The name -Kalsom- originated from Puan Kelthom Abdullah, a single mother struggling to make ends meet in Kelantan. Her children were forced to drop out of school, and her plight was given some media attention in 1993. Upon reading about her in the papers, a group of young Malaysian students in the UK decided to run a collection to help bear the education cost of her children.

For the initial group of students, it was not enough to merely collect money. They decided to take it a step further, spurred on by the conviction that they had a greater role to play. They decided that given their youth, and being students themselves, they were in an excellent position to help encourage and assist students from lesser-developed parts of Malaysia to excel in their studies. And so, during their summer holidays in the following year, they ran a motivational camp for the students of Jerantut, Pahang. It proved successful, and they decided to run it again the following year in Gerik, Perak.

Projek Kalsom has since been held annually, growing from strength to strength, and we are now running the project with the full support of the Malaysian Ministry of Education. In 2006, Projek Kalsom 12 inspired 120-odd student participants from the state of Kelantan, with the help of 50 volunteers. In 2007, Projek Kalsom 13 was held in SM Sains Tuanku Syed Putra in Kangar, Perlis. The weather in Malaysia is as warm as usual in August 2008, this doesn’t stop more than 160 participants in Sungai Petani, Kedah to attend 5-day Projek Kalsom 14 in SMS Sultan Mohamad Jiwa which they never regret to. Projek Kalsom 15 was initially scheduled to be held in Terengganu, but had to be moved to Selangor due to Swine Flu. Projek Kalsom 16 found its way back to Terengganu, and involved a new addition to its concept. On top of motivating and educating form four students from all over Setiu, the facilitators also experienced a kampung lifestyle with a homestay programme at Kampung Langkap.

The prime objective of Projek Kalsom is to make learning a more positive experience. With students from the UK at helm of this project, the participants are bound to benefit as they are exposed to the various methods used by the facilitators (the students from United Kingdom and Ireland) in their daily work.

Besides, the project also aims to provide positive role models for the rural participants. The facilitators act as mentors, guiding the participants and giving them tips as they prepare to embrace the challenges in the future of their lives.

Last but not least, this camp desires to instill the values of teamwork and individual responsibility. Empowering the participants to work in groups to complete an arduous task is easier said than done, and this camp sincerely hopes to achieve just that.