UTHM

Monday April 11, 2011

Orang asli youngsters taken on university tour as part of a community project

By SRI VIGASHINI
newsdesk@thestar.com.my

JOHOR BARU: A group of 26 orang asli teenagers in Tangkak were given an insight of varsity life and the importance of higher education through a community project.

The teenagers were taken to University Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) campus by a group of students there under the Project Orang Asli Tangkak (OAT) to have a closer look at what university life was all about.

Student and project manager L. Rineshwaran, 21, said he and his team started to work on the project since September last year.

“Through the programme, we hope we could encourage these students, who were in primary and secondary school, to strive and study hard to continue their education all the way to the university.

He said they do not want them to end up as rubber tappers like their parents in their village in Kampung Tanah Gemboh, Ladang Bekoh Village in Tangkak.

Citing an example, he said a 17-year-old girl from the village had to forgo her dream of becoming a teacher, as her family could not afford a computer and her poor command of English.

Under the one-day programme, organised by Student In Free Enterprise (Sife) UTHM and UTHM Counselling and Career Club, the teenagers were taken around the campus.

Rineshwaran said the trip was aimed at getting them interested in tertiary education.

“We had a lot of fun including playing games, getting the kids to use the computers and Internet and also a campus tour.

“The feedback from the teenagers were positive,” he added.

He said Sife is also planning to place computers with Internet facilities, conduct financial management workshops and English tuition to the orang asli students in their village.

“We hope corporate companies will help to sponsor the project which would benefit the orang asli children,” he said.

Sife is a non-profitable organisation in UTHM. It works with business leaders to mobilise university students to become socially responsible.