Project Brunei 2014

Pusat Ehsan Al-Ameerah Al-Hajjah Maryam

July 1 to July 14, 2014

Email: pb14[at]sealnetonline.org

Brunei on Facebook

Executive Summary

Children with special needs, specifically, children with autism, are often seen as individuals that lack a formal education and care from the general society. Non-government agencies like our local partner the Pusat Ehsan Al-Hajjah Mariam are making solid steps to give opportunities of education and vocational training, widening the activities to improve the children’s motor and soft skills. However, such programs often suffer from unsustainable support from society as a whole. In an effort to strengthen the programs provided by Pusat Ehsan, Project Brunei 2014 (PB14) aims to further raise and transform public awareness about autistic children into concrete actions to aid them with educational, social, and emotional support. The project also plays as a bridge to foster better mutual understanding and communication between autistic children and the community. Additionally, PB14 emphasizes youth empowerment at both the local and international scale. Through this project, we hope to generate and motivate both participants and autistic children to learn, and inspire them to control their own futures. To further these goals, we will also establish the foundation for a mentoring program for undergraduate students at the University of Brunei Darussalam through several partnerships with local service groups.

Community Problem

In recent years there has been a lack of support for autistic children and lack of awareness about their conditions from the Bruneian society, generally. These children are in need of educational and social care in order to better improve their personal development. Therefore, a community or volunteer-based project will not only offer a service work to support these children to have self-development, but also create a better future as one living society. In addition, in most cases, many autistic children are enrolled in schools that do not provide programs, therapy, and training that specifically caters for autistic children. Hence, with this realization, we hope to further improve the relationship between autistic children and the public in general. Above all, this project will promote volunteerism in reaching the community and leadership skills among youth in Southeast Asian countries.

Objectives
For youth empowerment
  1. Develop a strong sense of leadership and engagement in every team member
  2. Equip the mentees with critical thinking and problem-solving skills
  3. Create hands-on experiences for the mentees through setting up and running a service club
For community engagement
  1. Provide educational, social and emotional support for autistic children
  2. Execute an exhibition of handicraft made by the children at Pusat Ehsan in University of Brunei Darussalam
  3. Promote understanding and awareness in the community through blogs and videos about autism.
Approach
Leadership training
  1. Train the local university students to become better leaders in their community through awareness and understanding self-potentials
  2. Provide importance of community within leadership growth
  3. Train the members to develop mutual understanding through dynamics of perspectives through activities they do together
  4. Mentor the members and supervise the activities created by the local members such as a handicraft exhibition and post-project activities
  5. Provide an open space to discuss successful fundraising methods
Service activities
  1. Provide educational and physical support for autistic children through indoor physical and mental activities
  2. Use communication and sports activities according to levels of autism
  3. Make videos of autistic children’s daily lives under consensus
  4. Help prepare the handicraft exhibition organized by the local members to develop the communication between the community and autistic children
Local Partners
Pusat Ehsan Al-Ameerah Al-Hajjah Maryam

Pusat Ehsan Center was established in 2001 and has been taking care of 90 children of special needs. In collaboration with PB14, Pusat Ehsan aims to provide a venue to run the project, expertise to guide the project while working with autistic children and supervise the service club post-project.

University of Brunei Darussalam

The University of Brunei Darussalam was established in 1985. With undergraduates who enroll as early as 17 years old, University of Brunei Darussalam aims to provide up-to-date information and insight helpful for the project in the local context, provide a venue on campus, introduce Brunei to international participants and provide local university participants.

Team Member Responsibilities
  1. Actively design and participate in leadership training and service activities during the planning process
  2. Fully participate in the project execution
  3. Offer and create solutions to help make the local university mentoring program stronger and more sustainable
  4. Help fellow team members with cultural adjustments, ideas generating, and mentoring challenges
  5. Fundraise US$500 towards the project budget
  6. Have fun!
Skills Needed
  1. Interest in education and youth empowerment
  2. Knowledge and interest in Brunei and autism
  3. Love for creating positive impacts on others
  4. Creative thinking
  5. Flexibility, reliability, responsibility, motivation, and willingness to try and learn new things
Project Leaders

Dayangku Hamizah Binti Pengiran Sabri (Brunei Darussalam)
Lan Anh Hoang Pham (Vietnam)
Email: pb14[at]sealnetonline.org