PETALING JAYA: National gymnast Farah Ann Abdul Hadi, who has won 13 SEA Games medals, one medal at the World Cup level and qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, admitted that she had spent a whole year eating lunch alone in school when she fell out with her friends.
“I used to have a best friend, but when we fell out, I ate lunch alone for a whole year because I was shy and I didn’t really know how to make friends.
“A girl in my class asked if I would like to have lunch with her. That was about 10 years ago, but until today I still remember the kindness and empathy that she showed me, ” said Farah.
“It has carried on until today, that even though I may not know someone or the situation that they are in, I decide that I will be kind to them, ” she added.
Farah had shared her story to over 70 students in a virtual Zoom Party last Tuesday alongside MMA fighter Ann Osman, as part of the #StandTogether National Kindness Week campaign.
The Zoom Party series is organised as part of the campaign’s Kindness Leadership Programme, which is a four-month programme to train student leaders into becoming young advocates for kindness and empathy.
During the Zoom Party, Farah also shared about receiving negative comments from cyberbullies when she had represented Malaysia in the SEA Games in 2015.
“I compete and represent Malaysia and I wanted to do the best for my country, but I suddenly had received so many negative comments.
“This was very detrimental to my mental state, but I realised that the person commenting may not be in a good state and was responding negatively, and that helped me to end the cycle of unkindness, ” she said.
Ann Osman, who made headlines as Malaysia’s first professional female MMA fighter a few years ago, also shared about the challenges and critiques that she received.
“I started as a very amateur athlete in a male-dominated sport, and I know how it’s like to be a beginner in the sport.
“So every time someone new comes in to my gym, I do my best to make them feel welcomed and help them out with what they need, ” said Ann.
The session was followed by a round of Q&A where the celebs shared some tips on how they handle stress and anxiety in their daily life.
The #StandTogether campaign was founded in 2017 by R.AGE and SP Setia to kickstart a “Kindness Revolution” in Malaysia, with the aim to end bullying in schools.
It quickly gained support from key stakeholders, including the Education Ministry, Unicef Malaysia, Digi, Study Hub Asia and Teach For Malaysia.
Every year, thousands of students and teachers in Malaysia participate in kindness and empathy programmes as part of the campaign, resulting in national and international recognition including at the 2018 World Digital Media Awards.
It was also mentioned in a 2020 United Nations report as an example of successful youth-driven initiatives to curb violence against children.
This year, the inaugural Kindness Leadership Programme will give students access to educational modules on empathy and youth leadership, Zoom Parties with celebrity ambassadors and industry leaders, anda Kindness Grant worth RM1,000 to run their own kindness projects in schools.
The next Zoom Party on Nov 9 will feature social activist Syed Azmi Alhabshi and psoriasis advocate Rocyie Wong, and is exclusively for participants of the Kindness Leadership Programme.
Students under 21 in Malaysia can sign up for the Kindness Leadership Programme at www.standtogether.my/kindnessleaders.
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