For children who grew up with limited access to opportunities and resources, knowing what they want to become can sometimes be difficult because they don't have the chance to explore the possibilities.
Exposing them to different career paths and providing them with the opportunity to discover their strengths can go a long way in helping them envision a future for themselves.
That is the thinking behind Hope2Kids, a youth-led non-profit organisation which focuses on giving underprivileged children opportunities to build soft skills and confidence through workshops and training.
One such initiative is a soft skills and career aspirations camp held last month in Klang, Selangor. The camp brought together more than 500 children from 16 orphanages and refugee centres, which earned them a spot in the Malaysia Book Of Records for “Most Underprivileged Children Participants in a Career Aspirations Camp”.
The full-day programme was a combination of career exploration and activities designed to develop communication, teamwork, leadership, creativity and critical thinking.
Before this, Hope2Kids founder Sarah Callista Ng recalls asking a little boy at an orphanage what he wanted to be when he grew up, only to be met with uncertainty.
But after sitting down with him and chatting about his hobbies and strengths, he began to think about what he enjoyed and eventually suggested that he might want to do something related to computers and technology.
“It was a simple conversation, but seeing him go from ‘I don’t know’ to really imagining something for himself stuck with me,” says Ng, who also received the Queen Elizabeth II Commonwealth Trust Young Leaders Award this year.
It was one of the moments reinforcing her belief that children may not necessarily lack ambition. Sometimes, they just need someone to help guide them to see what is out there for them.
After working with countless children through different programmes, Ng began noticing that there were always kids who were shy, lacked confidence in themselves or simply weren’t sure what they wanted to do in the future.
“I believe that soft skills and having a future-focused mindset can take you really far in life, and I hope these children get the chance to discover just how far they can go too.”
With the camp, Ng says the idea was not to send every single child home knowing exactly what they want to be.
“More than anything, I hoped the children would leave the camp thinking, ‘Maybe I could actually do this’,” Ng says.
Whether that is discovering a career they had never considered, becoming more comfortable speaking up or being brave enough to try something new, she wanted them to leave “a little more in themselves and in what they could do”.
Stepping into their futures
Rather than simply telling the children about the careers available to them, one of the camp’s key activities invited them to try out several different roles for size.
The “Career Marketplace” featured five career themes across 35 interactive stations, where children could perform mock clinical assessment as doctors, investigate cases as police detectives, conduct experiments as scientists, create products as entrepreneurs, and unearth lost treasure as archaeologists.
“Something we emphasise in our approach at Hope2Kids is experiential learning,” Ng says.
“We believe that children learn so much more when they get to actively experience things hands-on rather than just being told about them.”
For Kirina, 13, the experience reinforced an ambition she already had since she was small.
“I have always wanted to be an engineer. After today’s camp, I feel more confident in my engineering skills,” she says.
Building and designing a working catapult during the “Project Hungry Zoo” activity showed her that she could turn her ideas into something that actually worked, making her even more excited about going down that career path in the future.
Such moments are meaningful for Ng because she has seen how even a little encouragement can transform the way children view themselves.
After months of planning and preparation, seeing all the children gathered together was a surreal feeling.
“It started off as a small idea I once had, so to see it actually happen in front of me was an indescribable feeling.”
Most importantly, Ng hopes this milestone can help them reach more children, attract more young volunteers, build partnerships and expand its programmes.
“I also hope this brings more attention and support to the participating homes and centres. I have so much respect for the work they do for the children every day, and I would love to shine a little more light on the important work they are already doing.”
