echo Written by Cindy Anak Banun
The event “Expect Nothing, Appreciate Everything 2.0” (ENAE 2.0) was held on the 29th March by Sunway Peer Counselling Volunteers (PCV). This event was held in line with Sunway Education Counselling and Wellness Unit Monthly Theme: Gratitude. Therefore, this event was held for the purpose of expressing gratitude towards community workers (security guards, janitors, etc.) who are working on Sunway campus by interacting and distributing food packets to them. Furthermore, ENAE 2.0 also strives to foster an understanding of these community workers’ contribution to the campus; hence the name of the event which calls for the appreciation of the efforts given by these community workers, without expectations of any form of special services in return. This event was held for the first time in 2017, and is organised again due to positive reception obtained from the previous year.
Unlike various other activities and talks held by PCV, this event is open to non-PCV members as well. Students who are not able to participate in this event were able to contribute by submitting appreciation notes to the community workers through an online platform. Appreciation notes that are submitted through this platform are printed and taped onto the container of each food packet. The participants are split into smaller groups during the event briefing, and are assigned to different groups of community workers to facilitate for the interactive session between participants and the community workers. Food packets are distributed to three groups of community workers: the college janitors, university janitors and the security guards at different time intervals due to the different working schedule of these three groups.
The participants were able to get acquainted with the community workers as well as to express their feelings of gratitude. A majority of the participants were under the impression that the community workers are unapproachable but this had changed for the better. It was an eye-opening experience for the students because this event had served as a platform to do the “unthinkable”, communication with the community workers has never been on anyone’s to-do list. However, this event had made visible the importance of these workers to the students’ everyday campus life.
Consequently, this event had made an impression on the community workers as well. When asked, most of the community workers remembered last year’s event where PCV members were giving out food packets. However, the Muslim workers had mentioned a difficulty in accepting the food provided. This is because last year’s ENAE event was held on the 26th of May, and this coincides with the fasting (Ramadhan) month for the Muslims.
The participants had also used this chance to get to know each other and make new friends, as an ice-breaking session was held while the committee members were waiting to send out the next group of volunteers. The event ended on a positive note as participants went home feeling fulfilled from participating in this event. The committee members of ENAE had expressed hopes that students and staffs alike continue in their efforts to acknowledge and respect these community workers for their support and contribution towards Sunway campus.
