Community Service Initiative, BA (Hons) Interior Architecture.

Community Service Initiative, BA (Hons) Interior Architecture.

May 19, 2017

What started out as a compulsory module for students to comply turned out to be one of their best experiences and lessons learnt in “giving and fulfillment”.

Last Semester, September 2016, students of the BA (Hons) in Interior Architecture embarked on several projects. There were 36 students in total (Semester 6 and Semester 7).They were divided into 4 groups serving 2 different organisations.

2 groups served the Persatuan Pemulihan Orang-Orang Cacat Selangor & Wilayah Persekutuan (PPOC), a rehabilitation centre for the handicapped. Another 2 groups served the Kompleks Penyayang Bakti, home for the aged and homeless.[

Projects:

PPOC:

Group 1: Consisted of 8 students who helped to come up with CREATIVE IDEAS for PPOC to make products for sale. The money received is income for PPOC and the making of these products is a form of rehabilitation exercise. The products are primarily made from cloth. The students helped in the production workshop, sorting out bales and boxes of cloth received from donations, cutting and sewing. Even the boys were sewing! No qualms about doing what it takes to help and contribute. True community service.

Group 2: Consisted of 8 students who organized a fund raising event for the sale of PPOC products. They made all the enquiries at different venues, communicated well with PPOC and the venue management about pricing and terms, and finally executed the event themselves. For the event, they volunteered their service as salespersons over a weekend at the chosen mall. All earnings were donated to PPOC.

Kompleks Penyayang Bakti:

Group 3: Consisted of 10 students who helped to redecorate the interior walls of the main dining hall of the Kompleks. The students got a taste of a real life project, beginning with a meeting with the management, getting their brief, designing and getting their approval and finally hands-on execution of their design. Teamwork could not be more successful through this project and the reward of seeing the residents smile and personally thanking the students is immense. The true reward on how their interior works can uplift a person’s state is understood.

Group 4: Consisted of 10 students who helped to, through their creative design, rejuvenate the outdoor gazebo in the compounds of the Kompleks. Teamwork and hands-on execution of a design is always a good recipe for good learning. The students got 100% of this lesson through their building of an outdoor bench and a hanging garden wall for an existing gazebo using recycled plastic bottles. A good sustainable practice seen in this project. They even managed to attract the young residents to help and enjoy with them doing this project. The end product is a facelift for the existing gazebo, which will now be more pleasant place to sit and relax. A small contribution can go a long way in helping people feel happier.

Overall, this module has instilled a good sense of gratitude and pride in the students and they found out that through their work, the reward is not always monetary yet priceless. I as their lecturer coordinating this module am of course beaming with pride with their work achievement but more so their attitude achievement.

Congratulations to all the students! ….BA (Hons) Interior Architecture,

CSI MPU 4 Module, UCM60102U4 September-December 2016.

Noorseah Amat
Senior Lecturer, Interior Architecture
The Design School.
12 April 2017.