BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

TWENTY-FOUR participants from the 10 ASEAN countries completed a two-week volunteer project in Hue, Vietnam, on Friday where they conducted various activities related to environment and education for the fourth ASEAN Young Professionals Volunteer Corps (AYPVC).

According to a statement by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (MCYS), the participants delivered several workshops for children from kindergarten, primary schools, as well as the youth and local community.

The workshops focused on English education, environment, confidence building, and also ways to tackle the waste management problem faced by the community.

A mass cleaning campaign to clear up waste collected at several locations were also conducted by the volunteers.

Fences and a gate along with flowers and vegetable gardens were built around the kindergarten by the volunteers.

MCYS added that, due to the project, the local community had agreed to donate a playground to the kindergarten.

They added that the local youth will continue to develop more programmes related to environment to ensure the sustainability of the project’s activities.

According to the statement, the AYPVC is an initiative by the MCYS of Brunei – endorsed during the eighth ASEAN Ministrial Meeting on Youth – that aims to bring together youth and young professionals all over ASEAN in a platform that supports local communities with skills transfer and service delivery.

Previous projects were done in Cambodia, Indonesia and Phillipines with a total of over 100 volunteers participating under the programme.

The MCYS added that AYPVC also aims to promote awareness of ASEAN among the communities through exchange of knowledge and understanding of culture, as well as the sharing skills and expertise of young professionals through volunteer work and training.

The two-week volunteering project, from Nov 23 to Dec 5, was organised with the support of Hearts for Hue, a local non-government organisation dedicated to improving Hue’s resettled boat people’s quality of life.

During the closing ceremony on Friday, the Chairman of Hearts for Hue, Khanh, expressed his appreciation to the Bruneian government and the programme organisers, while also acknowledging the efforts and contributions of the volunteers.

The volunteers came from various backgrounds including medicine, education, environment and development, with Brunei represented by six individuals.

The six volunteers are Ampuan Dr Siti Nur Hanisah Ampuan Dr Hj Brahim and Dr Shahriman Haji Husain from the Ministry of Health; Nurul Izzul Zakeria from the Ministry of Development; Hjh Nurul Amal Akmalina Hj Talip, Abu Hurairah Hj Mohammad and Ak Muhd Hizami Pg Hj Yasmin from Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah.

The Brunei Times