IN 2015, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set the stage for a new approach towards cooperation, when all 193 United Nations member states, including Malaysia, agreed on 17 economic, social and environmental objectives to transform our world by 2030. 

We are now at the halfway mark, but current global issues such as the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the prolonged war between Russia and Ukraine, inflation, and climate change issues raise the question as to whether these SDGs are still achievable by 2030. An evaluation by Social Progress Index in 2020 speculated that these goals would only be reached by 2092.

The Heriot-Watt University Malaysia (HWUM) has played a significant role in addressing and educating their community to realise these SDGs. The students of the university under the EmPOWER Programme tackled some of these challenges that our world is currently facing in support of the United Nations aspirations via diverse social projects. These challenges included poverty, education, mental health and wellbeing, and environment and climate actions.  

Poverty has been the primary issue both in Malaysia and around the world. A crowdfunding project with creative activities, initiated by HWUM students, had raised RM42,061 from January to May, 2022 for charities and civil society groups aiming to eradicate poverty among the B40 community in Malaysia. The students also volunteered in several orphanages around the country. In addition, a collaboration with Kechara Soup and Grace Community Service (a food bank and street feeding programme) was carried out successfully. This effort touched thousands of lives; especially the homeless and hardcore poor families around Klang valley. 

Education is another important aspect of the global agenda. A teaching project was started by HWUM students for two Orang Asli villages in Banting and Dengkil, both in Selangor. This was to ensure that these communities, which saw only marginal progress, could receive proper access to modern education. Also, the students organised online tuition for the B40 community’s children sitting for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia examination during the Covid-19 lockdown. Two mini libraries were also set up, one for B40 community and one for the Orang Asli village, aiming to cultivate the habit of reading. All these efforts brought life changing experiences and impacted the lives of children in the B40 and disadvantaged communities.

Mental health issues are also on the rise in the country. Those seeking help for stress related challenges have increased by almost five-fold last year compared with 2020. Recognising the seriousness of it, HWUM students organised mental health and wellbeing workshops for young adults who are vulnerable to depression, stress, and suicidal thoughts. The reason for organising these workshops was to create awareness of and knowledge about the significance of mental health and related matters. Furthermore, these students also initiated a crowdfunding project and raised RM7,657 for the Malaysian Mental Health Association. These funds have been used to promote mental wellbeing within the community and to support people with mental health challenges.

Environmental and climate chance matters such as flash floods, landslides and haze should be seriously addressed. In responding to this, HWUM students organised a tree-planting programme to create public awareness on the importance of forest protection. This is in collaboration with the Global Environment Centre and resulted in more than 125 trees planted around the Raja Muda Forest Reserve in Rawang, the North Selangor peat swamp forest and a certain vacant land in the nearby countryside. The students’ efforts were a small part of the global endeavour to save the planet and prevent global warming, ensuring healthy preservation of local natural water supplies and helping to protect the land and prevent flash floods, landslides and haze in the country.

As someone who had been personally involved in these events and projects, I sincerely thank employees from the Heriot-Watt Global College Malaysia involved in supporting our students’ activities for this good cause. Working for a good cause, students had opportunities to learn beyond the classroom, to think critically, to handle complexity and communicate effectively. 

Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk on the Moon once quoted, “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”. Little steps go a long way. Each contribution may be small, but together we can make a difference. When many people take small steps towards change, the world will transform and become a better place for our children and future generations. – December 30, 2022.

* Dr Lee J. Peter is an assistant professor at Heriot-Watt University Malaysia.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.