Having been closed a week before the Malaysian Government implemented the Movement Control Order on 18 March 2020, the Ampang Hazara Community Centre finally resumed classes on Monday, 6 July 2020 under the “new norm” with strict S.O.P. in place.
The centre decided to kickstart the resumption of lessons by conducting a mental wellness talk for all students. We were fortunate to have the support of Kasih Care1, a church-based organization and Mr Mario Suwendy, a trained counsellor to conduct the sessions at the centre. Mario also enlisted the help of Mr Farshid Rezaee, a registered Iranian refugee awaiting resettlement, who is conversant in Persian to share and help with translation whenever required.
The sharing was carried out for all 6 adult classes with 2 sessions running concurrently in separate rooms. The speakers moved between each session so that all the students enjoyed the benefit of hearing and interacting with both speakers. Mario gave a general introduction to Kasih Care and what it does and shared some general information on mental health and the counselling services and resources available to the students, whereas Farshid spent about 10 minutes sharing his experiences as a refugee in Malaysia over the past 9 years. They also took questions from the students.
We have learnt that all of us play a role in journeying and listening to our friends and loved ones when any of them struggles with a persistent sense of worthlessness and sadness rather than trying to provide any answers or solutions.
Please refer to this link for more information: https://subangjaya.cdpc.org.my/ministries/kasih-care
