PATRIOTISM comes in all shapes and sizes.
In this case, an 11-year-old learned the value of a dollar and taught her family members the meaning of being patriotic through a school project. The project was to produce a patriotic piggy bank.
For Azimah Nazurah Mohammad, the project was an easy task. She had begun collecting one cent coins ever since she asked her dad why there were so many lying around.
"The coins were all over the place - in our car, at my aunt's place, at my cousin's place and everywhere I went," said Azimah.
"It was as if it had no value; so I asked my dad and he said that if I collected one hundred coins I would get a dollar," she added.
And when the project came along last week, instinctively she thought of the coins and using them to buy herself her very own Brunei flag.
Visiting a shopping complex near her house, she found out that the shop was selling flags at the price of $8.99.
Azimah wrote a letter telling the shop of her intentions to which the shop agreed.
She wrote that her project was to show that even a one cent coin, when collected by the hundreds, is valuable enough to allow her to purchase her country's flag.
According to her father, Azimah spent a week visiting her relatives to collect all the coins but came up short by several hundreds.
To give her moral support, her family agreed to chip in the rest of the money needed to purchase the flag.
In a brief interview with Azimah, the 11-year-old girl said that she was inspired by a malay drama that had the same concept except with roses instead of a flag.
In the interview at The Brunei Times Office in Gadong, Azimah's family said that they were very proud of her efforts especially as it had taught them to be more mindful of the value of money.
"Seeing her working so hard and enthusiastic about collecting the coins was very touching as it showed me how much she understood both the concept of saving and what it means to be patriotic," said Azimah's father.
The project, according to Azimah, is part of her after school programme called "Community Outreach 2012" which carries a different theme every week.
Azimah is a Primary Six student at Rimba Two Primary School.The Brunei Times
Azimah Nazurah Mohammad (C) with her makeshift penny bank and the Brunei Flag that she bought with her one cent coins. Picture: BT/Nurhamiza Roslan
A cashier at Giant supermarket painstakingly counting the one cent coins and wrapping up Azimah's flag. Picture: Courtesy of Azimah
Thursday, February 23, 2012
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