Akmal Harith Bin Ahmad Faizal (MIC190003)
GIG1005 SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT
REFLECTIVE WRITING
Akmal Harith Bin Ahmad Faizal (MIC190003) 7 April 2020
Becoming a leader for the Year 1 Group 2 students is definitely a fresh experience for me. I did learn the importance regarding communication with my instructor and delivering the message to my fellow groupmates. We had some trouble arranging our first internal workshop as some of us had excuses on certain days and we would want everyone to be able to come and commit for the workshop. 13 March was the finalised date of the workshop and we carried it out successfully.
The workshop was a great incentive to get a clear idea of what we are about to do. From there, we get to understand more about the Microbe module which we are supposed to present at SMK Sri Pantai students. I see this as a great opportunity to be able to facilitate others and engage in fun social activities. We started off by doing a simple foldscope in pairs which are then used to view some slides – quite a convenient way to view microbes. The next hours are filled with Module 1 activities. We divided into groups and create balloons according to microbe shapes by sticking them together such as staphylococci, bacillus, etc., serving as a way to educate the students about the microbe shapes. The next activity involved the sneeze zone where we had to simulate the aerosol travel of a sneeze from a person through the air. Food colouring inside a water spray bottle is used while tables covered with mah-jong paper served as a platform to measure the aerosol travel distance. From there, we were looking forward on teaching the students how sneezing is sure way to spread microorganisms among persons and how covering your mouth is effective in preventing that. Our final activity consisted of handshake effects by using powder and UV light. Simple yet effective to view the effects of microbe transmission via touch. We also ruled out the best way to wash hands by checking our hands under the UV light to see which method yields the cleanest hands. Overall it was fun and a great way to establish bonds between us in hopes of carrying the module activities to the school later.
As of 18 March 2020, the Prime Minister announced the Malaysia Movement Control Order (MCO) which unfortunately led to an end of our module. Due to increasing cases of Covid-19, the country went into lockdown and we weren’t able to visit the school. I was kind of disappointed as our preparations went in vain and there are no social engagement activities for our group onwards. The instructor suggested an alternative delivery method where everything still needs to be done but through online assessment. From there on, we are tasked to do infographic posters, video regarding handwashing and online questionnaire. We divided the tasks among us equally. The infographic posters are an effort to educate the students of SMK Sri Pantai regarding the pandemic causing Covid-19 and proper steps of handwashing as they will be uploaded to the school’s blog. The online questionnaire is merely to assess the knowledge and behaviour of biomedical students regarding proper hygiene. Lastly, the video offers a more detailed way of proper handwashing. Everything is done at home as we couldn’t meet so communication between us is still ongoing so things could be settled properly. I am glad that everyone is still able to contribute to their tasks because staying home is definitely not an easy way to complete our assignments for most of us.
Although we never had the chance to carry out the seemingly interesting activities, we still had done our work pleasantly with a non-face to face social engagement effort. I do hope the posters are able to increase the awareness among SMK Sri Pantai students on the seriousness of our current situation together with the proper handwashing video. As for the biomedical students, I expect they would practice proper hygiene onwards after answering the questionnaire and this applies to myself too. As a concerned citizen, although we badly wanted to go out there it is always better to stay home and follow the government’s orders. We should always practice proper handwashing with water and soap after taking out the garbage, before and after eating etc., as an effort to maintain our hygiene. Apply hand sanitizers and wear facial masks when necessary. We must prevent the spread of the virus and together we can flatten the curve for a more friendly future.
(779 words)
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