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| The motivation talk by (from top left) Kelvin, Tonny & Devebra. |
Last weekend, 2 Engineers & 1
Kolej Laila Taib staff member came to
SMK Katibas to conduct a motivation talk & an engineering workshop for the students at no expense to the school. Mind you, they had to make use of their annual leave to make time for this programme so I was extremely honoured to receive them. Despite having really successful careers, they were all very friendly & humble as well as involved with a lot of volunteer work with NGOs. This is exactly what I want my students to be in the future.
After reading about
the Japanese lectuer's visit to my school & the lack of Iban role models for the students at my remote school, Devebra decided to pull together her professional Iban friends & see who was interested in volunteering their time for a programme at my remote school. 2 really impressive Iban engineers answered her call & the rest is history. This is the first time I've invited Ibans to my school! Sarawakians are usually not so keen on visiting rural parts of the state. These guys were different & I'm really glad to have worked with them.
Devebra works at Kolej Laila Taib which offers diploma courses with plenty of scholarships so a large majority of their students get their first certificate in higher education for free! I thought that it'll be a great option for my students since the college is in Sibu & not far away from their home in Katibas. The college has got hostel facilities &, best of all, they don't have to burden their parents too much with the costs of further education.
Besides doing a motivation talk at my school, they also conducted an Engineering & Architecture workshop at my school. Check out the pictures below!
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| Build the tallest tower using only 4 pieces of A4 paper & 1 roll of cellophane tape. |
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| Using straws to build the tallest tower. |
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| Build a container which can help an egg survive a 3-storey drop. |
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| The results of the egg-drop challenge. |
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Create unique items using egg trays & present them to a panel of judges.
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The smiles on the faces of my students & the problem solving they had to do as a team really made this a memorable event. Thank you, Devebra, Kelvin & Tonny for coming all the way into the jungle to work with my kids!
If you're Iban & you've have a great story to share or you would like to do something similar at my school,
contact me. All of my students are Iban & I've been trying very unsuccessfully to get Ibans with successful careers to come to my school. The children here do not have good role models in the local community who inspire them to strive harder to achieve greater results. Those who can inspire them are rarely willing to make time or put in any effort to show up & intervene. Because of that, the rural Iban people are relegated to menial work & remain lowly-educated for generations!
This has to change! I've brought in
Americans,
Japanese,
West Malaysians &
other Sarawakian ethnics. It's time for the Iban people to rise up & make a difference in the lives of their own people.
Contact me. Please. I beg you. These children are really lovely & they deserve a better chance at life.
