“Think of giving not as a duty but as a privilege” were the wise words of the late John Davison Rockefeller Sr., an American business magnate and philanthropist. However, despite the abundance of resources, wealth, and food around us it is unfortunate that many people still go hungry.
Acknowledging this, INTI International College Penang’s Leo Club organised an initiative to combat hunger among the homeless, poor, and orphans in Penang through the Hunger Relief Effort, an initiative that aims to provide food aid to communities in need.
Members of the IICP Leo Club posing for a photo before they distributed bread and mineral water in the Guan Yin Temple area.
“The objective of this initiative is to meet the needs of the less fortunate. It is a small gift from us so they can feel the warmth and kindness of the society,” said club’s vice president and project coordinator, Amos Yeoh Yi Xuan.
Twenty students, a majority from the Cambridge A Levels programme, collected a total of RM600 through a fundraising initiative during which they collected a minimum donation of RM10 from each participant, funding subsidies from IICP’s student council INTIMA, and sponsorship from seniors of the club.
All smiles from children at the Penang Shan Children’s Home.
“We are grateful for INTIMA’s support. Though the money collected is modest, we believe that each kind gesture goes a long way. We can contribute within our means to support those who are struggling to make ends meet,” he said.
The collected funds were able to provide 200 loaves of bread, 120 bottles of mineral water, and 40 packets of fried rice to the homeless and poor around the Guan Yin Temple area, as well as children at the Penang Shan Children’s Home.
“When we arrived at the temple, the homeless and even refugees gathered around us when they found out that we were going to be giving out bread and mineral water. In the blink of an eye, the food we brought was gone,” said Amos who is also a Semester 2 Cambridge A Levels student.
Damian Lee, Director of Student Services, strongly believes that community service projects encourage students to make a difference in the world.
The club also visited the Penang Shan Children’s Home with food which brought a smile to the faces of children there.
“Children just want to have fun and play, laugh, and feel loved. This small effort brought them joy. The kids were so excited by the goodies and seeing them so happy really touched our hearts,” said 21-year-old Goh Yen Li, who is pursuing the Bachelor of Business in collaboration with Swinburn University of Technology and a committee member of the Hunger Relief Effort.
Yen Li believes that helping the less privileged makes life more meaningful and her visit to the orphanage was an eye opener. She added that those who are fortunate should try to be a blessing to others, and IICP’s Leo Club encouraged students to give back to the community and teaches them empathy.
Another committee member, Jocelyn Koay, 18, shared that the club’s activities taught her to network not only with members of INTIMA and senior students, but also build relationships with external parties such as food suppliers.
Members of the IICP Leo Club enjoying games with children from the Penang Shan Children’s Home.
“I got to work on my leadership skills, general knowledge, and logical thinking. Apart from that, being directly involved in this kind of project makes me appreciate all the blessings I have,” she said.
Meanwhile, IICP’s Director of Student Experience Damian Lee highlighted that the Leo Club is an organization associated to Lions Club International and has been one of the college’s most active clubs. It has served thousands of people in Penang and surrounding area through community service initiatives and projects. Students who join Leo Club learn interpersonal skills, communications skills, time management, creative thinking, problem solving and networking as they collaborate with diverse groups of people. He added that managing projects, leading peers, encountering challenges, and learning to make decisions shape students into strong and competent leaders.
“We believe in making an impact on society and our students, therefore the club has organised initiatives that allow them to grow and create a better world,” he said.