Francis - Recycle Rewards Programme
Season 2 RM150K Grand Prize Winner
On 5 February 2006, during the NESCAFÉ® KICK-START™ Season 2 live finale, Francis bagged the grand prize of RM150,000.
You must be curious as to what’s happening with him. Well, we caught up with him … at his place of work that day – and that was at SJK Pui Chai Damansara!
Francis was literally up to his elbows in waste when we arrived. Together with two partners, Francis was collecting recyclable waste from the students and teachers and making notations on who brought what and from which class. Yes, Francis is still at it – he is living his dream job and enjoying it!
Francis’ dream job is to establish a reward programme for recycling waste. During his “journey” on NESCAFÉ® KICK-START™ Season 2, Francis launched his programme at 10 schools.
So what’s been happening?
Ten schools are not enough but it was a start. During the live finale, the target I set was between 90 to 100 schools for my programme to be viable.
To date, I have 35 schools that have joined my programme. I am collaborating with MPSJ next month and that includes 52 schools under its jurisdiction. By that time I would have met my target.
Tell us about the challenges you are going through now.
The greatest challenge now is to sustain the programme with the schools. I am still thinking and developing ways of getting the students to continue recycling waste as a way of life. Many of the students are young and they have to be reminded, encouraged and rewarded constantly.
My other challenge is to get sponsors for the prizes for the school competitions. The quantity of recyclable waste collected is not able to sustain a reward programme at the moment.
As the saying goes, when the going gets rough – I can still turn to my mentor, Victor Loh, for advice. Also, NESCAFÉ® KICK-START™ calls me to follow up on my progress and I could always bounce ideas with them.
Then what is the motivation for you to continue?
My deepest desire is to instill love of the environment through recycling one’s waste. And, the only way to get the general public to start recycling is by rewarding them and hopefully, it will become a habit with them.
I feel so happy when I see the children and teachers smiling from ear to ear when they received the sponsored prizes. It is worth the effort.
Has NESCAFÉ® KICK-START™ changed your life?
Oh yes, it has – tremendously. I learnt a lot during the show last year.
My communication skills are much better and improved – and I am more confident now. Also, I learned how to organize and handle big projects and honed my implementation skills.
However, more importantly, I am very happy with my life now. I am here because of NESCAFÉ® KICK-START™. With NESCAFÉ® KICK-START™, I am able to start my own company, be my own boss and given the chance to run a business that I really dreamed of doing. Who can ask for more?
How would you encourage your peers?
One must have the passion to do what he wants. You must know exactly what you want. That way he is focused, won’t be side-tracked and then work towards achieving it. It may be slow at times and you may falter BUT do not lose the passion. Of course, with help from NESCAFÉ® KICK-START™, the sky is the limit!
You’ve just conducted a recycle competition with SJK Pui Chai. What happens next…
In just under two hours, I have collected plenty of recyclables from the students and teachers. It was hard work but I enjoyed it so much – the children were so enthusiastic.
We collected the most recycle waste from this school to date! I will sell it to recycle centers later today. Tomorrow is another competition at another school. The cycle continues.
We have one very happy young man who has the passion to go his way and think out of a box when it comes to his career. It is hard work and he seemed to be contented and happy doing what he is doing – we at NESCAFÉ® KICK-START™ wishes him success. Stay tuned and we will keep you updated on his progress.