The founder and president of Yayasan Anak Warisan Alam (YAWA) speaks about instilling a love for the earth in the young and examples we can set.

Khadijah Abdul Rahman-Sinclair founded YAWA over 20 years ago when many people had little or no inkling about environmental conservation. “I founded YAWA in 1990 with my husband, Mohamed Sinclair, and my three children, Ashraf, Aishah and Adam who are members of the YAWA Board of Trustees. It actually all began with the simple objective of creating awareness in children. My own children had already been exposed to environmental education when we were living in Saudi Arabia and England. But when we returned to Malaysia, I found that there wasn’t much of it in schools. Because of that, YAWA was formed to provide this awareness to schoolchildren,” shares Umi.

SOWING THE SEEDS
YAWA is a non-profit, nongovernmental organisation nurtures continuous positive development in young people throughout the critical growing stages of life. Networking with organisations both locally and internationally, YAWA has organised about 200 projects involving over 5000 children. The spritely 65-year-old shows absolutely no desire to stop and smell the roses any time soon; then again she just might do that, after planting a few that is.

A SUPPORT SYSTEM
 “You don’t need to have an exceptionally great green thumb. Something simple like potted plants is a great way to start. And please,” Umi petitions, “don’t do something just because it’s a fad. I can’t talk about myself so much,” she says, “when there are so many others who have been incredibly instrumental in helping us get many projects off the ground and into schools. We like to think we take a holistic approach to environmental education. It’s not just about gardening you know,” explains Umi.

CHANGING THE WORLD
"Use less energy and fewer resources, create less waste and join others who share your belief and urge other people to do the same. Anthropologist Margaret Mead once said, ‘Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has’.”