“I wanted to pursue my studies but it was difficult for us to manage with my father’s sole income. That’s why I went to work. But secretly, I harboured the dream of one day going to college and graduating with a degree,” she said.Since she lived in a rural area, Mayzze never had the opportunity to use a computer leave alone access the Internet. She was not aware of the opportunities outside the village until a friend told her about the Young Women Christian Association (YWCA).
“I was very interested and excited as it could be an opportunity for me to educate myself and achieve my dream,” she said.After enrolling at the YWCA Kuala Lumpur last year, she was introduced to the Maharani programme. “I learnt about things which no one told me when I was growing up, such as relationships, discipline, time management, positive mental health and learning to control emotions and thoughts. The Maharani programme coordinators taught us how to handle problems in a mature way” she said. “I enjoyed the activities and games organised by the coordinators as I had never had the opportunity to do all that back in my village. We also celebrated the festivals and I loved watching girls of other cultures and ethinicities wearing their traditional outfits. I wished my siblings could see all that,” she recalled. “Coming from a simple family, I am determined to improve myself and help uplift my family. In order to do that, I need to have a good education so I enrolled in the YWCA’s Early Childhood Education course. With the confidence gained from the Maharani programme, I am now working full-time while studying for my Diploma. It’s not easy to manage time while working and studying simultaneously but Maharani taught me a lot about time management, discipline and multi-tasking,” she said. Today, with a full scholarship, Mayzze is pursuing her diploma in Early Childhood Education and at the same time working as a teacher at a kindergarten. She hopes to teach the indigenous children at her village one day. “They are my family. I want to help them to get a better education and improve their life. I want to see a new generation of my people who are more knowledgeable and aware of what is happening in the outside world,” she said. “Maharani has helped me develop self-confidence and taught me to set goals, have ambition and follow the right path to achieve what I want,” she said.