On 11 July 2008, some 300 women took part in the Survival Skills Workshop organized by Community@Heart. Held at Monash University in Bandar Sunway, the half-day workshop was aimed at equipping women aged 16 and above with street-smart defense skills.

Conducting the workshop was Malaysia Volunteer Fire & Rescue Association chairman K. Balasupramaniam, or Captain Bala,
as he is fondly known.

Touching on personal safety, Captain Bala shared his knowledge on safety guidelines and survival skills, including how to avert break-ins, detect hidden cameras, handle domestic violence and many more street savvy tips.

Bala's lively and humorous presentation had the women in stitches but at the same time, the ghastly file photos and videos of assorted crime he showed made them recoil.

His talk was made even more interesting with him showing some gadgets and tools one could use to ward off crime.

Prices of this ladies only workshop was RM30 each and RM20 for students. It was well worth the small fee as the ladies took home valuable insight that day. Even Subang Jaya assemblyman Hannah Yeoh, who launched the event, was there to advise the women to be wise and not be ignorant.

Community@Heart has plans to have more of this programme, and possibly bring it to secondary schools and share the knowledge with the school girls.

This write up is based on an article taken from The Star Metro Newspaper.
For more info, please visit: http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2008/7/11/central/21752588&sec=central