The Reading Bus

                                                    THE READING BUS 

It gives the Cambridge A Level program great pride to see the students participating in such a noble project ‘The Reading Bus’ which kicked off in August 2013 with the aim of inculcating reading habits in the children in Lembah Subang community.

Hmm.. What should we read today?

Mesmerized by the colour pages

Some forty over students made six fortnightly visits each lasting up to two hours to give a chance for the children to get involved in this project. Equipped with four colorful chests containing about 400 books along with their creative ideas for active learning, the students were ready to engage the children in teaching, activities and competitions.

Pictures of the students and children:

One-to-one Reading Activity

'Read Aloud' Group Activity 

And..it's a wrap! Awesome!!

  

The Reading Bus project was started in 2009 by the founder Mr Cheli Tamilselvam and his wife Ms Lai Mei who are both teachers and were extremely passionate about providing reading opportunities to the children from the rural areas.

  

Bus Readers and Team

The students enjoyed taking part in this event which created a wealth of engaging activities with the children of all ages. Below are what some of them have to say………

‘I've learnt a lot from this activity. Firstly, I've learnt how to communicate with other volunteers and the kids. Secondly, I've understood that life is not always a bed of roses because there are still people suffering from illiteracy. Although some of them can read and write, we still need to be concerned of the education system especially for the underprivileged one’.

-Kim

‘I'm glad that I could join this visit. I really appreciate the time spent with the children and teaching them how to read and write. I'm happy when I'm testing them the ladybird book, the kids just read word by word aloud correctly. Through this visit, I really learned that I have to appreciate the time I have to learn as much as I can’.

-Pei Jen

‘Again, reading bus is super awesome and enjoyable...it's a touching scene to see all of the volunteers building a new yet heart-warming rapport with the children...it feels really great and sweet seeing the children smile and laugh all along with the volunteers and at the same time learn something new which may imprint in their memories’.

-Carven

‘I learned to be patient when teaching the kids. It is not every kid can read very well and speak English fluently. Some of them do not know how to speak English and even write. I learnt to teach the kids by repeating myself patiently'.
- Sam Hui Sin

'It is indeed a very nice experience especially seeing the happiness shown on the faces of the kids when learning together is really rewarding. I did enjoy myself very much'. 
- Ooi Shing Thien

'I feel so happy and blessed to have the chance to spend the time with the children. i did learn the ways to communicate with the children and teach them. It is the first community service for me and it will definitely not be the last'.
- Cheok Siu Yuen

'Awesome! I got to know a lot of friends and really had fin there. Again, I felt that literacy is still a large problem in Lembah Subang. Although this is the last visit, I hope that the children there will still have the passion to continue reading for the rest of their lives. All in all, this programme proves to be a success as a step towards combating illiteracy in Malaysia'.
- Henry