Roll’ of English

A worthy cause that need mentioning. Perhaps all is not lost for those children who's English is lacking.

story in yesterday's star

Armed with four-wheel drives, volunteers and lots of books, two teachers hope to improve the reading and English skills of disadvantaged children.

JUST a short walk away from the swanky bistros and trendy boutiques along Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur, lies the Sri Pahang flats.

The low-cost flats house families who would not otherwise be able to afford a roof over their heads. I am sitting in on an English language reading programme for children in the small community centre.

A mobile library used as part of the Reading Bus programme initiated by Cheli Tamilselvam and Kong Lai Mei.

Holding a colourful picture book before him, teacher Cheli Tamilselvam is leading his class of young charges on animal noises. “And what sound does a cat make?” Cheli asks, to which the children respond with enthusiastic meows. Two welfare workers sit nearby, carefully observing the lesson and occasionally getting up to coax in curious children peeping from the doorway.

Adding to the mix are a group of university students who are here as part of their Moral Studies course and to individually guide the children with their reading.

While the scene looks like a run-of-the-mill community outreach programme, it is in fact the remarkable result of the Reading Bus initiative started by Cheli, 51, and his wife Kong Lai Mei, 50.

Reaching out

After teaching in Sarawak for the past 27 years, Cheli and Kong decided to pack up and move back to Kuala Lumpur, partly out of a desire to start a Reading Bus here.

‘Around 140 children turned up when the tuk-tuk (Reading Bus) pulled into the village! It was a touching sight,’ says Kong Lai Mei.

The premise of the Reading Bus is simple: stack up a four-wheel drive (4WD) vehicle with books, drive out to a community in need once a week, unload the books and coach children on reading skills.

Cheli explains that the process is repeated for a set duration of time, before the books are left in the community to serve as a library.

“We identify locals in the community, whom we then train to continue the programme.

“The books are loaded in a customised wooden set of shelves, which can be folded away for easy storage,” says the father of two sons aged 22 and 25.

After starting out with just one 4WD in Kampung Pasir Ulu, Sarawak, they now have eight Reading Bus vehicles; six in Sarawak, one in Sabah, and one in Peninsular Malaysia.

Cheli says that the project began out of a desire to address the difficulties rural students had with the English language.

“I was concerned by how these students were going to cope with their studies in English when they don’t have sufficient exposure to the language.

“After discussing the idea with some friends, we managed to raise enough funds for the bus (4WD) in two weeks, and set off to Pasir Ulu with 400 books.

“Our mission is to give every child the opportunity to enjoy their school studies through a love for reading,” he says.

‘Even my former students who have gone on to university would return to help coach the children,’ says Cheli Tamilselvam.

The initiative has also since expanded beyond Malaysian shores – to Cambodia.

“Lai Mei and I went to Cambodia last year, and we were so overwhelmed by the situation there,” says Cheli.

“We felt that the Reading Bus model was applicable, so after making some contacts with the locals, we started the project there in June.”

Operating in a small village in the Baray district, the Cambodian “reading bus” is in fact a tuk-tuk.

“Around 140 children turned up when the tuk-tuk pulled into the village!” exclaims Kong.

“It was a touching sight; some of the kids looked like they had barely enough to eat, and so little to wear, but they were so excited at the chance to flip through the books.

“They had such a hunger to learn.”

Safe haven

Aside from the Reading Bus series, Cheli also started an after-school centre in Kenyalang Park, Kuching.

According to Cheli, the centre’s aim is to help weaker students catch up on their studies in a safe environment.

“When I was the vice-principal of SMK Bandar Kuching No 1, I found that around 20% of my students found it hard to cope with their studies.

“The problem with mass education is that it does not target the cream of the crop, and it does not meet the needs of the weakest.

“For years, my primary focus was on how to keep those who were struggling in school, and how to teach this group because the school hours were just not enough,” he says.

As a result, the couple set up Bethany Home, which aims to provide students a conducive place to catch up on their studies.

The centre also provides food and transportation, thanks to the help of generous donors.

“We would have 50 students showing up daily, just to do their homework or revision,” says Cheli.

“While we encouraged independent study, we found that students were ever ready to help their weaker peers.

“Even my former students who have gone on to university would return to help coach the children at the centre.”

He adds that most of the students who came regularly to the centre went on to do well in their examinations.

Bethany Home continues to operate with the help of volunteers, while Cheli has replicated a similar centre in Segambut, KL.

“The model works, so I thought it would be a good idea to use it to cater to students from marginalised communities here,” he says.

Driving force

When Cheli speaks of his community projects, it is clear that they all have one common driving force – his students.

“Schools tend to operate like prisons, but I want them to be like gardens, where children can bloom and be the best they can be.

“But I guess my ways are quite radical,” he says with a smile.

These “radical ways” involve getting to know his students, listening to their problems, and even treating his more “problematic” charges to cakes.

“I want to hear their (the students’) stories,” says Cheli.

“We tend to forget that when students act out, there may be more to them than meets the eye – and I think most children want a second chance, a chance to be heard.

“The minute I stop writing them off as ‘problem children’, I see them change for the better; it’s not an easy process, but they do change for the most part.”

In fact, some of the students’ stories are hard to ignore; like the student who constantly got involved in fights in retaliation to his abusive family environment.

Or the 15-year-old boy who was late for school because he delivers newspapers from 3am to 6am to supplement his family’s income.

Cheli adds that while his former students have gone on to be doctors, lawyers and engineers, he is equally proud of the ones who have managed to complete their schooling despite the odds.

“I still meet up with former students to catch up on their lives,” he says. “At one such reunion, I was with students who were getting by with average jobs – clerks, mechanics, and sales assistants.

“But they were happy and content with earning an honest living, giving their best in what they do – that, to me, is what an education is supposed to be about.”