It has been 2 years since our last visit to Maahad Al-Ansar, Kuala Selangor. The distance from the headquarters in Plaza Sentral to Kuala Selangor prevents us from making more frequent visits but these children are never far from our hearts.

When Pembimbing Rakan Sebaya (PRS) from UNITEN approached us with the second edition of 'Share Us Your Love' program, Maahad Al-Ansar instantly came to mind.

The idea was simple but meaningful – to give exposure and motivation to Al-Ansar students to aspire high and excel. It has since received positive feedback from both teachers and students.

The 2-day event was officiated by En Habib Husin, COO of Malakoff, who applauded such an initiative and encouraged the continuation of this programme. "'Share Us Your Love' has become part of our CSR calendar. We look forward to PRS and Malakoff continuing to work hand-in-hand, as we are very much committed to further developing these modules and motivating more students to excel."

"It is my expectation that the 200 students at Al-Ansar and 50 undergraduates from UNITEN as well as the staff of Malakoff will take full advantage of this programme and benefit from the experience gained in these 2 days."

Muhammad Shukur Abdullah, project manager of 'Share Us Your Love' added, "This programme is double barreled in that it not only benefits our university students in nurturing their leadership qualities, but also helps motivate less privileged students by opening their eyes to opportunities should they give their best in their studies."

The session started off with a fun-filled ice-breaking session where students were asked to fill in a simple questionnaire provided by PRS facilitators. The room turned havoc as the students rushed around to ask each other questions within the allocated 20 minutes. The first 10 who completed were given mystery prizes by PRS facilitators.

Students were also exposed to delivery of impromptu presentations where one person from each group had to step forward and present their findings for each module in this programme.

Day 2 saw both students and facilitators up and about very early in the morning for a group activity in the school compound. Led by the undergraduates, students jumped and ran about in their sporting attire and broke some sweat. This was followed by a simple 'gotong royong' to clean-up the compound and dormitories.

It was also an eye-opener for the facilitators, who had a taste of the life of these students as they had their baths in an open-shared bathroom or ‘kolah’, slept on thin mattresses on hard, cemented flooring in the dormitories and shared meals served on metal pans or ‘dulang’ during their stay.

At the end, Ustaz Sazli Ansari, headmaster of Maahad Tahfiz Al-Ansar, thanked Malakoff and PRS for coming up with this highly engaging programme for these students. He also shared that Malakoff has been helping out at this school since 2005 and has continuously shown concern for the welfare of students there. “I could see the students responding positively to the exposure given in this programme and it has certainly boosted their confidence and self-esteem. And I welcome more of such programmes.”

It was an emotional good bye for both the students and their facilitators. They had gotten to know each other better during this short stay. Contact information was exchanged and promises made to keep in touch. More importantly, the undergrads pledged to continue motivating these students after they leave this school.