Power of Kindness by Nurul Naquiah

When I was in Primary Three, I still remember there were a bunch of naughty boys in my class. They messed with the girls’ hair and they cut it. Then, the boys paste it on their hair. (I know it sounds silly but they did). The poor girls that they bullied will do nothing but cry. As the biggest girl in the class, I helped them and actually fought with the boys, alone, and of course you can guess who is the champion right? LOL. I want to give credit to my second brother because we fought a lot when we were kid and because of this, I was well trained and it helped me to stood up for the bullied victim at the school.

I am lucky to live in a normal life where I never experience violence or anything bad. I am surrounded by supporting family members and have almost a dozen BFFs (Yeah, it is true!). I feel terrible if I read the newspaper or watch on television about raping cases, baby dumping, homeless kids, murder, bombing here and there, political issues and many more to list down that are happening outside of my circle of life.

This made me realize I should be grateful for each of love I received from people around me and complaint less about my life’s tiny difficulties. We are living in rich universe that created by God and unfortunately being destroyed by irresponsible human beings.

I believe in the power of kindness. It has great magic that touches people hearts. Whenever, I read or heard stories about Prophet Muhammad, it opened my eyes and my heart to deal things in his way. He never hold grudges to those people that treated him bad, threw stone and dirty rubbish to him and he was always down to earth and ready to forgive anyone that seek forgiveness from him. I have once read that forgiveness is probably the hardest lesson to accept and practice.

A natural defensive response is to hurt or hate back. But if we can practice forgiving everyone after each hurt, we will begin to live a life of freedom of hate and anger. To live in a harmony environment, we could start by accepting ourselves, other people and their differences. We need to fill our mind with positive thoughts in order to portray positive attitudes.

Back in 2010 when I first stepped in Youth Prep Centre, I was overwhelmed with the activities provided here. There are free guitar lesson, free English class and you can hang out there while surfing on the net for free. I love all the people I met here because there are friendly and warm. I feel delighted because in here, I have the chance knowing few people that are very outgoing, talented and humble. I told all my friends about it and we then become the committee for the YPC-Club. There are lots of activities can be done here and it is sort of a chance for me to contribute my energy to do volunteer works and I am looking forward to do more in the future.

Voice out, by Joy

Taking the words from the article itself (and with some editing)-As world gets older, the environment changes – whether it’s the surrounding, the scenery or the humans. Everything changes. Changes can be divided into two – good or bad. Seeing it today, more negative changes has taken place.

Do you remember when we were a kid; our mother would always tuck us to the bed with bedtime stories – Cinderella story, Robin Hood or Tom Thumb, and you named it. That was yesterday!! Or maybe never in our life time but our parents do mention that keeping kindness, justice and peace as the main essence in our life.

As we see world today – War, religion fight, corruption, politics imbalance, racial conflicts and so much more until words remain as they are spelled:- WORDS!! Can’t be used to describe all those negative actions. Have you ever wonder what has caused this to happen?-Greed, jealousy and hatred. Are these the moral values instilled in us by our parents? Are these what we‘ve learnt and is pass on by the elders to us?? Definitely the answer is NO. But why these are all the things that is happening today?

I have several questions to be solved. You see, justice is an act to be fair. Just ask yourself are you being fair 

to yourself, or to others?

We are not living a peaceful world. Living a peaceful life means to have a harmony society, stable politics, free-conflicts life and a balance environment. To do an action, always ask yourself, would I want others to do this to me? Nevertheless think not just about yourself, we are living in a world with other humans, animals and plants-a society/a chain. Think about them too. Then life will be balance and harmony.

When there’s a situation occur, solve it with justice. When people are in grief, kindness will be the key. Then, there will be a peace. We can change the world with justice, kindness and peace.

Voice Out is a platform where we can express and spread justice, kindness and peace. Consisted of volunteers and full time-youth worker who are highly passionate about helping other youths and doing their part to make a little corners of the world a better place, maybe this idea isn’t bad at all as youths are gathered and together realize the aim of this event.

As for me, one of the existing youth in this planet, my hopes are that not only we, the youth of Sabah relish our life as youth that is free from discrimination and political issues but to speak out the right of others and the right of mankind and expressing it with our action in our everyday humdrum. Let us prove to the people and the world that we can and we will live with kindness, justice and peace in our life. Most importantly please do ask yourself if we are doing our part in making the world as a better place to live not only for us but to the next generation as this world is not belong to anyone but all of us.

We can change the world with justice, kindness and peace, by PYR

The world today is declared as borderless. The definition is yet to be clear and it’s somehow related to globalization. While the notion is to bring togetherness in all aspects of human and country development but today we are faced by many social issues.

Why should be someone address by race, religion, gender or nationality? Any human structure should have the same outlook of 2 eyes, ears, legs, hands and 1 one mouth, nose and heart? Then, with there is preference or judgments? People should look above and beyond of ones self- interest. What hurts you also hurts another person. Life is just a cycle..thats the reason why the earth is round.

No religious, parents or education educated US to be dreadful. Indeed, from young we are taught to share and care.

IF only we could analyze, reflect and take action then it will create awareness. IT start today from US to make the change instead of waiting for charges to take place. World will peaceful IF mankind is kind, and IF mankind is Kind, Justice prevails by its own. It has be I,ME,MYSELF want to change and be bold to spread it. 

Why I believe in Kindness Revolution, by Jacqueline Rowena

I am a Kampung girl.

I know little about technology, politics and money. But I do know that in order to survive anywhere in the world, we must have a balance of give and take of what you know and what you don’t. Innocence is almost like ignorace at times, sometimes, it’s good NOT to know so much. It keeps you grounded and it gives you some sort of peace. And the things that you know, well, they can be an obvious advantage. What makes us really different from one another is not so much what we know, but how we react to these situations. I can either throw a tantrum to everyone when crisis happens, or group together and brainstorm for solutions.

Here’s why I believed that despite the aggressive  need to survive in this world and the rat race, we need to succeed it our way, however that is. Personally, I believe in Kindness Revolution and that it gives you the best satisfaction in achieving whatever goal we aim.

I have been working in the advertising industry for nearly two years now. Every single day, I came across with all kinds people. The ones that would use, and abuse. Or the ones that would motivate and encourage. I am against all sorts of abuse, physically and mentally. Condescending or putting down. So everyday, when I’m put in a tough position to choose which of my evil or angel to triumph, I step back and look at it as a bigger picture and choose Kindness Revolution.  

I was in the department alone, and work was piling up so demandingly. The moment I stepped into the office, I hear people calling me for short meetings, long meetings, emails pour in every few seconds and once I’m out from the office, I get phone calls, meeting calls. It was intense. But more often than not, I choose the angel in me. I solve problems and issues with a positive manner, with a positive approach to both people and situation. With that, I am happier than most people.

I love the feeling of fuzziness and softness in our heart when I do something nice. As simple as opening the door for a friend, or being courteous by saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ or putting the brakes in pointing fingers.  

I want to be a good lyricist even if this takes time. Someone who brings the better out of other people, and encourage living. I want to enjoy dancing & singing because my skin feels rejuvenated when I share my happiness with others. I want to be a courteous, happier blogger because I believe more in kindness revolution, and for those who despise happy people - I encourage you to stay bitter and see what you'll miss! I'll sigh over bad days but I'll listen to the music & feel the sun to know that there's still tomorrow. I'll laugh about the silliest things and live for the bigger reasons.

I've discovered that Kindness Revolution starts and impacts you first, before everyone else. If it doesn’t start from you, how will you know it? 

Changing the world, one girl at a time. By Isferra

Have you ever wondered how life would be without the internet? Or life without the simple things in life that we take for granted nowadays? Like electricity or cars. I crashed my car recently and it feels like I lost a limb, having no transport to move around. It made me realized how ungrateful I was when I had the privilege. How I took for granted life with my own transport. Now, imagine life as we not know it, life with war and suffering as a common sight. Ask yourself, are you taking for granted the life you have now? Have you ever wondered what happens if one day you wake up and war has entered Malaysia? How would you feel if it is unsafe even to walk out your front steps?

I bet no sane person would want to live in a country that is at war. I bet that no one of you could even imagine living at times like the years of World War II. We would all prefer to live our lives now where slow internet connection is one of our major concerns every day. Now the question is how could each and every one of us play a role in maintain this lifestyle that we are so used too? How can we prevent war when basically it is the leaders of our countries that make the decision to go to war? It is us, the citizen of the world that determines how the world goes round.

If each person has hatred in them, the world would revolve around killing and making other suffer when there is no need of those if issues could be solved calmly by discussions and having a level headed attitude in dealing with problems. If everyone has the decency of being good to anyone else, the world would be in such better state then it is now. Ultimately, it is in everyone to make sure of the fate of the world that we live. Being united in matters will always result in having to achieve the common goal.

As my title state, if you want to change the world, it is important to change your own self and your take on life. If everyone believes in justice, kindness and peace; there is no need to argue over small matters which will often make it bigger. People will almost always forget about the cause of arguments when they are already too caught up in it. So let us all not choose that road and have a positive outlook in everything we do. Change ourselves, by that we can make the biggest wonders around us.

Meet the Voice Out! team :D

Let's get up close and personal, shall we? After months of remaining faceless and anonymous, the Voice Out! team is dying to meet other youths out there! 

So, who are we?

As you can see, we're a bunch of crazy people who love to have fun :). The Voice Out! team comprises of individuals (both volunteers and full-time youth workers) who are passionate about helping other youths and doing our part to make our little corners of the world a better place.

Let's get a little closer!

Meet Harold @ Egn

aka The Artist

Next, meet Ejay

And Evelyn

And Jeslynda

And Richie @ Bearuang

And Nova (me)

And... last but not least, our Chairlady :)

Mary Anne Baltazar

Now that we've met, do tell us about you :). 

Maybe you'd like to join us? Let us know. Email Anne at maryanne.baltazar@pkgs.org.my. See you soon!

*Photo credit to Nickey Jonius :)

We can change the world with justice, kindness and peace. By Hani

Stages of change

As world gets older, the environment changes – whether it’s the surrounding, the scenery or the humans. Everything changes. Changes can be divided into two – good or bad. Seeing it today, more negative changes has taken place. Why does it happen?

Do you remember when we were a kid; our mother would always tuck us to the bed with bedtime stories – Cinderella story, Robin Hood or Tom Thumb, and you named it. Different story telling but bring the same meaning – To always be kind to others, to always be justice and living a peaceful life.

World today – War, religion fight, corruption, politics imbalance, racial conflicts and so much more until words can’t be used to describe all those negative actions. Have you ever wonder what has caused this to happen? Ask me, I would say - Greed, jealousy and hatred. Are these the moral values instilled in us by our parents? Are these what we have learnt in school? The answer is NO. But why these are all the things that is happening today?

I have several questions to be solved. You see, justice is an act to be fair. You have an apple to be shared with a brother. And he’s crying over it and you want to eat the apple too. (1) How will you solve it? Yes, by cutting the apple in two and each will get half of the apple. Fair enough. Ask yourself, is this what is happening today?

Imagine a situation; you are walking down a street. You saw a crying boy looking for his mother. (2) What will you do? Will you leave him alone? Will you help him? If you believe in Karma, then you’ll help him looking for his mom. But nowadays, it is not safe to help those in such situation. Why? Because most of the time it is a scheme to rob you and to kidnap you. This is our mindset nowadays.  Easy questions with easy answer – we are not living a peaceful world.

Living a peaceful life means to have a harmony society, stable politics, free-conflicts life and a balance environment. To do an action, always ask yourself, would I want others to do this to me? Never think only about yourself, we are living in a world with other humans, animals and plants. Think about them too. Then life will be balance and harmony.

When there’s a situation occur, solve it with justice. When people are in grief, kindness will be the key. Then, there will be a peace. We can change the world with justice, kindness and peace. Remember we can make the difference.

“The way to get along in the world is to do things as well as you can” - The Three Little Pig.

You call yourself an adult? by Siti Faznur

“Have fun first, regret later. I have a long way to go, I will still have time to repent later”. The typical thought of the young ones.  Young adults of today have lesser maturity as compared to before. We are more concerned over worldly matters than keeping ourself ready for after life that is to behave and keeping oneself closer to the ground. But what is happening with the scenes now are devastating and pathetic. 

It is easier to spot youngsters behavior and activities nowadays just by browsing through their post in social networking accounts. We can pretty much sum up how the person is without having to meet them personally. We proudly present our so called living-life-to-the-fullest moments in social networking, be it something that is to be proud of or discomforting. Just doing the negative part of it should be embarrassing but displaying them proudly really shows our insensitivity. 

Cursing and speaking foul languages are youth specialty and demonstrating them publically is acceptable and that you want to be recognized through your ignorance towards your own mannerly and fair spoken culture. That is the definition of maturity by youth of Malaysia. Cursing shows you are cool and very ‘in’ just so you can earn respect by threatening others with your super fear-provoking words and phrases. Get our intention right socializing through social networks, by posting your anger, dislikes, and being emotional over the top will not make you feel any better instead causes more chaos. Our morals are shown through our words and how we say them.

Teenagers went through the processes of growing up that are influenced by their environment, family & friends, and lifestyles. Parents are not supposed to be blamed over their childrens’ behavior but they are responsible of creating a mannerly surrounding to raise them up. It may sound so cliché but keeping an eye on their childrens are essential to guide through their action and behaviors. But most importantly we, the teenagers need to earn trust from our parents by showing them that we have the maturity to handle ourself well without being selfish and arrogant.

Reading books and magazines about inspiring life journey or spiritual needs and mixing around with experienced and older generation should be able to trigger our mind in figuring ourself in depth. When we mingle around with the group of people that have similar ways of thinking about life most of the time, we would not be able to improve our vision towards the world and stuck with the same mentality that leads to nowhere.

We should not always focus on our negativity but instead polished more on our positivity just to make ourself feel better. We are raised to be educated, well mannered, and humbled but not to be arrogant, disrespectful, and speaks foul languages, after all we are matured adults now. 

Voice it out!

Calling all Sabahan youths out there!

Do you have something to say regarding our Voice Out theme this year, "We can change the world with kindess, justice and peace"? If so, we would like to hear your thoughts.

Email us at youth@pkgs.org.my. Selected essays will be published on this blog and on our Facebook page. Write to us! :)

Half the Sky

In conjunction with this year's Voice Out theme, "We can change the world with kindness, justice and peace"; an excellent book to read would be Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn--a Pulitzer-winning journalist couple who are also human rights activist. Read the book review here.

Half the Sky is available in Times Bookstore at RM60.45. It's worth every cent!

Meet our Voice Out! Ambassadress

Joining the Voice Out team this year as our very own ambassadress is none other than the beautiful Cassandra Patrick! 

Get to know more about her as we get our pen and paper out for a Q&A session. Stay tuned!

Welcome to Voice Out!

Throughout July 2011, the Alamesra YouthPREP Centre is holding Voice Out 2011 at the 1Borneo Centre Atrium.

This event, which is going to be held for the third time this year, is conducted with the aim of raising funds for the centre as well as to provide a platform for local artistic talents to shine. For a glimpse of what Voice Out is all about, let's take a look at photos taken during the previous year's event:

This year, the month-long event will consist of theater, vocal and music workshops. Voice Out 2011 will culminate on the 30th & 31st July with an art exhibition, theater, dance and musical performances by local talents, as well as special performances by local artists.

For more info, contact Mary Anne Baltazar at telephone number +6088-485 371 or email to maryanne.baltazar@pkgs.org.my.

See you there!