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Publication: Berita Minggu Date: 12 December 201 0 Headline: Polishing a Diamond Till it Shines

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Publication: Berita Minggu Date: 12 December 201 0 Headline: Polishing a Diamond Till it Shines

Translation:

Polishing A Diamond Till It Shines

Young, educated Mendaki Club volunteers holding prominent positions in their respective industries are humble and willing to sacrifice their time to help MalaylMuslim students achieve success.

Photo Caption: A DEDICATED TEAM- Executive Committee Members of Mendaki Club. From left, Ms Hamidah Aidillah Mustafa, Mr Jaleesudeen Jalal, Ms Nor Syahidah Sahrom and Mr Mohamed Faizal Abdul Kadir. They are kept busy organizing many activities held by Mendaki Club especially with regards to Mendaki Club's 10th Anniversary Celebrations culminating in the Youth Endeavour Award (YEA). .................................................................................................. Ms Hamidah Aidillah Mustafa counts herself blessed since becoming a member of Mendaki Club during her undergraduate days at the Singapore Management University (SMU). At 25, this corporate communications officer with the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) is a highly confident young lady; but more importantly, she is able to impart such values to youths under the guidancelhelp of Mendaki Club. These young beneficiaries include students ranging from secondary schools to tertiary institutions and young MalayIMuslim professionals who have the potential to become "diamonds" or outstanding members of society with the right guidance and encouragement. For Ms Hamidah, there should be nothing to stop any young MalayIMuslims overcoming any hurdle or challenge, to achieve their dreams in their careers or in service to the community, whether they want to achieve them locally or internationally. Although there may be seeming "challenges or difficulties" in her wearing the traditional tudung, Ms Hamidah is clear-minded that this is no longer an issue. Although gentle in her demeanour, she exudes self-confidence and firmness in her conversation. Hamidah could have lost hope after her father met with a serious accident in the year 2004, rendering him unemployed, and her mother became the sole breadwinner of the family thereby tightening her family's financial situation. However, even at that time, she was motivated and inspired by her peers at Mendaki Club and began familiarizing herself with the Club's activities. Resulting from that, not only did she gain confidence, but is also thankful to be given the opportunity to contribute to the community. She is not the only one. Hamidah, the eldest of two siblings, is among 14 young and dedicated Executive Committee members of the Mendaki Club. They are young and educated volunteers holding prominent positions in their respective industries who are humble and willing to sacrifice their time to help MalayIMuslim students achieve success.

LIKE A SECOND FAMILY The team displays such strong commitment to the vision and mission of the club - to motivate young MalayIMuslim Singaporeans through thought and action, and to develop a generation of young MalayIMuslims that are dynamic and progressive - so much so that one of them, 30 year old Mr Mohamed Faizal Mohamed Abdul Kadir, considers the 465 strong member club to be like his second family. Mr. Faizal is a graduate from the National University of Singapore School of Law and the Harvard Law School. He currently works as a Deputy Public Prosecutor & Deputy Senior State Counsel with the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC). It is no wonder that he feels emotionally attached to the club which has turned 10 this year. This year alone, the club has held 31 activities, or on average two activities a month. The grand finale will be the giving out of the Youth Endeavour Award (YEA) to deserving youths that spearhead activities for the betterment of the community. Applications for this Award are open till 23 December 201 0. "Another unique factor about our team of volunteers is how we render our help. We not only meet once a month to attend meetings but work almost on a daily basis to ensure the smooth running our of club's activities," says Ms Hamidah who was awarded the SMU Student Achievement Award for her contributions to the community. "We are united in our aim to see our youth achieve their dreams and have higher aspirations to not only succeed locally, but also internationally," adds Ms Hamidah. "It is very important to produce role models for our MalayIMuslim youth. If we have, say for example 200 role models which are emulated by our young, I think our MalayIMuslim community will be better, off," says Mr. Faizal. Sharing similar aspirations is 29 year old Mr Jaleesudeen Jalal, the Club's Vice President. He is currently a Senior Strategist with the Strategic Policy Office at the Public Service Division. A First-Class Honours Graduate from the School of Communication and Information at the Nanyang Technological University, he received the Anugerah Cemerlang Mendaki Award, SlNDA Academic Excellence Award and the Singapore Indian Education Trust (SIET) Achievement Award in 2006.

AVERAGE IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH

"We see many MalayIMuslim youth who have high aspirations which are not yet realized. Apart from guiding and inspiring them, we also try to plant in their minds that mediocrity is not enough, they must strive for excellence," says Mr Jaleesudeen.

Another volunteer is 24 year old Ms Nur Syahidah Sahrom who began volunteering during her university days at Imperial College London. She was involved with the Rugby Portobello Trust, an organization that supports the development of young people facing deprivation and social exclusion in the North Kensington area. Now, the top Malay student in the 2004 GCE A' Levels works as a corporate development executive at Keppel Offshore and Marine.

Publication: Berita Minggu Date: 12 December 201 0 Headline: Polishing a Diamond Till it Shines

"Our youth need self-confidence, exposure and the skills to plan ahead for their future. Sometimes, this planning ahead is lacking in our youth," says Ms Nur Syahidah. She was awarded the Student Volunteering Gold Award and was one of the awardees of the Higher Education Volunteering Awards in 2008, by the Higher Education Funding Council for England. During her undergraduate studies, she was also actively involved in the Imperial College Singapore Society as the Secretary of the Executive Committee.

There are currently two youth-related activities which the Club focuses on, namely the Young Mind's Club and the Talent Development Program.

Founded in 2004, the Young Mind's Club hopes to nurture confident MalaylMuslim youth who are motivated to contribute to society. They are also provided with opportunities to improve their critical thinking skills, learn to communicate better, enhance their leadership and networking skills apart from being exposed to global issues such as globalization, activism, international relations and intercultural relations.

The Talent Development Programme (TDP) prepares students for career and scholarship interviews with tips from experienced volunteer facilitators, teaching students to write compelling cover letters and resumes and equipping them with good networking and interview skills to clinch that coveted dream job.

Apart from those activities, Mendaki Club organizes career seminars and discussion sessions. Just this year alone, they have held more than 20 conversation sessions on topics such as leadership and governance. Each session is attended by 15 to 50 participants depending on the topic discussed.