First Visit (19th Sept. 2018):
After doing our initial research and investigation at school about 4PM, we had a general overview and idea about what 4PM does for the local Malay community in Singapore. During our first visit to the 4PM location, we further inquired into our investigation about the mission of 4PM. We learned that they are Malay youth literary association that strive to develop community through education. We also learned that:
- They encourage the spirit of volunteerism which continue from generation to generation
- Volunteering based on the needs of people that they are helping
- They encourage sacrifice – dropping everything to help someone else in need
- They want to inspire change in their community
Youth:
- They have multiple programs, including the kindergarten (who are going to be our main partners for this service). However, their main program targets Malaysian youth at risk in Singapore
- They give a platform for youths to have a voice and support them when experiencing peer pressure, family pressures or financial issues
- They identify kids whose grades are not as good as they could be because of the course that they are forced to be apart of, and create an alternative for students
- They motivate them to continue to work hard in school (they focus on team building and fun activities to break the barrier between teacher and students)
Second Visit (26th Sept. 2018):
In our second visit we talked to the leaders of the 4PM kindergarten, Alfidah and Almira, to get some more relevant and specific information about the partners we are going to work with. We found that:
- An average day for a student comprises of: 6 classes, 2 classes per college, assigned classroom, youth at risk (follow up and attract them back)
- The center operates from 7am to 7pm
- Children’s ages range from 2-6 years old (40 altogether)
- 75% comes from Low income, don’t have support from home
- Majority are Malay students, speak Malay but they also speak English
- K2 Class: 12, K1 Class: 12 (3 of which are girls), M2: 8, M1: 5, PG: 2
- They strive to enhance: language skills, pronunciation and usage
- The leaders wish to see the kids being more active, expressing themselves through speech and drama
- Storytelling as part of drama: expose to different genres
- As a service, we will be helping to achieve their goals of enhancing their confidence and performance skills
- They want to ensure safety of the children by creating a comfortable environment for them to learn and grow