“Don’t live down to expectations. Go out there and do something remarkable.”
This saying pretty much demonstrates one of other things that Midnight Football (MF) programme wants to build in the mind of the participants, to live beyond their ordinary life.
The participants of the MF 3rd edition had just done their first workshop on May 19th,2013 at Dewan Serbaguna Sri Selangor. The three-hour workshop was aimed to raise their awareness of social and environmental problems. Two videos concerning volunteerism were viewed at the beginning to give them ideas of the importance of sharing and helping each other’s. The participants were then asked to open their eyes and think of what problems they have in the area they are live in.
“All of the students are aware of the social issues going on in their area. At least they are not being ignorance, they have awareness on this matters,” said Alice Cornwell, Workshop Director of MF programme. “Our part is to empower them to think that they can make a difference, and facilitate them to put their ideas into proper plan to address those issues,”
Some of the issues presented by the students after discussion include litter or improper garbage disposal, disruption of public facilities or services (e.g: clogged drains, broken elevators, lack of parking spaces, improper placing of signboards, illegal advertisements and posters, vandalism), lack of public spaces to carry out outdoor activities, among others.
“We hope to see them taking ownership of their own life and feel responsible for their community as well,” she continued. “And this is a starting point for them.”
