In collaboration with Qatar University (QU), Education Above All (EAA) Foundation, through its programme Reach Out to Asia (Rota), recently led 18 student volunteers on a service learning trip to Indonesia. In partnership with a local NGO called Titian Foundation, the volunteers facilitated skills development workshops in a school in the village of Bayat in the Indonesian province of Yogyakarta in Central Java.
‘The Indonesia 2018 QU Trip’ built on the success of previous Rota volunteer trips to Indonesia by providing a series of student-led workshops and activities that helps them develop their practical and physical skills, and to engage in meaningful and sustainable service learning in a rural community.
A major aim of the trip was to raise the student volunteers’ awareness of the value and benefits of volunteerism and service learning in contributing to community development. Cross-cultural learning and the intrinsic link between education and effective long-term development are also central themes of the programme.
Through its ‘International Volunteer Trips Programme’, Rota aims to improve and enhance the skills and knowledge of its volunteers through hands-on field work and experiential learning, while increasing their awareness of the importance of education in addressing community developmental needs.
During the 9-day trip, 18 QU student volunteers facilitated workshops covering topics such as Computer Skills, Arabic Language, Environmental Awareness, and Sports Education. Each workshop was planned, prepared and facilitated by the QU student volunteers and delivered to a classes of around 30 students (9 to 12-year-old) at the SD Muhammadiyah PK in Bayat, Yogyakarta.
Rota has organised almost 40 international volunteer trips over the last ten years for the volunteers from schools, universities and corporates in countries such as Indonesia, Cambodia, Nepal, Bangladesh and Tunisia.
“At Rota, our international volunteer trips to areas in need form a key pillar of our mission to promote education and build a culture of volunteerism. This ‘Indonesia 2018 Volunteer Trip’ in collaboration with QU is a perfect example of service learning. By putting the emphasis on volunteers transferring real skills that they themselves have learnt in their studies has long term benefits for both them and the local student beneficiaries. This approach is particularly effective in ensuring cross-cultural understanding and interpersonal communication as well as increasing self-awareness,” said Mohammed Saleh, National Programs Director at Rota programme.
From his part, Khalifa Mohammed al-Yafie, Senior Volunteer Programme Specialist at the Volunteering and Community Service Centre at QU, stated, “At QU, we aim to provide innovative and collaborative learning opportunities through extracurricular non-academic and interactive activities that enrich and help promote planning, teamwork, effective communication and leadership skills. The management of the community service and educational trips for students, strikes as part of the service learning programme of the QU Volunteer Centre. The programme aims at promoting the concept of social responsibility among the students and enhancing the value of education, by engaging in activities that serve both the local and international communities.”
The Rota Volunteer Program will be co-ordinating several other trips in 2018. Such trips contribute to exposing locally based volunteers to Rota projects around Asia, understanding the needs of underprivileged communities in other countries and fostering a spirit of volunteerism and community service in Qatar.
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