Melacca 2008

Summer 2008 Melaka

 Article by Annelijn Kluts, 17 years old. Annelijn was a participant of the Melacca Service Project 2008 where we teamed up with participants from the Netherlands and Spain. Annelijn lives in the Netherlands.

In the summer of 2008, a group of 9 other girls and I participated in a project organized by the SVO (a dutch student organization: Students for development). On the 14^th of July, we went to Sydney by plane, where we were lucky enough to be able to attend the World Youth Day event.

Annelijn and Karen

After this inspiring and wonderful week, we went to Malaysia to work on a Social Project together with other students from Singapore. We would be working at the Livio Learning Centre – which is a day-care centre set up there, in Melakka, for poor children and for children that are having trouble with learning or lacking basic knowledge. Thanks to the Livio Learning Centre, the children would go to the centre after their school to have lessons and to learn and play.

In the mornings we painted the school and we cleaned. In the afternoon we gave the children classes about English, hygiene and geography. We also did a lot of creative workshops. It was so amazing to see these children happy, and to see they wanted to learn things. Despite the fact these children were very poor, they still wanted to share everything they had.

Painting the Mural

We learned a lot from this ourselves, because here in the Netherlands everything is good, but we still want to have lots of things that aren’t really necessary. It was a very good lesson for us to see how grateful and generous these children were, even though they didn’t really have anything at all.

 

 

It was also very special to experience the hospitality of these children and their families. One day, we went by the houses of some of the children so we could see what they lived like, this being able to understand them better. We arrived there with seven or eight girls, and even though the parents didn’t know we were coming, they still made us lemonade and food. They have almost nothing, but they give everything to other people anyway, and they allowed us in without hesitation.

The children and their families were so hospitable!

The work at the school wasn’t always easy or fun, because it was very hot and it cost a lot of energy. But the idea that you were doing it for someone else who needed it, was beautiful, here too we learned a lot: to work together, to do things right, and to carry on even if we were tired. And the result was fantastic!

 

On the 10^th of August we went home again, with a whole lot of new luggage. We learned a lot these weeks, and experienced loads of new things!! It was a trip that will remain in our memories for many years to come!

 More information:  Livio Learning Centre •Tel: 06-284 5227.

Heading home from the Livio Learning Centre

We waited for the public bus home together.