Hop on the Reading Bus

Students from Sunway Education Group to volunteer for the Reading Bus Programme

Sunway Education Group (Sunway Ed) is providing opportunities for students to do good for the community following a MOU signing with the Reading Bus Club (RBC). Under the collaboration RBC will train the volunteers on the Reading Bus Programme while Sunway Ed will sponsor the project.

S. Vicknesvaran, Irene Chong, Kong Lai Mei, Cheli Tamilselvam Nadarajah, Elizabeth Lee, Dr Khatijah Khalid, Lee Siok Ping, Lee Aun Nee and Dr Stephen Hall with the student volunteers of the Reading Bus Club

Sunway Ed has been actively encouraging students to contribute to the community, especially to those from disadvantaged backgrounds. According to Elizabeth Lee, Senior Executive Director, Sunway Education Group, this project will further enhance the involvement of institutions under the Sunway Education Group, namely Sunway University, Sunway College, Monash University Sunway Campus, Sunway Le Cordon Bleu Institute of Culinary Arts and Sunway International School in serving the community in under-developed areas.

“This partnership will enable our students to learn lessons that they may not experience in a normal classroom setting – cultivation of patience, act of kindness and most importantly a better understanding of their roles in society,” she added.

This community outreach, under the Moral Education and General Studies subjects was initiated by Lee Aun Nee, Acting Head of Sunway Ed’s MOHE General Studies Department.

“This project will see a good outcome in terms of building up the students’ communication skills, teamwork, leadership skills, and also they learn how to interact with those less fortunate than themselves. I believe it is always blessed to give than to receive, I hope the students will learn this and also understand one another better to build up a united society. Besides learning, it will teach them to hopefully live better lives” says Aun Nee.

Under the project, volunteer students from Sunway Ed will be visiting six Tamil primary schools in Pahang, beginning January 2014. Volunteers will be visiting each school twice – first to launch the programme and second to follow-up on the progress of the children’s reading skills. On the first visit to schools, volunteers will be assembling book shelves and distributing school bags.

Cheli Tamilselvam Nadarajah, Founder and Chairman of the Reading Bus Club said, “Through this partnership, we hope to realise our dream of gradually transforming the nation by helping more students take an interest in the English Language. We are not trying to change their lives totally, we are simply giving them a glimpse of hope.”

Sunway Ed has partnered with various organisations to provide opportunity for students to volunteer in the community. Previous projects included My First Graduate, a collaboration with Teach For Malaysia to mentor low-income secondary school students in inner-city schools.