Mendaki starts drive to improve outreach - StraitsTimes - 16 Aug 2010

By Amelia Tan

MALAY self-help group Mendaki wants to reach out to more members of the community and change the perception that it serves only the lower-income group.


It hopes to do this with a new campaign - Bersama Mendaki, or Together with Mendaki - that will use a mix of traditional and new media platforms to raise awareness, engage and garner feedback on its programmes from the community and other stakeholders, such as employers and government agencies.

The campaign, which will run from now till August next year, features television commercials, YouTube videos and Facebook pages. Mendaki may extend its duration based on public response.

Launching the campaign yesterday at Geylang Serai, Mendaki chairman Yaacob Ibrahim said in his speech in Malay that it seeks to understand and meet the changing needs of the community through the campaign.

Dr Yaacob, who is also Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs, added that Mendaki has already been gathering feedback on its programmes and services from various segments of the community and stakeholders, through focus group sessions held late last year.

Mendaki chief executive Moliah Hashim told reporters yesterday that the group used the feedback to set the objectives of the campaign.

'We found out that many think we are here only for the lower-income group...

'Our programmes are focused on helping the lower-income, but we want those from the middle- and upper-income to be involved too. They can serve as volunteers in our mentoring programmes, for example,' she said.

'We also want to tell the community that we are not begging for people to help us. Rather, we are offering them a way to be part of our efforts to help the community to move forward. So there needs to be a twist in the perception.'

When asked what type of feedback she hopes to get from the new campaign, she said: 'We are looking for people who will want to challenge us, who will want to question us, people who will want to stretch our imagination on what Bersama Mendaki means.'

Dr Yaacob, Madam Moliah, volunteers and staff of Mendaki also distributed gift packs containing items such as Hari Raya money envelopes and fridge magnets to the public at the Geylang Serai bazaar yesterday.

The gift packs will also be distributed over the next two Saturdays at Hari Raya bazaars in Woodlands and Jurong West.

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ROLE FOR ALL

'Our programmes are focused on helping the lower-income, but we want those from the middle- and upper-income to be involved too. They can serve as volunteers in our mentoring programmes, for example.'
- Mendaki chief executive Moliah Hashim