29 March 2014 – A total of 36 students from Biomedical Science programme and staffs of the International Medical University (IMU) visited the Ti-Ratana home in Desa Petaling to fulfil the objectives of their Semester 4 module “Parasitology and Entomology” and also to contribute to the community under the IMU Cares programme.
Ti-Ratana Welfare Society is a community service society set up in the spirit of compassion to both serve and provide shelter, education and care to the underprivileged members of the community. It is also a voluntary, not-for-profit, non-partisan and non-denominational organisation offering a wide scope of community services. During the first visit, the students interacted with the children aged between 7 years old to 12 years old at the home. The students were also given a tour around the home which consists of a children’s home/orphanage and an old folk’s home.
On the second visit, the children at the home were given questionnaires regarding their hygiene habits and practices. During the third visit, the biomedical science students together with students from the Nursing, Dental, Nutrition and Dietetics and Chiropractic programmes joined the community service project. Activities carried out during this visit were health screening, dental screening, vision test, dietary assessment, physical examination and health talk. The health talk, given by the Biomedical Science students, featured the importance of daily hygiene practices to ensure a healthy body. The health talk captured the attention of the children there.
Apart from those activities, donations were made from the Biomedical Science students. Among the things that were donated are face masks, garbage bags, children’s clothes, children’s undergarments, brooms, mops, and hand sanitizers.
Students from Biomedical Science 1/12 enjoyed their experience at the Ti-Ratana home and have made some positive comments.
“It was a great experience visiting to Ti-Ratana. As a biomedical scientist, we will need deal with different kinds of patients in the future, including children. The community service at Ti-Ratana was a good exposure and chance for us to interact with the children and share some important tips regarding personal hygiene with them.”
– Karen Wong
“I feel really grateful to be part of the community service. Besides sharing our knowledge about hygiene to the growing children, we had also built a good rapport among many people associated with the community service. Experience at the home instilled some good values in us which are: appreciating our parents and nurturing the habit of giving.”
– Raevathi Omasanggar
“As a future biomedical scientist, it was a very good experience for us to have this community service. We have learnt how to deal with children, how to prepare/set up the screening booth, how to prepare questionnaire for children and etc. We enjoyed giving the talks and sharing some hygiene practices with thechildren. Looking forward for more community services!”
– Too Ga Sin Article is written by Kee Meng Lu, a biomedical science student at IMU
