| Danial Norjidi |
THE winning team of the Youth Against Poverty (YAP) workshop was awarded a $1,000 grant during a presentation and closing ceremony yesterday.
The YAP workshop – organised by the Society for Community Outreach and Training (SCOT) and supported by Progresif Cellular Sdn Bhd – is a community outreach training programme aimed at young leaders to stimulate interest and knowledge around the issue of poverty in Brunei Darussalam.
Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Awang Haji Aminuddin Ihsan bin Pehin Orang Kaya Saiful Mulok Dato Seri Paduka Haji Abidin was the guest of honour at the ceremony held at the Progresif Cellular Headquarters.
Following the success of its pilot programme in 2016, this year’s YAP workshop carried the theme ‘Breaking the Cycle’, and continues to focus on training young leaders through the exposure of issues, critical-thinking and an opportunity to explore their solutions through project implementation.
Yesterday saw three groups of participants given the opportunity to present their proposed projects to a panel of judges, with their presentations assessed based on vision, knowledge, creativity, feasibility and innovativeness.
The panel of judges included Legislative Council member YB Iswandy bin Ahmad, Progresif Cellular Chief Marketing Officer Devin Edwards, Society for Human Development (KESAN) Vice President Ahmad Marwan bin Haji Mohammad Taib, and Muhammad Fadli bin Haji Zaini from TedX Gadong.
One of the three proposed projects was ‘Deliver Hope’, which is a community project that aims to target the issue of transportation challenges amongst the underprivileged by providing a centralised transportation system to help these families, who have shown capacity in producing sellable goods, ferry their goods to and from their houses.
Another presentation was delivered by a group named ‘Women In Power,’ who aim to create a platform to empower underprivileged single mothers, expose them to opportunities and break the cycle of poverty.
Their proposed project involves several steps, including an inspire session, personal engagement sessions and creating workshops to equip single mothers with technical skills best suited for them to search for employment or start their own businesses, with continuous monitoring from the team.
The third group was ‘The Mobile Dream Centre,’ which has the vision to empower underprivileged families to become independent from financial aid, enhancing their skills by using a portable facility that will cater to the needs of every single family member.
The team’s goal is to tackle poverty by giving these families the necessary skills and opportunities to achieve their dreams and break the cycle of poverty.
The Mobile Dream Centre emerged as winner of the $1,000 grant to start their project. The grant was presented by the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports.
YAP 2017 Project Manager Awangku Zulkarnain bin Pengiran Juata in his opening remarks said, “I am confident our youths are capable of bringing in positive developments towards the nation building of Brunei as well as contributing towards quality economic development as well as generating a dynamic economy.”
He affirmed that YAP could play a role by being a platform for such developments that will continue to nurture and mentor the participants beyond the duration of the workshop.
“It is not impossible that after today, some of these participants will be pioneers of another social enterprise that will be a positive for the economy, especially during periods when seeking employment is a challenge for us,” he highlighted.
Meanwhile, the SCOT President said, “Success only comes with hard work, dedication and determination so if you really believe in your ideas, do not ever stop. Continue to strive while also constantly improving on them.”
“With the right intention and effort, Insya Allah you’ll get to where you want to be,” she added.
The closing ceremony also saw certificates of appreciation presented to the stakeholders who played a vital role to the success of the event.
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