Publication: Berita Harian, p 9 Date: 4 March 2011 Headline: Frequently visiting 'red light district' in KL

to care for unfortunate teenagers

Scroll down for translation:

Kerap ke kawasan 'lampu merah' di KL demi bela

nasib remaja susah Oleh NUR'ADILAH MAHBOB

adilaham@sph.com.sg

SEKUMPULAN pelajar Universiti Penguru- san Singapura (SMU) berulang-alik ke Chow Kit - sebuah 'kawasan lampu merah' di Kuala Lum- pur - sejak hampir setahun lalu.

Setiap bulan mereka menghabiskan dua hing- ga empat hari di sana mendampingi remaja anak- anak pekerja seks; penagh dadah dan ibu bapa tunggal di sebuah pusat remaja, Krash Pad.

Pusat reinaja itu ditubuhkan tahun lalu di ba- wah naungan pertubuhan Malaysia, Nur Salam, bagi membela nasib kanak-kanak daripada ke- luarga susah di sekitar Chow Kit.

Pelajar SMU seramai enam orang itu menjadi sukarelawan di pusat tersebut di bawah projek kemasyarakatan yang mereka namakan 'Projek Harapan'.

Projek itu disokong Dana Amanah SMU-Shi- rin Fozdar yang menggalak pelajar SMU membe- la nasib dan memperkasa kaum wanita.

Sejak Mac tahun lalu, mahasiswa tahun keem- pat SMU itu membantu 10 remaia di pusat itu me- kulakan perniagaan di ~nternetmenirusi sebuah blogshop yang menjual barang-barang perhiasan wanita.

"Tujuan kami ialah menyebar mesej bahawa ada. jalan lain untuk mendapatkan wang dan me- reka tidak perlu mengambil jalan keluar mudah dengan melakukan kegiatan-kegiatan terlarang," kata Cik Zheng Huiwen, 23 tahun, salah seorang mahasiswa itu, ketika ditemui baru-baru ini.

Seorang lagi, Cik Melissa Ho, juga 23 tahun, berkata beliau ingin lihat projek itu diteruskan dan dimajukan oleh para remaja tersebut.

"Projek ini akan dapat bertahan hanya kalau kami be rjaya memperkasa remaja-remaja itu de- ngan kemahiran-kemahiran tersebut dan mereka mampu berdikari selepas itu," kata Cik Ho.

Kedua-dua pelajar itu daripada jurusan eko- nomi.

Projek Harapan diketengahkan pada hari per- tama persidangan Wanita dalarn Masyarakat: Mengekalkan perubahan jangka panjang anju- ran SMU baru-baru ini.

Dalam ucapannya di pembukaan persidangan dua hari itu, tetamu terhormat, Menteri di Peja- bat Perdana Menteri, Cik Lim Hwee Hua, meng- gesa syarikat-syarikat supaya memanfaatkan tek- nologi bagi membentuk sekitaran ke rja lebii fle- ksibel dalam memudahkan peke rja mengimbangi tugas dan keluarga - antara cabaran yang dihada- pi kaum wanita di tempat kerja.

Ini boleh dilakukan menerusi elbagai usaha, 1 seperti jadual kerja fleksibel, k rja di rumah, menyediakan khidmat jagaan anak di tempat ker- ja, kata Cik Lirn.

Source: Berita Harian O Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

Publication: Berita Harian, p 9 Date: 4 March 2011 Headline: Frequently visiting 'red light district' in KL

to care for unfortunate teenagers

Translation:

A group of SMU students has been frequenting Chow Kit - a red light district in Kuala Lumpur - for nearly a year now.

Every month, they spent 2 to 4 days there, accompanying teenager children of sex workers, drug addicts and single parents, at a teenage centre, Krash Pad.

The teenage centre was set up a year ago under the care of a Malaysian organization, Nur Salam, to care for children from poor families in the Chow Kit area.

A total of six SMU students became volunteers at the Centre, under a community project which they called, 'Project Hope'.

The Project is supported by the SMU Shirin Fozdar Trust Fund, which encourages SMU students to care for and empower women.

Since March last year, the 4th year SMU undergraduate students have helped 10 teenagers at the Centre to start their Internet business, through a blogshop that sells women accessories.

"Our intention is to spread the message that there are other ways to earn money and that they do not need to take the easy way out by doing illegal activities," said Miss Zheng Huiwen, 23-year-old, one of the undergrad- uates, when met recently.

Another, Miss Melissa Ho, also 23-year-old, said that she likes to see this project continued and further devel- oped by the teenagers.

"This project can be sustained only if we are able to empower the teenagers with the relevant skills, so that they can subsequently be independent," said Miss Ho.

The two students are from the Economics field.

Project Harapan, or Hope in Malay, was showcased on the first day of the Conference, "Women in the Com- munity: Sustaining Change", organized by SMU recently.

In her speech at the opening of the Conference, Minister, Prime Minister's Office, Mrs Lim Hwee Hua, encour- aged companies to harness technology in order to build a more flexible work environment, to enable workers to maintain a work-family life balance - a challenge facing women at the workplace.

This can be carried out through various efforts, such as flexible work schedule, working from home, and pro- viding childcare facilities at the workplace, said Mrs Lim.

Source: Berita Harian O Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Permission required for reproduction.