Small Changes was inspired by many factors.
Fundamentally, it is due to our realization that despite the many progress being made in Malaysia towards achieving our aim of becoming a developed nation by 2020, much more still needed to be done.
One of the most glaring examples is the education inequalities between the urban and rural areas. With most of us coming from an urban background, we seem to take for granted the opportunities that are provided to us through education. Studies have shown that if you compare a student’s grade from an urban area and a rural area, the student from an urban area is far more likely to enter tertiary education and progress through life even though both share the same grades. This can be mainly attributed to the many social safety nets that are afforded to us by our environment. The fact is, though talents are randomly distributed in life, opportunities are not.
It has been the case that most of the time; our aspirations are shaped by our social surroundings. The son of a doctor is more likely to be one after being influenced by his father. The same can be argued for people living in rural areas. The son of a farmer is more likely to become one for he has no other role model to look up to. The aspiration of a young person is usually hampered by the achievements that he has seen by people whom he closely associates with.
This project hopes to address that issue. We believe that every person should be given equal chance in being the best person that they can aspire to be in life. We hope to closely mentor the students and act as role models for them. We hope that we can impart the skills that we have learned throughout our studies and be a reference point for them should they have any questions. We hope that the small steps that we take will go a long way in making strides of change.
And more importantly, we hope that you will join us and contribute in whatever ways that you can in making this project a success.
