Boy, 11, has already got the turtles’ back

Little man on a mission: Ahmad Iszuddin has started the ball rolling by helping endangered turtles.

KUALA LUMPUR: A video on the plight of leatherback turtles has set young Ahmad Iszuddin Ahmad Izham on a mission to raise money for their conservation, turning him into a budding Instagram star in the process.

In February, his science teacher showed Ahmad Iszuddin’s Year Five class the video, that explained how the creatures were on the verge of extinction.

“I imagined myself as a turtle, and thought about the suffering they undergo because of pollution,” Ahmad Iszuddin, who turns 11 next month, said in an interview.

“That day, I cried on my way home. My mum thought I was bullied but I told her it was because of the turtles.”

On his own initiative, he set aside five jars to save money – two of which are specifically for helping the needy and turtles.

Ahmad Iszuddin puts away part of his allowance and whatever he earns from doing chores.

A printout of his Save Sea Animals poster.

On top of that, he also bakes cookies with his “improvised recipes” and sells them to fill his Turtle and Help jars.

He came up with the idea of selling homemade cookies, thanks to the cooking and baking skills he picked up from his mother Nor Azlina Ishak when he was just six years old.

With supervision from his mother and older sister, Ahmad Iszuddin began baking chocolate chip, butterscotch and peanut butter cookies.

He promotes his cookies and shares his messages on turtle conservation via his Instagram account, iszuddin_, which has attracted almost 1,000 followers so far.

Ahmad Iszuddin managed to raise RM1,000 from selling cookies and donated it to the Turtle Conservation Society in Terengganu on World Turtle Day in May.

Wanting to do more, he also produced a recipe book in June, hoping to raise funds for turtle hatcheries in Malaysia.

The book, priced at RM10 a copy, contains recipes for cookies as well as some easy concoctions for chicken mushroom quiche, sweet buns and smoothies.

It also contains interesting facts about leatherback sea turtles and the ocean. So far, he has sold about 100 copies.

 

Apart from saving leatherback turtles, Ahmad Iszuddin also donates money to the poor after Friday prayers.

 Nor Azlina, a freelance trainer, said it had always been in her son’s nature to care and help people.

“He grew up watching what we do as a family. During the fasting month, we try to raise funds and prepare meals for orphans or send meals to nearby kampung where there are poor families.

“We also raise funds to buy toys for kids and occasionally distribute food to the homeless.

“So, I guess he developed his sense of caring from there,” she said.

Next month, Ahmad Iszuddin – whose current ambition is to be a wrestler – plans to celebrate his birthday with some of his close friends by going to a turtle hatchery in Port Dickson.

“I want my friends to see how I feel about turtles – also because they are my friends,” he quipped.

Ahmad Iszuddin urged people to stop killing turtles and eating their eggs.

“I also hope people will stop littering.

“I don't know how many people there are in the world but if each and every one of us stops littering, it will be a lot cleaner,” he added.