JANTING ANAK TINGOM (U2001367)

In my opinion, the Wave of Change project has been successful from the very beginning. The planning of the project, and execution of the activity until the very end of this project have been going very well. Hence, I would like to share my experience and what I learned during the planning and preparation of this project, event day, and after the event had been done from this project in this Self-Reflection for GIG1005: Social Engagement.

1) Preparation of the Wave of Change project

For this project, 5 meetings have been made in order to thoroughly prepare for this event. The first meeting is about brainstorming about which activities we want to make. Several ideas have been given by my teammates which include cleaning the beach, teaching students at nearby schools, going to community parks, and volunteering at the zoo. We were given a week to choose the best projects among the choice and polls were made so that we all can choose. During the second meeting, our leader, which is Muhammad Firdaus announce that the winner of the poll was teaching students at nearby schools and cleaning the beach because it has a lot more pros than cons. We started searching for nearby schools and beaches and getting their office numbers to ask permission for doing the project at their school. We also ask our lecturer in charge which is Dr Tan for his thought about the project. He gave us some remarkable advice. 

During the third meeting, Firdaus started to distribute work about the proposal that going to be presented in week 6. We decided that it is safer to do two proposals instead of one in order to be safe. I was tasked by him to do the planning for the beach project. In the fourth meeting, we presented our proposal to Dr. Tan and we have his approval for both projects. We decided to do the teaching project because it will be much easier and nearer to UM but most schools rejected our idea because at that time it was dangerous to make indoor activities due to the hot weather. Hence, cleaning the beach ends up winning and Wave of Change projects have been born. In the fifth meeting, we decided to discuss potential activities that can be made to attract other people, transportation, and equipment that were needed for that project. During that meeting, we listed out every item that will be required for this project and whose car will be used to go to the beach. In the end, Darwish, Linggeshwar, and Jinn Ren’s cars were going to be used as transportation. I, Faiz, and Firdaus was tasked to buy the item needed for this project based on the list that have been made. We bought stuff like mineral water, scissors, hand gloves, and more. Hence all the items and transportation have been prepared and settled. 

In the sixth meeting, Firdaus wanted to remind everyone to wake up early for the event tomorrow. Hence from this preparation stage, I learned how to communicate effectively with my fellow teammates in order to plan this project thoroughly. Firdaus was also a great leader because he was able to explain thoroughly his vision of this project and how he wants this project to be done. Some of my teammates also actively engage during each meeting although some did not even attend the meeting without any reason. Thanks to this preparation stage also, I was able to learn how to manage my time very well because I also have other activities and events to attend. 

2) Event day

The day our groups waited for has finally arrived. All of us gathered at the Biomedical Engineering department before 8.00 a.m as Firdaus suggested the day before during the meeting. After Firdaus give some talk about where we going to meet when arrived and about breakfast, we decided to hit the road at exactly 8.30 a.m. It was a pretty long journey. We arrived at Pantai Bagan Lalang around 10.30 a.m and a lot of tourists were there with their tents. Trash can be seen everywhere on the beach and people there seem to not care at all. By the time our group arrived, all of our teammates were already there. We were given some instructions by Firdaus and divided into a few teams to cover the whole area. We started to clean the beach and it runs pretty smoothly. I was with Faiz when we cleaned the beach. We collected trash like used bottles, old cloth, used cigarettes, and more. 

While picking up some trash, some of us started to interview people at the beach. We ask a lot of questions and got some really great responses. The people there did not afraid to voice out their opinions. For example, I decided to interview an old couple about their thought on the dirt beach. They gave good responses and even supports our program which makes us happy because they are other people who think like us and love our nature. They even gave me RM20 to buy drinks for our group which is really great. Thanks to this activity, we were able to connect to the nearby communities about our vision which really helps the beach to stay clean.

We were going around the beach for 2 hours to look for trash and we also not forgetting to separate the recyclable material like plastic bottles. The beach started to look very clean. “Our effort was not going to waste”, we said to ourselves. The recyclable material that has been separated was going to be used for the water filtration project to show that this stuff is not just trash but can be used for something else. Other non-recyclable trash was thrown away in a nearby dumpster. Some of our Muslim teammates also cleaned the prayer room. They gently swept and dusted the prayer area, clearing away any dust or clutter that may have developed, with brooms and cleaning supplies in hand. They also carefully placed the prayer mats and made sure that everything was in its rightful location to create a calm and serene mood. Before going back to UM, we decided to look back at what we have done at the beach. It was such a beautiful scenery. A beach with lesser trash is truly the best view you can hope for.

Although it is tiring due to the hot weather, it is very worth the pain. This beach becomes much more beautiful and we also learn new things. We were able to work together to make this project runs smoothly. It helps strengthens the bond between us and also with the communities. All group members were actively helping each other. Thanks to the same vision we had as a group member, we were able to make this project achieve its objectives.

3) After the event

It is undeniable that cleaning the beach is an important thing to do for every people in the world and it has been an honor for us to be able to change the Pantai Bagan Lalang from a pretty dirty beach into a clean beach. After the event had been done and people getting enough rest, we decided to start our final report for this project which is discussed during the seventh meeting. Thanks to this project, we were able to learn many stuff that can be utilized in our daily life. The importance of teamwork when doing something is really helpful for students, especially during a group project or other event where fellow students have the same goals. Not to mention, appreciating nature also shapes our group to become better humans and enhances the importance of protecting nature. Other communities at the beach are also able to learn the importance of preserving nature and recycling for the better future.