Social media plays a huge role in today’s world, and perhaps now even more so. According to a 2019 research by YouGov, data shows that 17% (that’s one in six Malaysians) spend nine hours a day checking their social media accounts.
The same research shows that 72% of Malaysians get on social media to catch the latest news and events, which is what I personally do. But, not everyone shares the same sentiment.
For some, social media is a place to speak their mind—without a filter and while this is fine, some do take advantage of it to spread fake news, insult, bully or judge others unfairly.
So, instead of focusing on the bad side of social media, we’ve decided to take a look at the heartwarming stories that we can find. It’s the time of the year that we’re thinking of trying to do more good in this world, particularly with all the struggles of 2020.
1. Spreading Joy To The Children
The COVID-19 virus infects people of all ages, the old and the young alike.
Letchumi Raja Sureia, a member of the COVID-19 team in the Paediatric Ward of Hospital Sungai Buloh went to social media to thank people who donated toys and books to the ward.
They were able to act as Santa for the day and bring joy to the kids.
2. Not Forgetting Our Furry Friends
As someone who tends to feed strays whenever possible, it’s disheartening to see that I’m unable to do so during MCO.
Bulu-Bulu Initiative is started by the guys behind Petotum, with a simple mission, to feed the strays during COVID-19.
With the help of volunteers and donations, they’ve managed to feed countless numbers of strays. On April 13, Afifah Basir, the co-founder of Petotum, said they’ve received a whopping 248kg of pet food from generous donors.
3. Equipping Our Front Liners With Face Shields
In difficult times like these, face shields are high in demand for our front liners.
St John Ambulance along with CzipLee (a local stationery store) and Craftiviti (a local DIY store), joined forces to produce DIY face shields.
According to St John Ambulance, CzipLee and Craftiviti originally donated 2,000 pieces of materials. But, CzipLee went above and beyond to raise a further RM60,000 to donate 6,000 additional pieces of ready-made face shields.
In April, St John Ambulance posted that they’ve managed to collect and deliver 48,301 face shields to over 100 hospitals and clinics across Malaysia.
4. Rescuing Food For Marginalised Communities
What A Waste (WaW) is a food donation platform that takes surplus food and repackages them for marginalised communities.
They’ve recently teamed up with Ohana FC, a local football team to help distribute and prepare surplus food donated by restaurants.
In May, a little hero even donated her own pocket money to provide food for the community.
5. The #GymUntukJiwa Campaign
So you see, social media can be used to showcase Malaysia’s capability in helping others even during difficult times.
#GymUntukJiwa is AIA PUBLIC Takaful’s newly launched initiative, encouraging everyone to do good, in order to better ourselves and ultimately create a better community.
The initiative is held in the spirit of Takaful, which is all about solidarity and the community.
The challenge for #GymUntukJiwa was already up during Ramadhan, and the social media posts did achieve the number of hashtags needed, and the charity drive was completed at the end of Ramadhan.
You too can salute the heroes, and this is one of the ways you can help. You can simply start by doing something for your loved ones, friends and neighbours. This will make their day and create a positive impact.
How To Spread The Positivity
To participate, this is what you’ll have to do:
- Choose any of the Penyayang or Pemurah challenges,
- Complete the activity,
- Share the activities on social media with the hashtag #GymUntukJiwa and #AIAPUBLICTakaful.
For example, if I were to take on a Penyayang challenge, I can help out in the kitchen, snap a picture of me cooking with my parents and post it on social media. It’s as simple as that to spread positivity online.
You can also check out the latest #GymUntukJiwa challenge for the month of Raya on AIA PUBLIC Takaful’s page here.
Since we have ample time to spend on social media, instead of just watching a TikTok video, your penyayang or pemurah challenge can make a difference to families in need and all it takes is just a simple photo post.
Find out more about AIA’s #GymUntukJiwa challenges on their Facebook page.
More info on the #GymUntukJiwa challenge here.
Visit the AIA’s site here.
Image Credit: WhatAWaste, Bulu-Bulu Initiative, Letchumi Raja Sureia, AIA PUBLIC Takaful
