Reaching out to stroke survivors as the Language Centre's Service to the community

This study looks into the interaction between community and students' development and Service Learning Malaysia-University for Society, SULAM, practiced amongst forty students. This Community Service project involved stroke survivors, with students helping them become self-reliant again. The project has four objectives; namely cultivating entrepreneurs amongst stroke survivors and students, helping to increase the household economy of the stroke survivors and students, transforming the stroke survivors' and students' mindsets on starting businesses of their own, and nurturing students to become change agents. Students got to mingle with the stroke survivors and learned from them. Both the stroke survivors and students answered online questionnaires on Google Form. The study reveals stroke survivors had the opportunity to gain knowledge and skills through the courses held at the Hulu Langat Community College, used the knowledge and skills gained when they participated in the Youth Entrepreneurship Fairs, and started thinking and planning a particular business which is suitable to them. While the participation in the fairs did not immensely increase the stroke survivors' household income, they got to experience getting profit from cash sales. The students discovered the meaning of community service where they had interactions with the stroke survivors, helped and learned from them, and experienced doing community service, apart from many other benefits. Finally, this study demonstrates that university teaming and community engagement have social incentives (acceptance of stroke survivors to the help offered by students vice versa) which give a sense of fulfillment and motivate students as community service agents.