DIYANA RAHIM

The committees departed from IIUM at 10.00 P.M on 13th November 2015 and arrived there at 8.05 A.M. on the 14^th November 2015. After introducing ourselves to the orphans, the committees had a quick breakfast and wash before starting the morning session. At around 9.10 A.M., the programme was led by and started with an opening remark from our Head Programme Coordinator, Mohamad Zulsyafiq Bin Zulkeflee. This was followed by a short welcoming speech by the head of the house, Hj. Mohamad Bakre B. Yaakop and an introduction by all members of the committee. We exchanged information such as our full names, our age and our courses and place of birth. Afterwards, we asked the children to do the house cheer with us – “When I say Hidayah, you say? Awesome!”, and the “Hidayah clap”. In addition, we gave them a theme song, practiced it along with the orphans while they follow the dance moves shown on the projector. These will act as an energizer throughout this programme.

Before starting off with the first module, we separated them into groups of threes and twos. There were a number of children who was unable to participate with us as they had to go somewhere else, so the numbers in the group was unevenly matched but still workable. We divided the participants into 4 groups, based on the name of the animal they received on their paper. They were blindfolded and were required to search for their teammates by making the sounds of the animals they received. The animals will determine which group the participants will be allocated in. During this activity, the participants use their creative activity to mimic the sounds of the animals and also enhance their sensitivity to their surroundings, at the same time it strengthens the ukhuwah between the participants and the committee members whenever they mingle around to find their partners.

Module 1 started at 10.00 A.M. – the “Ice Breaking Session” which was conducted by the committees for Head and Assistant Module, Muhammed Asyraf and Farah Zahirah. All participants were given a A3-sized paper and some pens and coloured pencils. They were required to design their own logo and team name, to come up for the reasons behind those logos and a cheer that corresponds with their team. Meanwhile, the facilitators of each group did a taaruf session to get to know the orphans and their personalities. They were given 30 minutes to prepare the logos and cheers. After the time had finished, each team was called to stand at the front, introduce themselves, their team, and talk about their logos. This session ended with the presentation of the cheers by all groups. During this session, the two committees for Catering and Logistics were assigned to help prepare lunch along with the house help.

The second module started at 11.00 A.M., titled “Bridge Building”. This module requires all the members of the team to create a bridge out of newspapers and straws. This activity was led by both the Head and Assistant Module again. Each group was given a set number of straws, a whole newspaper, cellophane tape, markers and scissors. Using all these things, the created bridges must be innovative, creative and most importantly – strong. They were given one and a half hours to complete this task, with the invention of each groups brought forward to the front and put in between two chairs to see if they can pass off as bridges. Books were then used to be stacked onto these bridges, as these are judged on how well they can hold those books and how many of the books are able to be fitted on the bridge without collapsing. The group which had the most books stacked onto the bridge was the winner. Before judging, a representative from each group would present their masterpiece and explain the inspiration behind the look, and the functions of bridge.

Right after Module 2 had ended; all committees and orphans took a break for lunch and prepared themselves for Zuhr congregational prayer. This was led by one of the male committee members. As for the lunch, these were prepared by the staffs of the house, with the help of our Catering and Logistics committees. Before eating, one of our male committees led the recitation of Du'as.

Around 3.00 o'clock in the evening, the programme continued with the third module – “Education Bingo” and it was conducted by both our Module and Programme Coordinators. Prior to this activity, each committee member had hidden 25 numbered cards around the activity hall and the surroundings of the house. In addition to this, each member of the committee was given a question sheet containing a list of questions and answers based on the Islamic knowledge. The committees had also prepared a scoring card, which will be looked after by a member of the committee. The participants (in their respective groups) were required to find a numbered card and approach a facilitator holding the question sheet. In their group, they have to cooperate and use teamwork to answer the questions as a whole team. If they answer correctly, they will be able to keep their card and hand it over to another facilitator who marks the scoring card. However, if they answer incorrectly, they will have to return the card where they found them. The team which manages to answer the most number of questions will be the winner. These questions required them to think creatively and wisely on how to answer the questions in a critical time. This module had taught the orphans to be able to adjust and collaborate together in a healthy competition, to form excellent teamwork and emphasizing on the individual concentration. This activity took 2 hours, and was accompanied by a break afterwards.

After the break, the Programme Coordinator, the children were given a theme for each group, all of which they had to prepare and present a story on the next day. Their discussion took place around the house, and they were given the liberty to use any property they wanted. Then, everyone – including the committees were given a free period for relaxation, self- preparation and Asr prayer. Unfortunately, it had started raining by this point, therefore making the space for congregational prayer unavailable as the rooftops of the activity hall had small leaks inside it. This situation continued until Isya’ prayer and everyone had to sadly perform their prayers separately. Around 7.30 P.M., everyone gathered for dinner, and we all ate together as the rain had stopped. At 8.30 P.M, we performed Isya’ prayer together; followed by a Tahlil and a Yassin recitation.

As for the night activity, Module 4 took place at around 9.00 P.M, and was led by the two Module committees, Muhammed Asyraf and Farah Zahirah. The module – “Guess The Word” and “Paper Models”, were conducted one after the other. In “Guess The Word”, two members of each team had to come up to the front, where they will be given a word of a piece of card which had to be attached on the foreheads. However, they are not allowed to see the word they were given. The two representatives had to stand across from each other, and look at the words of their opponents. Then, they had to strike up a conversation given the situation that was suitable for the items on the cards. Each person had to make their opponent say the word in their sentence, without actually telling them what it was. If one person manages to mention the word on their forehead, then they automatically lose the game. This activity was played until at least one person from each team had represented their respective teams in the game. This game allowed the children to think fast on the spot, and use their creativity to come up with the sentences in order to persuade their opponent to say the word.

For “Paper models”, each team had to select one member to be the “model”. They were given a supply of newspaper, pens, cellophane tape, scissors and staplers and were required to dress these “models” up using the items given. They were free to use any designs, and create any types of clothing they wishes to present. They were given around 40 minutes to complete this task. After finishing their creation, the models had to present their created clothed in front of the audience, mimicking a catwalk stage. The groups were evaluated by the owners of the house, who gave them stars according to their opinion on the designs. All of the groups and the members then posed for pictures afterwards. These two activities took 2 hours and 15 minutes, and followed by a presentation from the orphans.

The presentation took place at 11.15 P.M, where the children sung qasidahs and songs in Malay, Japanese and Arabic. The members were touched and felt much appreciated by the kids. This was soon followed by a short speech from the owner’s son, Brother Syaham and supper. Brother Syaham had given each member a token appreciation, and some extra gifts that were to be distributed back at IIUM. The kids were sent to sleep shortly afterwards. At 11.50 P.M, the committees had a short briefing for the activities on the next day.

At 5.00 A.M Sunday morning, all of the committees had woken up to perform their Subuh prayers, and the children prepared themselves for school. At around 6.30 A.M, they were sent off to school by Pak Long in his van. After the committees had the chance to prepare themselves, they all had breakfast together in the activity hall. Nearing the end of their breakfast time, the committees had a short post-mortem regarding their activities yesterday. The committees were given the chance to express their opinion and suggestions for the program. At around 9.15 A.M, the committees separate themselves into 2 teams – one inside and another outside.  This signalled the launch of our Jejak mission, with the team on the inside decorating the prayer room, and the team outside had to make a mini garden around the house. The team inside decorated the room by rearranging the furniture, and construction a mini mural on the wall. They painted pictures, including the Caring Club logo, and pasted posters with Du’as on them. Meanwhile, the team outside planted 3 plants, with 2 plants leftover as decided by the house owner. These plants were scattered around the outside of the home, and had bamboo sticks and a sack acting as protection for the plants. This continued until around 12 noon, where some of the children had safely arrived back home.

Afterwards everyone took a break and had Lunch together with the kids that had returned, and this was followed by self- preparation for Zuhr prayer. Then, the committees and the participants had a sharing moment, where the children shared the story that they came up with yesterday in regards with the theme given. This activity helped them to enhance their thinking skills, building confidence by presenting and acting according to the theme given and to improve their presentation skills. After this was finished, the committee performed “Kenangan Terindah Hidayah” using the song from Samsons. They had also made a short video comprising of the photos taken during the programme. The committees then expressed their feelings and short experiences to their orphans, followed with the gift and closing ceremony. One of the committee members had prepared some handmade bracelets to be given to the children. A token of appreciation was given to Hj. Mohamad Bakre for allowing Caring Club to conduct this programme there and for their tremendous hospitality. Lastly, before departing to IIUM, all the committees and participants had a short teatime and a photography session together.