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COMMUNITY SERVICE INITIATIVE UCM60102U E-JOURNAL TUTORS: MR MOHD ADIB RAMLI MS ANN SEE PENG STUDENT: LIM JOE ONN ID : 0318679

Community Service Initiative Journal

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Page 1: Community Service Initiative Journal

COMMUNITY SERVICE INITIATIVE

UCM60102U

E-JOURNAL

TUTORS:

MR MOHD ADIB RAMLI

MS ANN SEE PENG

STUDENT: LIM JOE ONN

ID : 0318679

Page 2: Community Service Initiative Journal

PROLOGUE

Community Service Initiative reveals us to the real community and work together as a team. Activities

done in this module can enhance designated communities, making their lives more convenient. This

individual e-journal documents the entire process of our project since the start until the end of the

module.

Community Service Initiative gives us the opportunity to integrate theories with design practice. We are

required to incorporate the theories learnt in school into solving real life issues. For this module, my team

and I decided to address two major issues in our city of Kuala Lumpur, namely the growing amount of

waste due to used banners and the demand of shelter by homeless people.

Image of an alley in Kuala Lumpur, where many social issues could be observed:

Page 3: Community Service Initiative Journal

ISSUE 1: WASTED BANNERS

Numerous banners are printed for school events, political campaigns and propaganda. These banners are

made of strong waterproof materials such as vinyl and polyester mesh that are able to withstand outdoor

conditions such as strong tropical sunlight and heavy rainfall.

Images of banners:

However, most of these banners are thrown away after their period of service or end of an event, creating

huge amounts of trash. This is due to the fact that the printed side of these banners are permanent and

are not subjected to editing, shortening their life span. These banners have weather-resistant properties

and are capable of being shades to temporary shelters.

Page 4: Community Service Initiative Journal

ISSUE 2: HOMELESS PEOPLE IN KUALA LUMPUR

According to malaysiandigest.com, the number of homeless people in Kuala Lumpur have increased by

three-fold, from 600 in 2014 to at least 2000 people last year, based on a survey conducted by the Kuala

Lumpur City Council (DBKL).

Image of homeless person in Kuala Lumpur (image source: Says.com):

Image of homeless person in Kuala Lumpur photographed by me:

Page 5: Community Service Initiative Journal

Homeless people are commonly found in downtown Kuala Lumpur. Some of them end up on the streets

due to gambling habits and debt. They typically sleep by the roadside when they are not scavenging food

or begging, desperately needing shelters that can protect them from the scorching tropical sun. Besides,

their presence leaves a negative impression to tourists. Proper and affordable shelters can solve this

problem.

Federal Territories Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Adnan Md Ikhsan said the ministry was working

hard to provide shelter for the homeless. As charity begins at home, why not we as citizens lend a hand

by creating cheap yet durable shelters for them. Simple actions of social engagement may leave a huge

positive impact on people’s lives.

SOLUTION

After thorough discussion with my teammates, we came up with the idea of killing two birds with one

stone. By recycling these readily available banners, we can create shelters for the needy. Since there are

so many used banners available, we can modify them into weather-resistant shelters for the wandering

homeless. Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman was selected as our site due to the abundance of homeless people

in that region.

Group discussion in campus:

Productive conversations between teammates challenges our creative and critical thinking skills as we

need to think of ideas on ways to utilize our resources and transform them into something functional.

Albeit the final solution is generally rather simple, design is a rather long process. The prototype needs to

be cheap, durable, functional, easy to carry around and structurally stable.

Page 6: Community Service Initiative Journal

Our team is formed by various members from different cultural backgrounds and nations, namely Mexico,

Tanzania, South Korea and Malaysia. As communication plays an essential role during the whole project,

I learnt that interpersonal skills are vital when completing a task. Good communication skills enable

members to understand one another, making sure that correct messages are conveyed. Group

coordination is difficult as each of us have our individual hectic schedules. Not all people are free at

the same time.

Our initial idea was to create a rigid cuboid frame to support the weight of the banner but PVC joints with

three axes X, Y and Z are not available. Our survey at hardware shops only found L-shaped and T-shaped

joints. Besides, a rigid frame design requires more PVC pipes, making it heavy and slightly more expensive.

Inspiration can be found anywhere even when it is unintentional. We firmly believe that new ideas can

sprout in our gray matter by keenly observing items or activities around us in our daily lives. In our team

member Iche’s room, we came across a simple foldable laundry basket designed by Ikea, a world-

renowned furniture company.

Page 7: Community Service Initiative Journal

The unpremeditated noticing of this simple device that is used in our daily lives sparks the euphoric sense

of eureka in our minds. This type of foldable structure decreases the amount of PVC pipes required,

making it easier to carry around. Our structure can be similar to this laundry basket, but at a larger scale

covered by a banner.

Thus, our idea is synthesized by creating a model using the digital software 3D SketchUp.

Next, I was in charge of making a draft for a poster that proposes our idea. It will become the catalyst to

produce the poster that will propagate our idea to viewers.

Page 8: Community Service Initiative Journal

Image of draft poster:

The name for the shelter, Sleepod, was decided together much later via our team’s WhatsApp group.

Page 9: Community Service Initiative Journal

PROTOTYPE & PROCESS

Asides from that, I volunteered to do the task of getting a used banner. Thus, on the 3rd of June 2017, I

drove to my previous high school, SMJK Katholik to scavenge for unwanted banners.

Image of SMJK Katholik’s Block E:

With the assistance of a senior, I was fortunate to find two available banners dumped beside the school’s

Grand Hall. After further enquiry, I knew that these banners were abandoned since National Day last year

and are currently under the possession of the school’s Purple Sport House. With permission from the

person-in-charge, I rolled one of the banners and carried it back to studio.

Image of unwanted banners:

Page 10: Community Service Initiative Journal

Image of me carrying one of the banners back to studio:

To ensure that a project runs smoothly, I fully utilized my contacts to enquire for required resources.

Having plenty of friends and contacts can proof to be advantageous. Keep in touch with your high school

friends, you may never know when do you need them.

Page 11: Community Service Initiative Journal

I also volunteered to take photographs of the whole cleaning, cutting and testing processes. Images are

essential as they provide proof and material to our individual reports and submission.

Hong Jie and Iche measuring and cutting the PVC pipes bought by Sham:

Page 12: Community Service Initiative Journal

Pablo, Iche and I cleaning and drying the banner:

Page 13: Community Service Initiative Journal

Sung Ho, Pablo and other teammates drilling holes and setting up the prototype:

Page 14: Community Service Initiative Journal

Testing out the prototype:

Page 15: Community Service Initiative Journal

One modification is done to the prototype, which is replacing metal rods with rope as rope is readily

available and are strong enough to serve as a tensile component that holds the structure together.

Sometimes we should be flexible in design so that options that are more practical can be considered.

Many hands make light work and we managed to construct the prototype within a few hours. Teamwork

and cooperative spirit is totally manifested among our team. Everyone was punctual to the meeting and

finished their given duties with excellence. We are glad that this prototype did function well as expected.

The shelter is big enough to house a person when assembled and rather easy to carry around when

disassembled. Moreover, the time taken for a homeless person to set up his new home is roughly 5

minutes, which is easy as there aren’t many joints to work with due to its ingenious simplicity.

Pablo lying down in the Sleepod:

Page 16: Community Service Initiative Journal

MEETING POTENTIAL USERS

On the 6th of June 2017, we went to our site, which is at Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, more widely known

as Jalan TAR in downtown Kuala Lumpur. After some safety considerations and parking issues, we finally

settled nearby TNB substation, hoping to meet some homeless people for their feedbacks. Homeless

people are easily found in this area and we had to step up our courage to interact and engage with them.

Some of them replied with rude stares and some of them refused to receive our offer. After much trial,

we finally got to meet Mr Aziz, an old and gentle homeless man that is sleeping beside the pavement.

Image of the Sleepod and us having a conversation with Mr Aziz:

Page 17: Community Service Initiative Journal

Mr Aziz trying out the Sleepod:

After some degree of persuasion, Mr Aziz agreed to try out our Sleepod. He personally admired the shelter,

mentioning how cool and comfortable it is to be within it. He also liked how portable it is. To his surprise,

the assembly of Sleepod took no longer than 5 minutes. We then concluded the Sleepod to be successful

and gave him an A&W set meal to ‘buka puasa’ as a token of appreciation.

Group photo at site:

Page 18: Community Service Initiative Journal

To avoid rush hour jam, we left at 4pm. On my car (I was driving), we discussed on the team’s task

delegation and I worked on the script for the video after arriving in campus together with uploading all

my photos from my SD card to Google Drive so that the whole team received my photos to be put in their

journals.

CONCLUSION & REFLECTION

In a nutshell, this project gave us a valuable opportunity to implement the architectural design skills learnt

in campus on solving social issues. I felt happy that together as a team, we are able to contribute back to

society. According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, shelter is one of the basic necessities of humans yet

there are those who are not fortunate to have one, living in the same city amongst us. Every day we come

across these people, but we give them momentary glances most of the time without providing much

assistance.

This module inspired me to be a person of compassion. A morally upright and kind person that utilizes his knowledge to improvise the lives of others and make the world better. In terms of team effort, I believed that my team and I worked collaboratively in making this prototype happen. Soft skills such as communication skills, problem-solving abilities, adaptability and teamwork are clearly emphasized in this module and I firmly believed that these skills were enhanced within me through the completion of this beneficial project.

Full group photo: