Lyna Mohammad
The eMpowering Youth Across ASEAN (EYAA) programme is a regional initiative that engages talented youth aged 19 to 35 across ASEAN member states and aims to galvanise youth volunteerism to lead a meaningful change in the region.
The EYAA was launched by the ASEAN Foundation in 2018 in partnership with Maybank Foundation to develop and implement community projects delivering tangible long-term social and economic impact in selected community sites.
Since it was launched, EYAA has empowered 175 ASEAN youth to create meaningful impacts on communities across the region through 20 arts and culture, community building, education and environmental initiatives in Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines with over 38,000 beneficiaries having directly benefitted from these community initiatives
Selected youth volunteers are divided into groups based on topics they chose prior to undertaking the community projects (arts and culture, community building, education or environment).
They also need to undergo a regional orientation and capacity-building workshop to receive training on various topics, from how to develop project plans covering a broad range of developmental issues to coming up with impactful awareness-raising campaigns. After simultaneous mobilisation to 10 community areas, volunteers will implement their community projects in partnership with local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) for two weeks.
Vice President of EduSpark Project Abdul Hadi bin Haji Abdullah was one of the youth selected to represent Brunei Darussalam in the programme based on his volunteering work experience in the Sultanate. Among those included Youth Against Poverty in 2018, Ramadhan Donation Drive from 2012 to 2018 and as a scout volunteer involved in a tsunami aid.
He highlighted that the programme was a valuable opportunity and would always stay in his mind, after having gone through various challenges and bittersweet memories during his participation of the programme in Battambang, Cambodia to help the community there, with the guidance by local NGO Khmer NGO for Education (KHEN).
Another memorable experience was in the construction of a Youth Centre in Battambang to encourage the community, particularly youth, to be exposed to the importance of education, especially in information technology (IT).
Abdul Hadi shared that the programme was the first organised by both ASEAN Foundation and Maybank Foundation. He noted that in 2018 alone, 100 ASEAN members made up of 10 participants from each ASEAN state were selected to participate in the programme.
Malaysia, Indonesia and Cambodia were the countries selected to carry out the project themed Education, Social and Culture and Economy.
ASEAN youth were dispatched to these countries and worked together with selected local NGOs to collaborate in carrying out the project.
Reflecting on his experience in Battambang, Abdul Hadi said they also provided training and seminar services to teachers posted at rural schools and also conducted a roadshow at National University of Battambang on the importance and volunteer awareness, targetting the undergraduates at the university.
Among the challenges he faced was having to communicate with the local residents through a translator due to the language barrier making it hard to communicate effectively.
“As most of the residents there are non-Muslims, we had to be careful and at the same time we had to be sensitive to the feelings of the residents when being served with food. We also had trouble in locating the Kiblat to perform our daily prayers,” shared Abdul Hadi.
Another challenge in carrying out the volunteering work was in the rural village close to the Thai border, as landmines in the area are still active despite the local government working on destroying them.
Challenges aside, there were also sweet memories for him such as being able to help those in need of education. He highlighted that it was a memory to treasure to be able to interact directly with the undergraduates and share their experiences and views on educational issues in their country.
The programme also helped to raise volunteers’ experience and knowledge in various state arrangements to implement volunteering projects.
There are various positive impacts that the local teenagers and children gained through the project, including enjoying upgraded education programmes and the building of the Youth Centre. Although it is a small building, an IT area was also provided for the local community to be exposed to latest technology.
Abdul Hadi hopes to be able to upgrade his capability in management and planning as the programme is organised by ASEAN. He also hopes to upgrade his knowledge and skills that would be of significance in the professional career world.
He also took the opportunity to call on youth here to grab opportunities such as this, locally or abroad, as programmes such as EYAA are an eye opener and helps upgrade skills as the country’s future leaders.
“I am grateful and feel fortunate to be living in our country where the welfare of the citizens is always prioritised compared to those abroad, where citizens mostly rely on NGO assistance to build schools and education infrastructure, particularly in rural and remote areas.”
In the aspect of security, he also expressed gratitude that the country is in a peaceful and tranquil state without threats.
