- management@smallchangesmy.org
Over the past 10 years, SOD projects have been successfully executed to meet the standards set by our organisation. What started off as a motivational camp has now morphed into an empowerment camp serving beneficiaries, mainly students, in underprivileged communities. With English as the main medium of communication, Seeds of Deeds (SOD) aims to tackle the issue of education inequity. As such, the selection of schools is based on suggestions from education departments at both state and municipal levels as well as recent reports from the Department of Statistics Malaysia and the Ministry of Education Malaysia. In 2019, an astounding percentage (69%) of schools in Malaysia located in rural areas were found to lack sufficient access to educational resources. As such, we aim to equip these under-served students with the knowledge and soft skills they’ll need to effectively grasp opportunities that come their way.
Our SOD projects continue to thrive with the help of motivated volunteers, who have been exposed to experiences that we deem to be valuable in the development of Malaysian human capital. At Small Changes, we realise that acquiring knowledge and skills go way beyond the walls of a classroom. It is vital for students to be aware of the ongoing challenges and reality of the outside world, hence we aspire to develop our modules in a way that would not only focus on English empowerment but also equip our beneficiaries with the necessary skills to become holistic individuals.
In 2020, we aspire to continue empowering underserved communities who remain deprived of the much needed opportunities that they deserve. Through Seeds of Deeds, the students will be exposed to various focused modules, which will not only bolster their knowledge but also allow them to hone skills that would mould them into holistic individuals capable of facing the new, exigent millennial world. We plan to inculcate elements of Emotional Intelligence (EI) which include self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, intrinsic motivation and social skills because we believe that having EI opens gateways to powerful learning and is an important stepping stone to success.
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and in consideration for the health and safety of both beneficiaries and facilitators, we decided to execute SOD 2021 virtually via Zoom. For this particular year, not only did we get to empower the lives of 71 beneficiaries in total, but we also successfully conducted Small Changes’ flagship project virtually for the first time in history.
In 2022, The modules of our empowerment camp are based on four personal development facets which are Confidence in English, Professional Development, Shine From Within and Mental Matters. These modules are designed specifically to nurture the beneficiaries’ personal development skills, professional development skills and emotional intelligence which they can utilise in their lives and in the future. There are a total of 5 camps, which are divided into SOD Main Camp 1, Main Camp 2, Main Camp 3, Mini Camp 1 and Mini Camp 2. The state Melaka is chosen which involves 3 schools from the mentioned state. Teachers from the respective schools will be able to monitor the students and ensure that they are fully engaged and participating. Only 33 beneficiaries were selected from each school to avoid huge gatherings in strict adherence to the current COVID-19 protocols.
It is our hope that this is an opportunity for youths to be inspired by the continuous acts of kindness and to broaden their horizons and perspectives. We are currently recruiting volunteers for Seeds of Deeds 2023. Apply now before it’s too late!
