Mr Taslim is a blind man too, but to me, he can walk, drink and talk as if he is having perfect vision. thanks to him that we manage to learn Braille in one day.

i have no idea what is this, but we saw it in MAB. is it some sort of penta-cycle?



Mr yam is the 2nd guy from your right, he was an engineer before he was struck by some deadly bacterias that turn him blind one year ago. He is a tough guy, you can read more about him in his blog -http://blindsight.blogspot.com/



it was game time! we were having fun with the blind by playing Domino.