Community Service Programs - Essay Example

Introduction

Community service programs always involve the activities done by individuals or groups to benefit others. It allows individuals to develop a sense of ownership and pride in their community. Participating in community service activities enhances teamwork and cooperation when giving back to the community by improving the environment and helping others. However, the coronavirus has disrupted the planning and implementation of the various community service programs because of the restrictive measures to contain its spread. The Ministry of Health Malaysia has implemented safeguard measures such as self-isolation and lockdowns that restrict movements and control the spread of the virus, which has affected community service programs. Because the Covid-19 pandemic is evolving, it is essential for community service groups to strategically plan and implement alternative engagement plans to serve the community's vulnerable members. Adequate planning and implementation of activities ensure the identification and mitigation of specific risks to the vulnerable members in the family, including the elderly, children, and members living with disabilities (Stukas et al., 2016).

Community service activities

The primary community service activities planned and carried out during the pandemic include information sharing, household cleaning, and delivering groceries to the elderly members.

Information sharing

‘Together, let us fight Coronavirus,’ was the slogan adopted to facilitate information sharing and communication among the family members during the pandemic. The planning for information and communication activities took two weeks, beginning from 27th April to 9th May. The planning proceeding had two sessions, one in the morning between 8.00 am and 10.00 am, and the other in the afternoon between 3.00 pm and 4.00 pm for the two weeks. The planning took place in Penang's family home while strictly observing the physical-distancing of one meter apart and wearing masks provided by the health safety precautions.

The planning had four family members, parents, thirteen years old sister, and me to develop an efficient information and communication strategy. Each member was assigned a specific task during the planning meeting. The main objective of information and communication activities is to provide each family member, both living within Penang and rural areas, with adequate information about the coronavirus and its preventative measures. It focuses on each member of the family's specific needs, including men, women, boys, girls, people with disabilities, and the elderly. The tailored communication messages ensure understanding of the virus by the different family members.

Many family members had various concerns about Covid-19 before the implementation of information and communication activities. A majority worried about their livelihoods, while others feared contracting the virus (Duan & Zhu, 2020). Many people did not have any substantive information about the virus and relied on rumors and myths spread by other members. People gained an understanding of the virus, how it spread, and how to prevent its spread during the implementation of information and communication through various media such as phone calls and social media communication. The information and communication activities helped create awareness about the virus and prevent its spread (Stringer et al., 2020). The sharing encouraged the family to share information, listen to concerns, support members actively, and give feedback about the virus. With proper understanding, many people observed safety precautions, which reduced the rate of spreading the virus. The texts and calls to the self-isolated family members, including grandparents and other old members, ensured family bonding during the pandemic. It helped bring joy to their lives by preventing loneliness during the self-isolation measures.

Cleaning Activities

Another activity planned indoors and implemented during the pandemic is cleaning homes for the family members working at the forefront of preventing the spread of the virus. The health workers in the family, including nurses and physicians, spend most of their time at work fighting against the virus. A majority of the family's health workers, including relatives, do not live far from the neighborhood. It makes it easy to implement organized cleaning activities once a week to help with their house chores. The team assembled for brooms, rakes, and other cleaning equipment to perform the cleaning activities. The slogan for the cleaning activity was ‘a clean home is a protected home.’ The event began on 9th May and will continue until the end of our community service on 1st September between 8.00 am to 7.00 pm. The family households for the cleaning activity include two houses for the relatives who work in the community hospital and three homes of the sanitation workers for the community. Each of the four household members will clean one household every week during the implementation of the cleaning activity.

The cleaning activities' objective is to ensure support to the family members working in the front lines in the fight against the virus. Cleaning is one of the activities still allowed during the lockdowns and self-isolation measures in Malaysia. But health workers spend long hours at work, which makes it difficult for them to engage in cleaning activities to ensure a clean environment and protection from the virus infections. One way of transmitting the virus is through contaminated and polluted surfaces. It is essential to clean surfaces and homes to ensure the prevention of the spread of the virus. For this reason, the community service team organized cleaning the homes of the family members working in the hospitals to keep them safe when they come home from work. The cleaning activities ensured a practical and actionable approach to fighting the virus, which controlled its spread in the community.

Grocery Delivery

The third activity planned and implemented during the coronavirus pandemic is organizing groceries and food for the elderly in the family. The slogan for the grocery delivery activities was, ‘Fresh grocery at your doorstep.' The doorstep delivery of fresh grocery and food products began on 20th May and will continue until 1st September and between 8.00 am to 6.00 pm. Each of the four family members will collect and deliver groceries for the six elderly members every week. All the family members in this community service team will organize food donations by saving on food and avoiding food wastage. The main objective of the grocery delivery activity is to provide food security for the isolated elderly members of the family during the coronavirus pandemic. It ensures that the elderly family members, including grandparents and cousins, can continuously access the essential supplies during the pandemic.

The self-isolation measures restricted the movement of the elderly in the community, making them more vulnerable to food insecurity. The grandparents and older relatives could not move freely in search of food, exposing them to the adverse effects of the restrictive measures in the wake of the pandemic. That was the situation before the planning and implementation of grocery delivery. But each team member had a cargo bicycle that made it easier to deliver reliably and speedily while observing the physical distancing regulations (Mohler et al., 2020). Grandparents and older relatives received their food supply at their doorstep. About twelve elderly members of the family received at least two meals a day during the implementation of grocery delivery. Using bicycles is also a cheap way of helping hotels, restaurants, and grocery stores, offering free meals and groceries to low-income families and vulnerable people in the community (Wayne et al., 2020). The grocery delivery activity ensured food security for the elderly members of the family during its implementation in the wake of the pandemic.

Discussion and Conclusion

Volunteering to offer community service is a fulfilling experience that gives an individual a sense of ownership and pride when serving others. But with the coronavirus pandemic, it is difficult to implement most of the activities of community service. Self-isolation and lockdown measures imposed by the government control the spread of the virus. However, it restricts people's movements, which expose them to vulnerabilities, especially the elderly, children, and family members living with a disability (Berg-Weger & Morley, 2020). Adequate planning and timely implementation of community service activities help identify and prevent the risks of the virus on the vulnerable family members. When properly planned and implemented, activities illustrated in these points, including information sharing, cleaning activities, and grocery delivery, can reduce the risks and adverse effects of the pandemic in the extended family. The idea of offering support as a family to other members of the extended family demonstrates a deep desire to help others. Services offered by members to help improve their community and other people demonstrate a sense of ownership for their lives and actions.

Reflective Journal

It is heartening to see the solidarity and cooperation through volunteering during the evolving challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The majority of people take up community service to give back to society by serving others during the pandemic. Students from all regions across Malaysia have registered with local organizations and government to offer services to their communities, such as delivering food and medication from restaurants and pharmacies, making regular phone calls to people isolated due to covid-19, even driving patients to medical appointments (Germann, 2017). Individuals and groups feel they are doing something to give back to their community during this time of crisis by volunteering in solidarity to prevent the spread of the virus. I am glad to have worked alongside my family through commitment and dedication to serve other family members during this pandemic. The experiences have given me insights into how better it is to serve the community and have a sense of fulfilment. This reflective journal describes the activities, evaluation, and analysis of our community service during the pandemic.

Week one reflection

In the first two weeks of community service, we worked on the plan for information and communication activities to create awareness about the coronavirus. The morning planning session began on a high note because each member contributed during the brainstorming for ideas. The team reviewed the information and communication chains in the community to identify various ways on how to reach a broad target population. The team also came up with a slogan ‘together, let us fight coronavirus’ to inform other family members about the virus and how to prevent it.

The level of teamwork and cooperation gave me a sense of belonging when working with my peers to develop information and communication activities. Every person got a chance to listen and present their ideas. I think this was very great and that volunteering for community service during this pandemic is perhaps one of the best decisions because it allowed us to serve the community. It is an enriching experience when family members work and spend time together as volunteers to achieve a common goal of serving the community. Volunteering as a family helps transmit values such as compassion, responsibility and selflessness to children and the younger members of the family through modelling and observation (Wong & Alias, 2020). The development of practical information and communication activity considers the needs of various groups, proper communication channels, and local capacities, reaching everyone and feedback.

Week three reflection

The third week started well with the team members shifting focus on the second activity after successfully developing and implementing the first activity. It gave the team morale and energy for the new task. Planning for the cleaning activities to support the family members working longer hours as health workers took three days. We had expected to finish the planning in one day, but we had to consider factors like how to handle travel and getting the equipment to implement the activities (Ratnasingam et al., 2020).

At that time, I thought about looking for short-cuts, but it could not apply in this case because community service requires participation. Working as a team makes it possible to have different ideas and perspectives on approaching a challenge. The planning for cleaning activities had some challenges like lack of resources to buy the cleaning equipment. But through creative thinking and innovativeness, the team developed easier and cheaper alternatives (Union, 2020). It challenged me to work more on my participatory skills for efficiency in working with my family members.

Week eight reflection

On weeks seven and eight, the team continues with grocery delivery from the restaurants, food stores, and shops that offer free meals and groceries and delivers to the vulnerable family members. Each team member uses their cargo bicycle to deliver the grocery to six elderly members of the family in their houses within the neighbourhood three times a week (Day, 2019). I must admit that it is one of the most fulfilling feelings ever; seeing the smiles of appreciation on their faces is encouraging. It also makes one think of the possibilities and satisfaction of helping more vulnerable people in the community during the covid-19.

The good thing about grocery delivery is that the each family member had a bicycle which they used for the deliveries. Use of bicycles does not expose any member to the risks of contracting the virus due to body contacts and touching infected surfaces. The negative aspect of the grocery delivery was that it was not enough to provide for other low-income families that also experienced the pandemic's adverse effects. We hope to increase the number of beneficiaries of the community service activities by using motorbikes for even quicker deliveries in the future. The lessons from grocery delivery are that it is essential to carry our needs assessment to identify the community's most urgent need (Gopinathan, 2020). It is also important to develop mutual partnerships that will increase the resources to reach a broader target population and significantly impact the community.

Workings as a family in community service have several benefits that include transmission of good values to children like compassion and empathy. It develops tolerance, a sense of responsibility and sacrifice among the young members of the family. Additionally, it strengthens the family bonds because the family work closer and have fun in the process. Taking time to reflect on the community service activities allows individuals and groups to think of their activities, meaning to the family and the community as a whole (McLaren et al., 2020). Finally, it is essential to evaluate the community service program upon completion to direct improvement, change, and growth.

Many family members had various concerns about Covid-19 before the implementation of information and communication activities. A majority worried about their livelihoods, while others feared contracting the virus (Duan & Zhu, 2020). Many people did not have any substantive information about the virus and relied on rumors and myths spread by other members. People gained an understanding of the virus, how it spread, and how to prevent its spread during the implementation of information and communication through various media such as phone calls and social media communication. The information and communication activities helped create awareness about the virus and prevent its spread (Stringer et al., 2020). The sharing encouraged the family to share information, listen to concerns, support members actively, and give feedback about the virus. With proper understanding, many people observed safety precautions, which reduced the rate of spreading the virus. The texts and calls to the self-isolated family members, including grandparents and other old members, ensured family bonding during the pandemic. It helped bring joy to their lives by preventing loneliness during the self-isolation measures.

Cleaning Activities

Another activity planned indoors and implemented during the pandemic is cleaning homes for the family members working at the forefront of preventing the spread of the virus. The health workers in the family, including nurses and physicians, spend most of their time at work fighting against the virus. A majority of the family's health workers, including relatives, do not live far from the neighborhood. It makes it easy to implement organized cleaning activities once a week to help with their house chores. The team assembled for brooms, rakes, and other cleaning equipment to perform the cleaning activities. The slogan for the cleaning activity was ‘a clean home is a protected home.’ The event began on 9th May and will continue until the end of our community service on 1st September between 8.00 am to 7.00 pm. The family households for the cleaning activity include two houses for the relatives who work in the community hospital and three homes of the sanitation workers for the community. Each of the four household members will clean one household every week during the implementation of the cleaning activity.

The cleaning activities' objective is to ensure support to the family members working in the front lines in the fight against the virus. Cleaning is one of the activities still allowed during the lockdowns and self-isolation measures in Malaysia. But health workers spend long hours at work, which makes it difficult for them to engage in cleaning activities to ensure a clean environment and protection from the virus infections. One way of transmitting the virus is through contaminated and polluted surfaces. It is essential to clean surfaces and homes to ensure the prevention of the spread of the virus. For this reason, the community service team organized cleaning the homes of the family members working in the hospitals to keep them safe when they come home from work. The cleaning activities ensured a practical and actionable approach to fighting the virus, which controlled its spread in the community.

Grocery Delivery

The third activity planned and implemented during the coronavirus pandemic is organizing groceries and food for the elderly in the family. The slogan for the grocery delivery activities was, ‘Fresh grocery at your doorstep.' The doorstep delivery of fresh grocery and food products began on 20th May and will continue until 1st September and between 8.00 am to 6.00 pm. Each of the four family members will collect and deliver groceries for the six elderly members every week. Read More