KUCHING, June 7: Eighteen students of Lodge National Secondary School participated in an Award Study Tour in Sydney from May 23-28.
The tour aimed to educate the students on volunteering and how it is incorporated in the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award (DOE IA).
During the 6-day tour, the students went to St Vincent de Paul Society for a workshop on volunteering and homelessness in Sydney.
The students also volunteered in making sandwiches, fruit salads, packing toiletry bags, laundry packs and food hampers that were meant to be handed out to the homeless around the city.
Besides that, the students were given the opportunity to tour Auburn Distribution Centre and learned ways to recycle many items, including clothing and electronic wastes.
“I learned to be more appreciative of my blessings, and it truly opened my eyes to the many ways we can help society,” said a student who participated in the tour, Au Yong Leng Yee, in a statement.
Another volunteering workshop the students attended was the Life Saving and Rescue at Maroubra Surf Life Saving Club.
During this workshop, students were taught how to be safe at sea, dangers that could occur at sea and how to volunteer as a lifeguard. Students were taught how to use a rescue paddle board and rescue float.
“What I enjoyed most was actually trying out to rescue my friend using the rescue float in the sea. Although it was freezing cold, it was a lot of fun!” said student Samantha Kong Ge-Faye.
Other than learning about volunteering, the students also made two official visits. They visited the Australia National Award Office of DOE IA and DOE IA Asia Pacific Regional Office, where they performed a Malaysian cultural dance to give a glimpse of Malaysia’s diverse culture and ethnicity.
The students were accompanied by two DOE IA leaders, Willie Liew and Wong Jade Chian, and an ex-International Youth Council DOE representative Ravichandran Balasubramaniam. — DayakDaily
