Kota Kinabalu High School conducted an outreach programme at Bukit Harapan, shelter home for disabled children and also abused, single and disabled women.
Thanks to the contributions and support from all students, teachers and parents, we managed to collect RM3044.80 for the home. This, in addition to the RM157 raised from students’ PBL (Project-based Learning), amounted to a total sum of RM3201.80 which was delivered to the caretaker of Bukit Harapan, along with donated supplies in the form of stationeries, clothing and food last Wednesday, 14th September 2022.
During our visit, we were taken on a tour of the home by Liza, one of the caretakers. After that, the students entertained the residents with games and songs.
According to Liza, Bukit Harapan is a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) which relies on public support to run. They are currently short on staff and those who are there are required to work for 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Most of the residents are disabled, and some were victims of either abuse or abandonment.
Below are some of the students’ reflections from the visit.
Nicholas: I feel happy that we were able to put such happy smiles on their faces, that they were happy because we were there.
Desteyrea: I admire them because they are able to let go of their past and live happily like how everyone is supposed to. They may lack something, but they can live normally like we do and are even hardworking. There are many aspects that you can obtain from observing them. One thing that caught my attention was, how innocent and simple minded they are. They all live like children and happy with their life. If only every human could live like that, the world could be a better place.
Dorcus: I was touched and impressed when they sang us a song because you could really see the happiness in their eyes and how much they enjoyed singing. Through this charity, I realised that for some parts they may be different from us, they might not be able to carry out daily activities like how we can. BUT, we’re the same. We all deserve to be loved in the same way and to be treated in a better way.
Jasmine: Be kind. You can have nothing, but you can’t have no conscience. Kindness can change a lot.
Katricia: Although they might be different from us, they deserved to be treated well and be accepted by the society. I felt happy that there is a small group of people that can take care of them like Bukit Harapan. This place will be their home.
Joelle: After visiting, I was reminded to be even more thankful for what I have.
Dinah: I feel happy that we were able to bring joy to them and I hope that we were able to make their day, just as they had made mine. The welcoming smiles and waves they gave to us were very heartwarming. I am immensely grateful for this opportunity to visit Bukit Harapan as it taught me that people with special needs are human too and we should continue to fight ableism.
Kai Qi: Actually at first, I thought they wouldn’t give us much response like I think we would just ask the questions and answer by ourselves because our game was a little easy. But what surprised me was almost all of them were very active and happy by our visit. From this outreach, I learned that we should be happy with what we have and also not to look at people with disabilities differently, because they also know how to laugh, think and be sad just like us.
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