For our children: (From left) HWUM chief operating officer and registrar Janice Yew, Professor Mushtak, Nicol and NDO founder and chief executive officer Mariana de Reyes at the MoU signing ceremony.
CHILDREN from B40 and M40 families will soon have the opportunity to benefit from squash training, English tutoring, and life skills workshops under the Nicol David Organisation (NDO) “Little Legends” programme.
In addition, a new Heriot-Watt University Malaysia (HWUM) scholarship named after Malaysia’s former World No. 1 and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Datuk Nicol David is in the pipeline to help equip young sporting talents with an academic qualification and relevant, real-world knowledge to help build their careers beyond sports.
The “Little Legends” programme to empower children aged eight to 12 is the flagship of NDO, a non-profit organisation established by Nicol and former Colombian squash professional Mariana de Reyes.
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by HWUM provost and chief executive officer Prof Mushtak Al-Atabi and Nicol at the varsity’s Putrajaya campus on Feb 8.
“Under the MoU, Nicol will be an ‘Impact Coach’ working with students at HWUM, to help develop the next generation of purpose-driven leaders at the university.
“And we will support NDO through our research and our students’ participation as volunteers and interns at the organisation.
“We will also launch a scholarship named after Nicol in September,” said Prof Mushtak.
He said the varsity is proud to be working with sporting icons like Nicol and de Reyes who are unwavering in their commitment to inspire young people with compassion and humility, and for them to be the best versions of themselves.
Nicol, who was conferred an honorary degree by HWUM last year for her contribution to sports and her support in empowering lives through education, said, “The best thing I can do to grow our nation is provide opportunities for children so they can one day dream big like I did.
“The values learnt through sports like hard work, discipline and positivity will shape these children in their own lives and in their future. Sports can help them develop their life skills for life.”Sports and education, she said, need to come together; it is only through this combination that children can develop holistically.
“Proficiency in English played a big role in my professional career, as I travelled the world to represent my country.
“I’m certain that this will also open up opportunities for the children of our programme to further their education and have job options when they grow up,” she said.
During the event, a panel discussion on “Women in Education and Sports” featuring Nicol, Malaysian sports administrator and NDO director Tunku Tan Sri Imran Tuanku Ja’afar, NDO co-founder and chief executive officer de Reyes, and NDO youth educator and English language teacher Nilam Karmila, who is also a current student of HWUM.
The organisation aims to support the local community in education and sports by developing young talents through sports education to empower girls and boys to realise their full potential.
