Friday, June 12, 2009

Let's launch the Wau Bebas for the stateless and abused children of Malaysia!

Welcome to the blog of the Wau Bebas Schools Project, a joint initiative of Yayasan Nursalam and the Malaysia Think Tank.

It is the mission of Yayasan Nursalam to improve the lives of Malaysia's stateless and abused children, and it is the mission of the Malaysia Think Tank to advance the principles of freedom and justice proclaimed at our nation's birth.

The Wau Bebas Schools will be autonomous primary and secondary schools open to all. Our schools will compete not only with existing government schools but private international schools as well. An audacious idea perhaps, but a necessary one, for if these children grow up without the tools to empower themselves in this fast-changing nation there will not only be real physical and material costs to the wider community, but we risk violating the spirit of freedom and justice embedded in our Federal Constitution.

By 'automonous' we mean that we make the decisions on all matters relating to the running of the schools, including but not limited to: curricula, admissions, teachers, administration and extra-curricular activities. The model that we use will seek to imbue every child with the self-confidence and educational achievement to prove that Malaysia can be a land of opportunity for the many and not just the few.

At this early stage we aim to open a pilot centre by 2010, and we are raising funds to that end.

Join us in launching the Wau Bebas - the Kite of Freedom - for the stateless and abused children of Malaysia on Saturday 11 July 2009 at Carlos@Pavillion. The party begins at 9 pm will feature a tantalising variety of shows, auctions and people!