SERDANG, A total of 7,150 six-year-old pupils from 362 Little Caliphs kindergartens participated in the Little Haj 2022 simulation programme organised by Little Caliphs International Sdn Bhd (LCISB), which was held at the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang (MAEPS) here.
Dressed in white ‘ihram’ (clothes donned by pilgrims) along with haj bags and passport replicas, Little Caliphs children from Putrajaya, Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, were given early exposure to the fifth Pillar of Islam with the help of 780 teachers.
In the programme which began at 8.30 am, the children were guided to perform the ‘Rukun Haji’ (Haj rituals) including the ‘tawaf’ (encircling) around a 10-foot-high replica of the Kaaba.
LCISB chief executive officer Datuk Roslan Nordin said the programme was a fun way for the Little Caliphs pupils to be introduced to God’s commandments at a tender age.
“They not only see and hear about it, but also experience the pilgrimage for themselves. At Little Caliphs, we also explain to students the meaning of each of the rituals and we relate it to history,” he told the media today during the simulation programme of the Little Haj.
He said teaching the pupils about the Haj was part of the national standard preschool curriculum for spiritual studies issued by the Ministry of Education, adding that a total of 15,000 six-year-old students from 480 Little Caliphs kindergartens nationwide were involved in the Little Haj Programme.
LCISB chief academic officer Datin Dr Sabariah Faridah Jamaluddin, who is also the programme director, said after a two-year hiatus of not being able to hold programmes physically, this year’s event was highly anticipated not only by students, but also parents.
“The last time it was held was in 2019 before it was postponed for two years following the COVID-19 pandemic, and during that period, every Little Caliphs kindergarten implemented the Little Haj programme on a small scale, she said.
“At that time, we monitored the Haj programme held at the respective kindergartens and we provided the softcopy for the management to set up replicas of the kaabah, signages and so on,” she said, adding that she was happy that this time, the pupils were able to gather in a central location in larger numbers.
According to her, the pupils were taught the practical methods of the Haj rituals in line with the hands-on project-based learning methodology approach of The Little Caliphs Programme.
“This is the two-week project where before they come here to perform Rukun Haji in practice, the students are first taught in class and perform them at their own kindergartens,” she said.
Sabariah said the LCISB management also sought advice from Lembaga Tabung Haji to ensure that everything taught to children was accurate.
Six-year-old Muhammad Ammar Mirza Sha Adli from Little Caliphs Puncak Utama, who participated in the programme along with 19 others from his class, was happy to perform the Rukun Haji.
“It’s fun and a novel way to meet friends. I want to perform the Haj when I grow up,” he said adding that encircling or circumambulating the replica of the Kaaba was his favourite part of the programme.
Waffa A.Rahim, who runs six Little Caliphs branches, said the programme was highly anticipated by parents every year and described the practical Haj programme as a culmination of the pupils’ understanding of the Five Pillars of Islam after being exposed to the basics of the religious tenets from an early age of four.
“When the Little Haj Programme comes around, it means that the children have completed (the Pillars of Islam) the journey from uttering the two ‘kalimah syahadah’ to Haj. This programme is an illuminating way for us to teach them in a fun learning environment and not just by reading about it from books,” she said.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency