The Sprouter, a movement and a social enterprise that is devoted towards positivity, innovation, service and entrepreneurship, recently organised a charity drive to an Orang Asli village at Kampung Sinju, Simpang Pulai, Perak.
The entire village consists of 37 families and with over 250 individuals living there, there are more than 50 children within the village. All do not attend school.
The charity drive which managed to raise a total of RM1500 in goods, was aimed to help the poor villagers and children in need. The children live in poverty with no formal education. The Sprouter organised this charity drive to raise awareness and to bring in volunteers to help these children and families with basic necessities.
Many volunteers came by and donations of goods in kind were from Tenby International School, Ametis International School, and many other non-governmental organizations. The contributions from these organisations and individuals range from food, children’s chairs, books, toys, clothes and many other basic needs.
Harry Seggu, founder and organiser of The Sprouter, said that “this is one way that we can spread the seeds of hope. These people need us and we as a community can do our part to make a difference to these individuals by helping them with some basic needs and education.”
Nicholas Lee, Director of Youth Development of the Global Peace Foundation Malaysia, said that “such an event brings light and hope to these communities. We must serve without judgment.”
The event brought about volunteers from all walks of life and they were able to see how these communities live a minimalist life. There is a huge disparity between those who live in the city and those who live in these villages.
Some of the volunteers were surprised to see that these children had not even seen a toy before. It was their very first time holding a toy. The children were also given some children’s books with illustrations to help them with some visual learning.
Harry also said that, “It was definitely an eye opener and many of these children need help, especially education. And we need to do something about this. They are part of our community and it is really good to see people coming by for this event to help these communities and we hope that more people would take part in the near future with events such as these.”
The next trip to the same village will be on December 21. Donations and volunteers are welcome to attend and those interested can contact Harry Seggu at 016 391 2518 for more information.
