You’ve heard countless stories of selfless teachers going the extra mile to support their students despite the ongoing pandemic. From driving up to 21 kilometres just to pass students homework in the pouring rain to hiking up a hill for 2-hours just to help students get wifi connection, teachers will do just about anything to ensure their students are receiving the education they deserve.
But why do these teachers feel the need to do these extreme acts of kindness, to begin with?
In the face of COVID-19, electronic devices such as phones, laptops and wifi have become the ‘new norm’, transforming from simple wants to necessary needs for education. But the truth is that for many B40 and underprivileged families, they still can’t afford the proper laptops or sufficient wifi connections they need to go to school.
A collaborative effort between HungerHurts, Arus Anak Muda, Consurv Technic and also Kitafund, #ConnectRakyat is a fundraising campaign set up in direct response to this issue, aimed at providing and distributing 100 laptops to underprivileged students from SMK Sultan Abdul Samad, Kg Tunku area and Lembah Pantai areas.
Speaking with WORLD OF BUZZ, Aida Rashid, a project volunteer at Hunger Hurts, and Nabil Halimi, Co-founder of Arus Anak Muda and #ConnectRakyat spokesperson, respectfully, explained their organisations’ collective motives behind starting this campaign and what they wish to get out of it.
“Education is one of the most important basic needs and it needs to be duly preserved to ensure a better future for these students. No one should have to climb a tree or cross a worn-out bridge to get access to something so basic,” Aida explains.
“Online learning is not conducive and effective for everybody due to the lack of access to sufficient electronic devices and an internet connection, and sooner everybody acknowledges such inequality is prevalent, sooner we could start making real changes.”
As of the 27th of November, #ConnectRakyat has managed to raise a total of RM3160, only 17% of their RM50,000 goal. They still need to raise another RM46, 840 in a total of 4 weeks time.
“It is time that the Government should realize that they did not put much attention towards this issue,” Nabil asserts.
“Facing IR4.0, I believe that we need a drastic solution and all organization involved, especially Telco companies, should also assist in this issue. We cannot ignore this as the future of our country relies on our future generation.”
“Every donation really matters for these kids. Even though its only RM1 donated, if we can manage to collect 50,000 Malaysians to participate in this donation drive, we can achieve the target,” Nabil continues.
“This first phase of Connect Rakyat is crucial, we hope it would be a success.”
If you’re interested in donating to #ConnectRakyat, visit https://kitafund.com/8849-connect-rakyat and click ‘sponsor’ to donate whatever you can! All money raised via this fundraising campaign will be audited to ensure a smooth distribution to all receiving students.
Also read: “Some of them are used to not eating for a day or two” Teacher Helps Students & Their Families
