Yo.. i wanna introduce a friend of mine.. Joe Quah Joo Lee
He?s my batch ALM programm friend... although he?s a chinese but he?s very close to the malays... just like me but better than me.. hehe.. he?s very talented.. here?s his story + inspiration...
He?s the only malaysian to be chosen by Raleigh International to do community service in Chile in his year. He manage to raise fund about RM 21,000 in a short period of time..
<img src=http://www.raleigh.org.uk/expedition_countries/chile/images/quah.jpg>
Quah Joo Lee
Twenty year old Quah Joo Lee (Joe) is from Sitiawan in Perak, Malaysia. He read about an introductory weekend being run by the Malaysian support group and was really impressed by their view of Raleigh.
'They treasured every moment on expedition and were inspirational when talking about their experiences. They now use the skills they have learned to organise short term conservation and community projects locally, such as the BP Soul Kids Projects which teach kids about the environment and how to swim and go snorkelling.'
Joe raised 4,500 pounds towards the expedition. His major sponsors include the Perak government and TGI Friday.
Before he came Joe hesitated to buy an aluminium 'Sigg' water bottle because he thought the water would be permanently frozen inside. 'I thought the weather would be much colder - it is cold but I couldn't really imagine what it would be like as it was going to be so different from my country.'
'The best bits for me were on the community phase. We weren't interacting with the community very much initially as it was the first Raleigh project in that village. We were asked to come up with ideas and I instigated adult English lessons. I borrowed some ideas, prepared the lessons and 13 people came along to my classes. People were very friendly and at the end they invited me to a party with dancing and an asado.'
'I speak five languages but when I arrived on my first project I couldn't even explain my name to the Chilean venturer in our group. During the phase I learnt lots of Spanish and we learnt to communicate with words, gestures and sign language. We are now great friends and I will be going to spend Christmas with him and his family which will be a wonderful experience. I have also learnt lots of practical skills such as knot tying and camp craft.'
'The kayaking phase has been very special as we have seen so much wildlife. We have seen dolphins, penguins, ducks, seals and sea otters so far. I am planning to study pharmacy at university but will now be looking to do many more outdoor activities such as kayaking, as I live near the sea.'
'I would like to work as an interpreter for the Malaysian expedition if the opportunity arises in the future.'