IBBY-Yamada 2022: Malaysia
IBBY Malaysia: Literacy development workshop and training for marginalised children
IBBY Malaysia will hold workshops and training for aboriginal children of Kuala Kangsar, Perak, West Malaysia and undocumented children of Tawau, Sabah, East Malaysia. Children in these regions speak mainly in their native language and as a result are unable to use the official language of Malay for tasks in school or with outsiders. The workshops aim to provide the children with reading and speaking skills in Malay for their everyday use, to train local teachers and volunteers and to establish a small reading corner with books in Malay in the local school. Each program will reach 45 children selected by the partner schools: Malay College Kuala Kangsar and the Alternative School in Tawau.
Project Update - August 2022
The project is an initiative to cultivate a reading habit among the undocumented children in the area populated by undocumented families in Tawau in cooperation with Tawau Alternative School. This school was established to provide free education for the undocumented children located in Kampung Batu 4, Tawau, Sabah. Literacy and language enrichment activities that included reading, writing and singing were conducted to enhance the children’s interest and passion in reading. Volunteers were equipped to conduct reading activities for the children and a reading corner was built. Up to 500 local and international books were contributed by the public, private, and non-profit organizations such the Kuala Lumpur Library and UPM Publishers. The children were also taught how to manage the reading corner, including cataloguing and operating the reading program. Much assistance was received from the local community and the parents and ultimately, the volunteers, children, as well as the local community, embraced this endeavour and firmly supported the initiative.
