International Students Home Stay And Community Service 2009 at Kg Jelawang, Kelantan (25 - 27 Sep 2009)
On 25th – 27th September 2009, International Student Unit has sent about 25 international students and 3 local students to the “International Student Home Stay and Community Service 2009 Program” at Kampung Jelawang, Kelantan Darul Naim.
This programme was organized by the Ministry of Higher Education in collaboration with the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). The objective of the programme is to establish and foster relations among the international students studying in Malaysia with the local community especially the participation of international students doing community services and knowing the local culture. The program was officiated by Puan Norhayati Daud, Senior Assistant Director, Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia. Eleven (11) families participated in this program of which each family adopted 2 to 5 students.
This 3-days home stay-foster family program was participated by UTP students from Chad, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sudan, Uzbekistan, South Africa, Vietnam, Yemen and Malaysia.
Various activities were organized, among them, Grand Hari Raya Celebration, demonstration of making lemang (cook glutinous rice inside the bamboo), making ketupat (cook rice with pandan leaves), visiting tourist places like visiting Kertas Water Fall, Stong Mountain Water Fall (the highest water fall in Asia), visiting Fish Cave, visiting at the Malay Weeding Ceremony and jungle tracking.
It was an interesting experience for the international students especially since they took this program as an opportunity to learn about Malaysian culture in depth. All the activities were filled with fun and excitement besides making social contribution to the village community and the foster families.
