PUTRAJAYA: The Student Volunteers Foundation (YSS) will once again embark on a three-week voluntary mission to Sarawak, with the participation of 217 varsity student volunteers from 10 Asean countries and China.
They will undergo a four-day pre-departure training (PDT) beginning today before leaving for Sarawak on Aug 19.
At the launching of the mission today, foundation chairman, Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said the training is aimed to equip all volunteers with basic volunteering skills, safety, healthcare and exposure to the Sarawak communities.
The student volunteers, he said, will be leaving to serve local communities at 10 locations in two divisions in Sarawak; Miri and Mukah.
He said the students are from public universities, community colleges and technical colleges, and they would be involved in volunteer work in six main clusters.
"The clusters are education, community development improvement, medical and health, agribio and environment, technology and social entrepreneurship, and crisis and disaster management.
"Throughout the mission, the students will be involved in various forms of social work and they will teach children and students in 10 locations at five districts in Mukah and Miri.
"The students are also expected to benefit from high impact programmes and explore the cultural diversity in Sarawak in line with our core value which is 'Eat, Live and Breath with the community'," he said in his speech today.
Lee said the mission involved students from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and China.
"By upholding to the concept of the ‘right volunteers for the right job’ and inclusiveness, volunteers of various educational backgrounds and expertise will be contributing to the success of the projects and activities.
"We also hope that the YSS student volunteers mission will be a source of inspiration to the community, both local and international, in line with our vision of producing a global volunteer icon and a student volunteer who is equipped with a first class mindset," he added.
Education Ministry secretary-general Datuk Dr Mohd Gazali Abas earlier launched and flagged-off the mission today.
YSS has been doing volunteer missions since 2012 and has successfully conducted 38 missions in Asean countries.
The Sarawak mission was approved and endorsed by Asean Secretariat and funded by the Asean-China Cooperation Fund.