PETALING JAYA, Feb 19 — Norazizah Ahmad, 50, has lived in Desa Mentari for 10 years. 

During the time that she’s lived there, she has always been troubled by the notoriety of the neighbourhood — worrying about the well-being of her three children because of the social problems embedded in the community.

But yesterday, she was visibly elated and all smiles as The Book Effect launched its 10th community library within the Klang Valley at her apartment building in Desa Mentari 1, Petaling Jaya.

The Book Effect’s 10th library and community centre is a project initiated by the Friends to Mankind social movement, with collaborative support from Sunway Group and community group MyPJ.

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It was launched yesterday by Tunku Zain Al-’Abidin Tuanku Mukhriz.

Speaking at the launch at Block 4, Desa Mentari 1 yesterday, Norazizah expressed her delight and relief with the opening of the community library.

Norazizah Ahmad, 50, was delighted that her kids now have a safe spot to hang out. — Picture by Choo Choy May
Norazizah Ahmad, 50, was delighted that her kids now have a safe spot to hang out. — Picture by Choo Choy May

“I’m so happy and excited that our building now has its own library because there are so many social issues and problems out there,” said Norazizah.

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“Many of these kids don’t get much attention from their parents, because they are busy working. But now that we have this place where our kids can spend their free time in here reading and studying — where they are safe and protected.”

Two of Norazizah’s children are still in school, one in primary and one in secondary, while her eldest has already started working.

A place such as the community library could well help Desa Mentari residents who are trying to shed the negative image that the area has gotten over the years.

She added that apart from being a safe and constructive place for her children to spend their time, the library, located at unit G-38, is also a fun place for her and other single mothers.

“I feel comfortable and have fun here too. The books here aren’t only for little kids, there are some for teenagers and students also,” said Norazizah.

The kids were thrilled to have so many books in their new library. — Picture by Choo Choy May
The kids were thrilled to have so many books in their new library. — Picture by Choo Choy May

The Book Effect project was launched last year on August 5 and is led by Friends to Mankind youth ambassador Apshy Vimal, who was overjoyed by the gracious support the project has been given.

“I cannot believe that I’m saying this, but thank you all for coming to our 10th library! Ten libraries. It’s so incredible to say that,” said Apshy.

“Here today we were able to build a library of almost 5,000 books and it is so heartening to see that people from all walks of life are willing to come together and work for the community.”

Being brought up as a bookworm, Apshy added that it was the social movement’s goal to collect a total of 10,000 used books and build 12 libraries at most around Klang Valley for underprivileged communities.

A volunteer from Friends to Mankind arranging the donated books in the library. — Picture by Choo Choy May
A volunteer from Friends to Mankind arranging the donated books in the library. — Picture by Choo Choy May

Six months on from their launch, The Book Effect has now collected over 50,000 books for children in orphanages, Orang Asli communities, refugee homes and juvenile detention centres among others.

Apshy thanked both Sunway Group and MyPJ for helping them make this community library a reality as Sunway donated RM10,000 to Friends of Mankind and collected over 2,000 books from its own employees, while MyPJ worked to acquire the space and will continue to develop the library.

MyPJ’s chairman Jeffrey FK Phang said that the library was just the first step to improving the Desa Mentari community as there are also plans in place to hold educational and socio-economic classes.

Apart from that, there will also be a “Single Mother’s cooking class” conducted, which will hopefully be turned into a small catering business for the residents.

The library wasn’t just set up to promote reading, but also to support and educate the residents in the area. — Picture by Choo Choy May
The library wasn’t just set up to promote reading, but also to support and educate the residents in the area. — Picture by Choo Choy May

“The objective is to empower the community so that they can, later on, regulate and run themselves,” said Phang.

“In order to do that, we have to push to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) like having a liveable community with no poverty.”

Phang was also delighted and thankful for the warm support from various parties to set up this library but reserved a special thanks to students from Sunway University and the residents of the flat building.

“I’d like to thank the Sunway students that came down and painted beautiful murals on the walls of the centre. And there are even more coming down next week to give classes on public speaking to help these underprivileged students,” said Phang.

“But most of all, I have to thank the members of the community too. Sometimes, in some of the communities we work in, they will just sit back and let you do all the work.

“But the night before, the children, their mothers and many other members of the community were all here — sweeping the floors, cleaning up the place for the launch.”

A look at Block 4 of Desa Mentari 1, which is where the library is located. — Picture by Choo Choy May
A look at Block 4 of Desa Mentari 1, which is where the library is located. — Picture by Choo Choy May

Phang added that all the work done on the flat unit turned library was done by residents of Desa Mentari 1, from wiring to painting to setting up the air conditioning, in a bid to make them feel more involved in the project.

For more information about The Book Effect and where to donate your used books, you can visit the Friends to Mankind Facebook page or surf here.