Nur Adilah Ramli
At the mention of the word ‘hero’, each of us has our own interpretation of what we believe to be a ‘hero’. Some think that a Superman is the definition of hero, while some may think that what is a Superman but a mere fictional character. Regardless of our take, heroes do exist and they take many forms. But let us not confine our view of a ‘hero’ in the persona of Superman and the like of him for not all heroes wear capes.
‘A Day with The Unsung Heroes’, an initiative by students of Community Service 2, Section 1, was conducted with the intention to celebrate the unsung heroes who have been loyally serving the IIUM community. The programme, which involved 34 students and 22 cleaners of Daya Bersih, took place on 23 April 2016 at the Kulliyyah of Education. Under the tutelage of the class instructor, Mr. Razali Sudin, the programme went well beyond our expectation.
The programme started with a ta’aruf session between the students and the cleaners. At first, the cleaners were rather shy to share their stories, but it was not long before they started to open up with us and tell us about their personal experiences. Some, if not most of them, who are Indonesian by nationality, have been in Malaysia for so many years that Malaysia has become their second home, and the birth place of their children.
When asked about their experiences working in IIUM, Kak Tini, one of the cleaners, said that she loves working in IIUM for the cleaners have a close-knit relationship. She also added that IIUM students are also friendly to the cleaners, and that is another reason why she has been in IIUM for more than a decade.
To lighten up the mood of the participants, the ta’aruf session was also filled with a game named “Maju Mundur”. Four groups of participants had to move back or forth according to the dice rolled. The game was full of laughter especially when a group had to step back one step or more if they got an even number. The cleaners seemed to enjoy the game as much as we did, and it was priceless to see the smile on everyone’s face especially the cleaners’.
Aside from celebrating the unsung heroes, the programme was also meant to expose the students to the practical side of community service. In the same groups, we cleaned up respective areas around the Kulliyyah of Education. The cleaners were fast at work that we could barely catch up with them.
In the last session, we had a heart-to-heart session in which we gave the platform to the cleaners to voice out anything that they wanted to say. In that session, I talked to a 60-year old cleaner, who has been in Malaysia for nearly 20 years. She has not changed her nationality, and when I asked her why, she said that she couldn’t read nor write. Hearing that saddened me as I think that I have taken the luxury of getting education for granted. Still I’m overawed by the strength that the cleaner has. Deep down, I wish that she would just rest at home since from the look of her veiny hands, I could see that she has worked too hard.
The programme was concluded with a prize-giving ceremony in which the class instructor-cum-programme advisor gave away some tokens of appreciation to the cleaners. Some of the cleaners personally requested from us to have more programmes of such nature, and hopefully, this programme would be the start of more meaningful programmes in the future.
I have learned a lot from the programme, and one of them is about appreciating people. The cleaners, and other heroes for that matter, don’t ask to be showered with praises; they just want to be treated the same way we treat others. You can see a smile bloom on their face when you say “Assalamu’alaikum”. You can see they smile ear to ear when you simply utter “Terima kasih” or “Thank you”. So, we don’t have to spend a cent on people in order to appreciate them; we just have to be more thoughtful. Next time we pass by cleaners, and anyone, in fact, we can start by giving salam or simply smiling if we are shy to make a word to them.
Also, let us be more conscious of our surrounding. We don’t have to wait for a cleaner to pick up a crumpled paper on the floor; we can help ourselves by picking it up and putting it in the bin. Doing good is not exactly a hard thing to do! We just have to do it, and Allah shall reward us for it. ***