KUCHING – More than a hundred Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus students spent four weeks constructing a therapeutic garden for children and adults with cerebral palsy (CP) at a not-for-profit organisation.
The 125 business and engineering undergraduate students worked hand-in-hand with the committee managing Wishesland Centre, founded in 2009 by a group of parents whose children were diagnosed with CP.
Wishesland has about 80 members and currently serves 15 CP children who attend weekly treatment at the centre.
The garden, which the centre named “Wishes Garden”, is being built to create an environment that stimulates and balances the physical, cognitive and emotional growth of children with CP.
The involvement of the students in the project was part of their Social Innovation Internship subject which looks into the management, operations and leadership skills of a social enterprise. As a credit bearing subject, students are assessed through individual and group-based assignment.
Swinburne Sarawak recently formalised the collaboration with Wishesland to provide appropriate learning opportunities that could facilitate meaningful learning to students enrolled on the subject, with the signing of a MoU.
“The unit gives students the skills, knowledge and experience while working alongside a not-for-profit organisation on projects that benefit the community,” said Swinburne Sarawak Deputy Vice-Chancellor and CEO Professor Janet Gregory.
Through the project, the students are able to contribute, conceptualise and execute ideas to meet the needs of the organisation, she said.
Each semester, a new batch of students will work on rotation to complete the garden.
The Australian university campus also made a donation of RM25,000 to the non-for-profit organisation.
Wishesland president Chi Poh Yung said that the MoU will give students the opportunity to learn about a social enterprise while the therapeutic garden will serve as a place for members of the centre to relax and thus ensure effective treatment.
The MoU signing ceremony at Swinburne Sarawak was attended by students enrolled on the subject and senior officers from the university, as well as committee members and parents from Wishesland.