{"id":7147,"date":"2023-06-30T04:39:27","date_gmt":"2023-06-30T04:39:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zaloramalaysiablog.wpcomstaging.com\/2023\/06\/30\/women-crush-june-issue-up-close-personal-with-syarlene-rahim\/"},"modified":"2024-03-07T17:18:55","modified_gmt":"2024-03-07T09:18:55","slug":"women-crush-june-issue-up-close-personal-with-syarlene-rahim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zaloramalaysiablog.wpcomstaging.com\/lifestyle\/women-crush-june-issue-up-close-personal-with-syarlene-rahim\/","title":{"rendered":"Women Crush June Issue – Up Close & Personal With Syarlene Rahim"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The year has passed us fast as we are entering the second half of 2023. However, we didn\u2019t forget to bring you your favorite monthly read of Women Crush! This month we are proud to feature this beauty with brains who not only has a beautiful kind soul but also shines stunningly in everything she wears. Get to know Syarlene Rahim more up close and personal on what she does, what she likes and her future goals in life by reading our interview with her down below. <\/p>\n

1. First and foremost, please give a brief introduction of yourself.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Hey Zalora! I\u2019m Syarlene, a 25-year-old medical student and content creator based in KL. I\u2019m also a founder & director of SKRLWN Society – a youth-driven, humanitarian organisation in Malaysia.<\/em><\/p>\n

2. As a medical student, what made you passionate about stepping into the medical industry in the first place?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
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Being raised in a family of doctors meant I was exposed to the field pretty early on and it was always something that piqued my interest. I really felt that medicine was such a beautiful and soul-fulfilling career. You\u2019re dedicating 10 years of your life towards saving another person\u2019s – while simultaneously investing most of your fun, \u201cgrowing\u201d years planning for an end goal that\u2019s 20 years down the road.<\/em><\/p>\n

Ironically despite me growing up surrounded by medicine, I was always discouraged from pursuing it. My family wanted me to pursue my more creative passions because all of my siblings went on to follow professional pursuits (we\u2019re all just doctors and lawyers, and they wanted at least one of us to be cool :p). Yet despite my better judgment, I always knew what I wanted and never wavered.<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s funny, I recently stumbled across old school records and there were these forms my teachers made us write in class when we were kids on \u201cwhat I wanna be when I grow up\u201d, and I was only 8 years old but I wrote there clear as day, \u201cDoctor\u201d. I hope 8-year-old me sees this version of me now and is proud of how far I\u2019ve come to make her dream a reality.<\/em> <\/p>\n

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3. AS one of the Founder & Directors of SKRLWN Society. Please share with us how it all started and the work that is done through the organisation. <\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
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SKRLWN was first established in 2020 during the peak of the pandemic and its repercussions on Malaysian society. I like to think of it as me & Sherry\u2019s pandemic baby. Back during those early days, we really were just a bunch of kids learning the ropes on how to help communities that were suffering, whilst also learning how to manage, fund, lead our operations, and raise a team of young individuals to carry and plan out missions. Everything was a trial and error process and we grew the most in those first few months because we were all so hungry to learn.<\/em><\/p>\n

Most of those first few initiatives were solely food donations. From delivering food supplies by boat to 1000 residents in a fishing village in Semporna Sabah during a food crisis (we were so proud of coining the project CO-FEED Semporna ) to serving the homeless community for 3 months on \u201cnightly expeditions\u201d during Transcend Neighbours.<\/em><\/p>\n

During Project Kibar which was our white flag movement, our team mobilised over 80 volunteers over the span of 2 months and raised almost RM25,000 to deliver monthly food packages to families that had been impacted by job losses during the MCO. Malaysians came out in droves to support this initiative, and our post promoting the program had almost 2000 shares from the public. It was one of SKRLWN\u2019s biggest projects to date and the massive support we received from Malaysians was so heartwarming.<\/em><\/p>\n

Alhamdullilah. I don\u2019t think any of us expected it to have grown as much as it did. Currently, SKRLWN\u2019s aid reach has helped over 3000 people in the 3 years we\u2019ve been established. Within the first month of our website (<\/em>skrlwn.org<\/em><\/a>) launching, our volunteer application form had received over 800 responses from the public, all wanting to volunteer on our missions. It really showed us that there was this immense interest in the younger generation of Malaysians that really wanted to make a difference during such a dark and difficult period for our country. It was beautiful to see, and even more lovely to be a part of.<\/em><\/p>\n

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4. What are your future hopes and goals for the SKRLWN Society? <\/strong><\/h3>\n

Our current initiative for 2023 is the Native Project – an initiative targeting the indigenous community & combatting energy poverty through the provision of solar panels to empower and uplift their homes & communities. It\u2019s been our primary goal to focus entirely on one village this year with around 250 villagers, to really make a sustainable difference whilst building a framework we can replicate on similar villages in the future. <\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The village we\u2019re working with is Kg. Pos Titom, is an indigenous settlement in Pahang with 0 access to electricity and almost a 1.5 hour 4×4 drive away from civilisation. Our first round of solar panel installations in December of last year was actually funded by BNM, the Malaysian National Bank. Our team alongside ENACT and IMPIAN (our two collaborating partners for this initiative) installed solar panels for 3 homes that now have the ability to watch TV, conduct online lessons for the children, have light indoors and outdoors, and even charge their phones! <\/em><\/p>\n

Our goal is to make great advancements in helping these communities grow and thrive without disrupting their way of life. We\u2019ve also recently secured more funding and are planning for another installation mission in August, which I\u2019m super excited for  <\/em><\/p>\n

5. You look stunning in every outfit you have on. Share with us who is\/are your fashion inspirations.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
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I take a lot of inspiration from Pinterest and what I see on friends, on the streets of KL, when I travel, and on Instagram. Some style influencers I adore right now are: <\/em><\/p>\n