Our community profiling was first planned for an interview session at the orphanage community. However, the programme had to be cancelled due to some issues that arose just a few days before the day of the event. One important lesson that I learned as a member of the committee is to have good communication with the team and to have well-organised planning when handling a program. As most of us are from different courses, in my opinion, lack of communication is the main problem between our group members, especially when working as a team. As a consequence, the preparation of the programme was very disorganised and messy, which also affected the orphanage management team from their side. At the last minute, the orphanage management also requested some conditions that we were unable to fulfil, hence forcing us to cancel the program. From that, I learned that good teamwork is very important in whatever task or activity we are doing. Nonetheless, despite the limited time and our packed schedule, we were so relieved that our instructor, Dr. Zaleha, lent us a big helping hand and suggested that we volunteer in a programme called MyAqua’s Best, the Aquaculture Entrepreneurs Best Sale, organised by the Fisheries Development Authority of Malaysia (LKIM) and held at Pasar Nelayan, Pantai Sepat, Kuantan. Along with volunteerism, we are also able to do some casual interviews with the residents of that area for our community profiling and to get some information regarding the knowledge, awareness, and practice among the residents related to our community project, which is aquaponic planting for long-term food sustainability in combating the current economic issue.
The programme was held on Saturday, December 16, 2023, and in short, the whole programme was great, and the objective of our community profiling was also achieved. Apart from getting the experience of helping the committee sell fresh fish and seafood, I also gained some knowledge about different types of fish, which is actually interesting for me since I am not very familiar with them. It was also a great experience for me selling the seafood, and I felt satisfaction when our sales were sold out. Socialising with the committee as well as the residents was also enjoyable since they are very friendly, nice, and fun. Some important takeaways that I get from the programme are that communication skills are very important, whether we are engaging with a community or just socialising with the people around us. Since I am a quiet and shy person, communication is the hardest part of everything, and I was always afraid to even start a conversation. However, during the programme, I got to overcome my fear and try to socialise a bit with the people involved. Although it might seem like a tiny achievement to everyone else, I trust that those baby steps are the ones that can lead to huge change and success, and the key is to never be afraid to even try. In conclusion, despite all the challenges we faced, we were so relieved to have our instructor, Dr. Zaleha, to help and guide us from the start until the end. :))
