Taylorians leave a mark for children in Bario

Bring on Bario committee members go all out to raise awareness for children of Bario

A total of 952 colourful hands left their marks on a 30-metre-long canvas to create awareness on the plight of orphaned children in Bario, Sarawak.

Held March 23, “Leave-A-Mark” was the final project by the fourth semester students of Diploma in Communication.

The students have been managing Bring on Bario (B.O.B.), a non-profit organisation that supports the 1 Taylor’s Bario Project, a Taylor’s University community initiative to help rural children in Bario.

B.O.B focuses on providing the children with an education, and in the future, a hostel for primary school children.

Leave-A-Mark was different from the previous two events they organised, as the focus was not on raising funds but rather on making a lasting impression on Taylor’s students and staff.

“The aim of Leave-A-Mark is mainly to create awareness about the orphans in Bario,” Lecturer Adviser Sri Kumar Ramayan said.

Getting people to press their handprints onto the canvas was both a literal and symbolic way of ‘leaving a mark’ in the lives of the children.

“Each handprint mattered because it showed each individual’s support for this project,” Project Manager Dhiva Shini said.

Diploma in Quantity Surveying student Wong Jun Yih described the event as a success.

“I think this is a good way to spread the word about their project,” he said.

Sri Kumar said the Leave-A-Mark project raised a total of about RM6,600, all of which will be given to the 1 Taylor’s Bario Project.

(By Vasenta Selvanayagam and Michelle Chun)