These youths, who will be posted to rural schools, will also be able to participate in volunteer work during their stint in this country.

1M4U (1Malaysia For Youth), for the first time since the Fulbright Malaysian programme began in 2005, has come forward to provide a platform to enable this.

Rudy Malik, the chief executive officer for 1M4U, said this way, these Fulbright participants would get to learn more about the multiracial society here.

Their involvement would also allow the organisation’s existing volunteers an opportunity to improve their English proficiency level, he said.

“These teaching assistants will be here until the year-end.

“They seem eager to really make use of their time here, not only to teach but to also be involved in community programmes.

“That is where 1M4U will come in. We always push our volunteers to do more than just clean-ups. And most of our events or programmes use English as the medium of language.

“So we want to get our Malaysian volunteers to mix with these foreigners, and get them to speak English until they are comfortable with the use of the language,” he told reporters when met at the 1M4U headquarters here today.

These Fulbright assistants, aged 21 to 24, would help students in rural areas learn and master the English language.

23-year-old Kelsey Brewster from Seattle, said she is more than eager to take part in volunteerism work, although she wasn’t sure if 1M4U would have programmes in Setiu, Terengganu, where she would be based throughout the year.

“I would definitely look out for any volunteerism opportunity.

“I want to help the students be able to speak and write well in English, but I also want to take this opportunity to help out the impoverished.”

Dakotah Stiles, 22, from Boise, Idaho, said he was interested in volunteerism but wasn’t sure if there would be any opportunity in Pekan, Pahang, where he would be stationed.

“I would make sure to search for such opportunities, whether working for the poor, or on issues affecting the environment.”

Nida Syed, 24, from Buffalo, said she had always been passionate about helping refugees. The fact that there are many of them here, in need of access to education, has got her starry-eyed.

“I worked with refugees back home and I’ve been told that in Malaysia, they don’t have access to proper education.

“So I hope I can spare some time to visit their communities, and teach them basic English.

“If I can do more, then that would be even better,” she told FMT.