In Amala, we have recently been making videos to better advocate about what Amala is, what the student group does and trying to recruit new members to join from next year onwards. I think our main aim here was to work collaboratively with the people in our groups to get this task done as soon as possible as we would ideally like to start recruiting members for the group soon. I think in this process, I was able to work very collaboratively with Amairah, another G9 student that I was working with. Though most of our group was away on one of our sessions where we were working on this video, we were able to create a script, voice-record and film clips to go in the video all on the same side. Now, all that is left is editing. I think through this video-making process, I’ve really learned the importance of collaboration with others to get a task done in an effective manner, and I hope to continue using these collaboration skills to work with others in the group.
Another thing we did was call Phillipa (alumni from UWCSEA East, who was the previous chair of Amala and is now a volunteer.) Through the call, I was able to learn what she was doing now in Amala and how she has begun making a real difference to the learners at the refugee camps. A particularly thought-provoking story that she told us was that one of the articles we had published in the E-Brief to raise awareness about Amala had actually allowed a parent to know more about our organisation, and begin funding two courses that would take place in the refugee camp in Malaysia. I think this was incredibly moving because it taught us the significance of our actions on a global scale. Though it is sometimes frustrating to know that we can’t actually fundraise in our school because we are not a GC, hearing stories like these have taught me to change my mindset to recognise how our hard work actually translates into a real-life positive impact for the refugee learners.