The Reality
When we talk about poverty in Brunei, often we have to face skeptical responses: “How can you have poverty in Brunei?” Yes, the government of His Majesty has been quite generous in providing welfare support to all its residents. Free education, free health, distribution of baitul mal to the needy.
But the fact remains that, hidden from public attention, are people who live without electricity, people who could only eat every few days, young children who have to work to support their family.
Perhaps we’ve read about these underprivileged people once in a while in the media, like children seen selling keropok in restaurants in Bandar. We blame the parents for letting the children out in the open to sell things for them, but we are not aware that maybe their parents are too sick to work so they rely on their young children to help. What about families who were abandoned, of single mothers with a family of seven to feed? Who are these people?
How you can help
We welcome financial donations to our cause. The donations will be used to fund the current and future projects of SCOT. In addition, we also receive donations in the form of tools and materials for our projects. Please e-mail info@fightpovertywithus.org to find out how.
Volunteering Opportunities
Read about some of the volunteer experiences after working with SCOT:
GX2 was my first big community service experience. My experience with GX2 was positive in many ways. The committee and volunteers are comprised of great people who are fun to work with right from the beginning till the end. It was fascinating to be able to help lead a greener ways of living among the villagers in Kg sungai kebun (etc) and indirectly improving their standard of living. The whole experience was unbelievably rewarding. It has truly been life changing for me. I would encourage anyone to join and make this project bigger. Thank you for this incredible opportunity. Looking forward to GX3! 🙂
– Azim Alidin, MSPSBS
Green Xchange is a great platform for youth to come together and do something great for society. It’s very encouraging to see young people from different circles and backgrounds coming to volunteer their weekend to do some service to the community. I hope SCOT will inspire more youths to lead community service based projects like this and propel a vibrant youth community in Brunei that will continue to challenge the status quo.
– Fatin Arifin, Green Prints & Asia Inc Forum.
We see disasters and tragedies all over the news, may it be wars, poverty, pollution, you name it. Its appears that we live in a dismal world, but with every bad thing that is out there, something good will always be there to help fight it. And SCOT is that something good. Through my experiences volunteering in SCOT I saw that everyone has a piece of kindness in them, and I believe everyone wants to reach out and help rid of the tragedies that are here in the world today.
One of my favourite memories in becoming a fellow SCOT was during the campaigning of the first Green XChange in Kg. Bolkiah. It was hot, and it was Ramadhan, and we had the task to knock on every door in Kg. Bolkiah (on foot) to spread the word about the Green XChange. What I thought was amazing, was that the volunteers never complained, not even once, and just kept smiling and laughing throughout.
I believe SCOT will bring out the best of its members, as it did for me. I’d like to thank SCOT and the supporters of SCOT. Joining SCOT is one of the best decisions I’ve made and the only wish I have now, is that I wish I had joined sooner!
– Noor Amal Azirah Azlan, University of Kent, Project Manager for Green Xchange 1
