GREAT Explorer:
Increasing rural youths’ awareness on
sustainability
By Fung Lan Yong
Youths undoubtedly play an
important role in the socioeconomic development of Sabah, particularly in the
rural areas. However, greater efforts
are needed to generate awareness among rural youths concerning the importance
of sustainable development since it is vital for the socioeconomic and
environmental viability of their community. Overall, the thrust of youth development in
Sabah is to equip youths with the necessary attitudes, knowledge and skills
that will enable them to contribute to the socioeconomic development of the
state. Moreover, youths today need to
recognize their critical responsibility and contribution toward national
development and unity.
Nevertheless, programs for rural
youths in Sabah have been affected by several factors, including isolation and
the lack of infrastructure, program continuity and funding. These problems can be partially overcome with
the assistance of youth-serving organizations and trainers who promote
rewarding growth and development experiences.
It is therefore important to support and strengthen the role of
youth-serving organizations that strive to reach underserved and marginalized
youths in Sabah. To know more about the role
of youth-serving organizations, the writer interviewed Dr ELAINE KONG, Consultant TLC Enrichment who designed the G.R.E.A.T
Explorer programme. The tagline of TLC
is ‘Transforming Lives and Communities.’
“The current generation of youths
may feel like they are set adrift to search for a path through life once they
leave school. To reach personal success, they need to know what to do next,
where to progress towards and most important, which destination are they moving
towards,” began Kong.
According to her, GREAT Explorer
aims to spread the awareness that to be successful, it is critical for youths
to set goals, devise a plan and know where and how to get access to resources. “The
program is highly interactive and various group interactive methods will be
used. Most tasks will be carried out in pairs or groups. Further, immediate analysis and feedback will
be provided. Above all, GREAT Explorer
draws on youths’ own perceptions and experience to ensure participation and
relevance. Finally, participants prepare
a personal action plan to document their understanding,” she explained.
“GREAT Explorer has five
objectives. Participants are to learn to
plan to achieve the highest personal standard of success in life, to understand
the importance of responsibilities and a positive attitude, to learn and
reflect on expectations from others and self and to gain insight of why
teamwork is critical to personal success,” said Kong.
“First, goal setting enables participants
to conceptualize the importance of setting smart goals, possess a personal
vision and mission to attain career and life goals and implement goals and
targets to achieve. Second, GREAT
Explorer strives to help participants realize the significance of
responsibilities and the three most important areas of responsibilities are
related to self, family and community, which also extends to their living
environment. To fulfill their
responsibilities, participants must demonstrate personality, experience,
attitude, knowledge and skills (PEAKS),” she added.
“Third, participants have
expectations to fulfil in relation to self,
family and community. Fourth, they must understand the elements of
attitude, demonstrate awareness of the impact and benefits of positive
attitudes and adopt the proper techniques for self-motivation. Finally, participants must know how team work
can contribute to personal success and apply tips to enhance team spirit and
foster a productive work environment,” Kong elaborated.
Youth training at Kg. Timug
On June 3, Kong brought GREAT Explorer to Kg. Timug,
a remote village in Kudat that is predominantly Rungus. She spent time instilling the five objectives
of GREAT Explorer in 20 Rungus youths through games and activities. Kong also had a short session with several
village leaders, explaining to them the importance and principles of
sustainability in rural development. “Sustainable
development emphasizes
the importance of meeting human development goals while sustaining the natural systems that provide the natural resources. It ensures that
humans can continue to use the natural resources without undermining the
integrity and stability of the natural systems.
In short, it encourages continuous socioeconomic development while
conserving the natural environment for future generations,” concluded Kong.
Elaine
Kong holds a DBA in Leisure and
Tourism from EU Business School and is also the Director of Professional
Programmes Development at Pine Academy.
About
the author
Fung Lan Yong holds a PhD in Special
Education (Gifted and Talented Education) from Southern Illinois University at
Carbondale. She teaches Academic English
and Mass Communication at Jesselton College Sabah, which has received 4-star
MyQuest ratings in various courses.
Photos
Elaine Kong (standing,
left first) with participants of GREAT Explorer at Kg. Timug
Bringing the objectives
of GREAT Explorer to the youths of Kg. Timug
