I truly believe that all the people I have met throughout my life were put there for a reason; to teach me something, to guide me in darker times, or to inspire me to strive to be the best version of myself. This undoubtedly includes all the people I’ve crossed path with during my time in Small Changes.
The story of how I came to know about Small Changes is quite an interesting one, and if I could sum it all up in one word, I’d say it all started as a coincidence.
Having experienced facilitating two camps with Small Changes, I am one of the walking examples of the saying ‘you may have gone there to empower, but you go home being empowered as well’.
For me, I wasn’t just empowered by the beneficiaries, but also the facilitators and the committees who made all these possible.
Their dedication and commitment towards something that we all believe in is truly phenomenal. Despite all the last-minute training, late night Skype calls, sudden change of plans, having no telecommunication services for four days and three nights and many more, yet they are still here, ready as ever to put others before themselves.
So this piece is dedicated to every one of you: Iman, Imran, Afiqah, Atiqah, Iqa, Mun, Put, Hastha, Arnold, Vimalan, Jacq, Pri, Zaki, Fawwaz, Luqman, Khai, Liew, Ira, Yen, Fina, Aliah, Azira, Inani, Auni, Eman, Tasnim, El, Azza, Jazlan, Aishu, Ban, Add, Hasvin, Qurnia, Dayang, Swarnah, Harizah, Bonnie, Nadia, Qis, Farhana, Iman #2, Adelina, Innaz, Hasif, Anne, Aina, Farid, Yasmin, Ted, Gabriel, Anwar and Shakir.
And not forgetting everyone from last year’s Kuala Lipis camp, Kirthiga, Pika, Arif, Izzatul, Fawwaz, Acap, Syam, Wan, Nadzmi, Amalia, Yargdesh, Megat, Dania, Athirah, Hizreen, Jeanne, Vanisa, Farhana, Huda, Hannah, Umair, Affan, Fashi, Hanis, Mai and Asyraff.
You have inspired me to stay true to myself and always strive for the greater good.
You have given me a sense of belongingness that I never really had from other camps, despite coming from different racial, religious, financial and educational backgrounds. You accepted me as who I am, that girl who has never really felt that she could fit in amongst others.
You have inspired me to always push myself out of my comfort zone and find the courage to step into my fear zone.
I may not know some of you personally, which is still something I regret not having the time to do so, but your actions and the way you led your kids are forever etched in my memory.
We are different individuals with vastly different personalities and life experiences, but there was a common denominator among us and I’d like to believe that it was what brought us here in the first place, to bridge education inequality in Malaysia.
I’ve learnt from the best throughout both camps, not just from the people but the modules too.
Between you and me, I almost teared up during the mindfulness session by Envision this year. Other than being facilitators, we all have responsibilities outside of Small Changes as well – as students, partners, employees, employers, sons or daughters. And I believe a lot of us needed to hear those words ourselves too, or at least that was what I personally felt. So, a huge thank you to Imran and Fawwaz for your module.
Had someone said those words to me when I was 12, I think I’d be a very different person today.
But then again, maybe the broken parts of me aren't that bad after all :)
As I sat down to write this dedication to all of my fellow facilitators and committees, I felt intense joy and gratitude, because, in a tremendous sea of faces, I got to meet all of you.
Looking back now, if you told 18-year-old Ejin that when she reconnected with one of her friends at the National Aspiration and Leadership Summit (NALS) 2018 would lead to all of these, she wouldn’t have believed you.
Because had I decided not to attend NALS alone in 2018, I wouldn’t have ordered that over-priced sardine puff while waiting for my aunt, and I wouldn’t have bumped into Jacqueline Hannah when walking out of the Putrajaya World Trade Centre that day.
I wouldn’t have told her that I know her from RYLA, and we wouldn’t have reconnected on Instagram. I wouldn’t have seen her stories promoting Small Changes’ upcoming initiatives, I wouldn’t have sent in my application and be selected as one of the facilitators. I definitely wouldn’t have returned for the second time.
Most importantly, I wouldn’t have met all of you.
But all of these did happen, and it happened out of one small coincidence.
And I can assure you, it is one of the best coincidences I’ve had.
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