In the not-so-recent past, at Rumah Anak Bangsa Malaysia (RABM), a group of women experienced the promise of togetherness in ways the Siti Inshahs, Ridhuan Tees and Ibrahim Alis of this country would never understand. The announcement that had gone out to them was simple – come for tea, bring something, dress down, let go of bashfulness, giggle, laugh, talk about men, share yourself with others, know your sisters, know yourself. Here are two personal accounts, one from a first-time participant and the other from a member of the organising team.

NICOLE TAN BENG IM, a first-timer to the Rumah, went away with feelings that led to expression here:

‘When the girls came out to play’ – Nicole is third from left

“WHAT are you doing this Saturday evening? Come with me for this meeting,” suggested May Lee, my friend.

For the past three weeks, a bunch of individuals have been using their weekends engaging with teenagers from the Chow Kit area. Chow Kit Kita, an idea devised by Lew Pik Svonn and Fahmi Reza, is an activity-based program for teenage children living in the storied district. The current phase, titled Kaum, Agama dan Sejarah, is a four-month series of workshops, field research and production aimed at mapping the district in its various complexities.

Chow Kit Kita runs its program from the premise of KL Krashpad, a 24-hour youth activity centre, at Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman.

"We want those who come to learn, internalise and gain ownership of the place where they live. There is so much to learn from any given place, not just Chow Kit," said Fahmi of the project.

This weekend's activity was a photography workshop. Over the two days, the 10 teenagers watched slides, learned basic picture-taking techniques and played outside with point-and-shoot cameras.

This page is dedicated to their work.

Ogy, 15 tahun:

Pada suatu hari yang lalu, saya dan Kak Iqa berjalan di hadapan bazaar raya. Saya telah ditugaskan untuk belajar mengambil gambar. Saya pergi ke sebuah kedai yang sangat banyak pilih... tudung. Saya betemu dengan jurujual tudung itu. Jurujual itu kelihatan sangat sedih kerana dia telah ditinggalkan isteri yang tercinta. Isterinya pergi ke tandas untuk ketika but muka jurujual itu kelihatan sedih sekali.