Malaysian youth group helps to give back

By: Merissa Alyea Binti Omar Ariff

Syarelene Rahim aged 23 and Sherry Amin aged 24 are two young Malaysians from Kuala Lumpur who founded SKRLWN Volunteering Society, a non-governmental organisation back in 2019.

Both Syarlene and Sherry are well-established social media influencers, with a following of 12,086 followers and 45,750 followers on Instagram respectively.

The dynamic duo decided to use their popular online presence to start something for the greater good of fellow Malaysians.

“Sherry and I wanted to use our Instagram platforms for something productive to help give back to those who are in need. We are grateful that we were given the support from our followers to kickstart SKRLWN,” said Syarlene.

When SKRLWN first started off, the volunteering group focused on helping to feed the needy by organising food banks across Kuala Lumpur in areas where poverty and homelessness is high such as Chow Kit and Pudu. However, since the outbreak of COVID-19 the group’s focus has shifted to helping B40 income groups and frontliners get through the ongoing movement control order (MCO).

Undoubtedly, the MCO has put a lot of strain on B40 income groups across Malaysia, with the majority of them struggling to make ends meet. SKRLWN has organised events such as ‘The Co-Feed Initiative’ in collaboration with HUGS Project. This event focused on distributing weekly grocery packs to the affected B40 community living in Semporna, Sabah.

Through SKRLWN’s active posting on their Instagram page, to urge the public to donate within their means to support the event. With the help of their followers, the volunteer group was able to raise RM 4580 during their first week of the event.

These donations, made by generous donors, were able to feed over 300 struggling locals from the Semporna area in Sabah.

“SKRLWN would not be able to achieve what it has without the support from our followers. We try our best to keep the content about supporting a cause on our Instagram simple and informative to encourage our followers to lend a hand,” said Syarlene.

Moreover, SKRLWN has organised events to help our countries frontliners who have been working tirelessly to combat the outbreak of COVID-19.

The donations were targeted towards some of the most heavily impacted hospitals across Kuala Lumpur, which includes Hospital Sungai Buloh, Hospital Serdang and Pusan Perubatan Universiti Malaya.

Using their same technique to encourage their followers to make donations for ‘The Co-Feed Initiative’, SKRLWN were successful in donating 525 food packages to frontliners working in the hospitals mentioned that included doctors, nurses, hospital cleaners and police officers.

There are many volunteer groups across Malaysia that are dedicated to helping those in need during these uncertain times.

What makes SKRLWN stand out from the rest is the initiative of two youths who have made the most of their respective online presence and the rise of digital media to help make a change in society.

Image 1: Image of the founders of SKRLWN Source: