Community service is an important part of the extra-curricular activities organized for the students in the Bachelor of Environmental Health and Safety (Hons) from Faculty of Health Sciences, MAHSA University.
On the 8th of January 2023, a group of students from Bachelor of Environmental Health and Safety went to Pantai Batu 4, Port Dickson to participate in a beach cleaning and hygiene awareness activity. This beach is for well frequented by tourists because of its relatively close proximity to Kuala Lumpur city centre. The purpose of the activity was to ensure that the beach area is always clean and safe. It was also to prevent the rubbish from irresponsible visitors to the beach piling and causing problems related to pest and vector breeding. It should be well known by now that public waste such as single-use plastic containers can become breeding places for mosquitoes and improper waste management especially food will attract pests such as flies and rodents to the area.
The Beach Cleaning activities involved eleven people comprising five students from MAHSA University and six staff from Seremban Municipal Council. The activity began at 8.30 am with briefing on the activities that would be done on that day which included beach cleaning and distributing pamphlets on hygiene awareness to the visitors in that area. During the briefing, everyone was divided into 4 groups with each group consisting of students and staff. Each team was given copies of pamphlets, plastic bags, and tools to conduct the activity.
Briefing by Seremban Municipal Council on Beach Cleaning & Hygiene Awareness
Two groups were assigned to conduct beach cleaning and another two groups to distribute pamphlets to visitors at the beach. The pamphlets contain information related to hygiene such as proper disposal of waste, hand washing, effects of improper waste handling and others. The activity ended at 12.00 pm with pamphlets distributed to almost 200 visitors. Students managed to collect waste and covered almost the whole beach area.
From this activity, students learned a lot of new things which included the importance of teamwork, communicating with the public and instilled a habit of volunteerism and community service. This community service would improve social interaction and learning experience among students and improve links between MAHSA University, and external agencies such as Seremban Municipal Council and also with the general public.
MAHSA University and Faculty of Health Sciences have a strong commitment to community engagement and public outreach. This provides students with valuable networking opportunities and skills in community engagement and public health communication. Therefore, our faculty is the best choice for students who seek careers in the field of Environmental Health and Safety. Additionally, Faculty of Health Sciences in MAHSA University provides a range of extracurricular activities and clubs that let students pursue their talents in the area of environmental health and safety. These can include attending conferences and seminars on the most recent studies and advancements in the sector as well as volunteering for regional sustainability initiatives. Students can improve their leadership and problem-solving abilities while also developing a deeper awareness of the issues by taking part in these activities.
To sum up, MAHSA University offers a superb academic experience that gives students a thorough education, real-world experience, and chances for personal and professional growth through activities held every term aside from core curriculum studies.