BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, THURSDAY, 29/07/2021 - Brunei Religious Officers Student Association or more commonly known as BruROSA, once again, organised Unsung Heroes for the sixth time this year, circulating the theme, 'In Giving We Receive'. The event was held for two days, on the 28th and 29th of July 2021 at the Muslimah parking area of Jame' Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque.

Unsung Heroes is a charity drive organised by BruROSA as part of our summer break project in which our key objective is to show our gratitude to construction workers who have been diligent and hard-working to boost the blossoming of the nation’s  infrastructure by providing them with donations which include long shelf life foods, lunch packs and clothing. The project aims to raise awareness in understanding the less fortunate and encourages people to be fair and impartial regardless of their religion, ethnicity and social class in the society.

On the first day of the event, 10 BruROSA members gathered at the parking area of Jame' Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque at 9 in the morning. Members of BruROSA started collecting donations from the public from 10 am until 4.30 pm. Further donations were received during the second day with the support of 10 BruROSA members and 21 volunteers. From this donation drive, BruROSA successfully collected a great amount of long shelf life foods such as rice and cooking essentials, drinks, lunch packs and men's casual clothing. The packaging of the donations was distributed into 7 groups which consist of BruROSA members and volunteers. By 11.30 am, all groups went ahead to their designated sites to hand out the donations to the migrant workers and returned to Jame' Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque around 1 pm. The donations were successfully distributed to a total of 272 migrant workers coming from 5 construction sites, including Regent's Square, Kiarong Flats, Kg Salar, Jerudong and Garbage Disposal Site at Rimba.

From participating in this event, BruROSA hopes that everyone has reaped benefits by expanding their perspective and improvising their inner character, just as this year's theme implies, 'In Giving We Receive'.

​The Brunei Religious Officer Students Association, or more distinctively, known as BruROSA is an association of religious officers from across the UK and EIRE that deals with the religious welfare of all Bruneian students studying in the UK and EIRE. Currently, the Association has 14 Executive Committees and 30 Religious Officers from all Bruneian societies in the U.K. and EIRE. Other than Unsung Heroes, BruROSA also organises various annual events such as Kem Ibadah, Khatam Al-Quran, Photography and Writing Competitions. In the future, the association hopes to organise more events to increase the networking opportunity for students of different backgrounds as well as to help promote cultural diversity.

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Speakers and moderator receiving gifts from President of BruROSA, Fikri Ali and President of BSUnion, Ikhwan Hirwana 

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, THURSDAY, 10/6/2021 – Due to the ease of COVID-19 restrictions in Brunei Darussalam, the BruROSA committee has taken the opportunity to organise a Hari Raya potluck gathering known as 'Majlis Rumah Terbuka BruROSA' which takes place at Event Space, Kiulap. Bruneian students studying in the UK & Eire, Australia, Malaysia & Cairo were invited to this event.

The main aims of this event are to strengthen the connection, diversify & expand the network among study abroad students.
Prophet Muhammad SAW (May Peace Be Upon Him) said:
"Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should maintain good relation with his kindred."
(HR Al-Bukhari)

The event was officially commenced with a welcoming speech delivered by the Vice President of BruROSA, Shahirah Bakar followed by the recitation of Doa Selamat by the Head of Media Team, Rizwandy Ramli.
Before beginning the feast, a short pop quiz was hosted by the Head of Writing Team, Sayyidah Masri. The pop quiz comprises questions related to BruROSA to introduce BruROSA's background to the guests. Three participants have successfully answered the questions correctly & won prizes for the quiz- Ihsan from BSCM, Syahirah from BSUnion, and Amal Zafirah from BruLeics.
 
After finishing the pop quiz, guests begin to savour the wide variety of food and beverages served.
Apart from the feast, there were three activities prepared and organised by the BruROSA team which are Paper Ketupat Weaving Competition, Pertandingan Teka-Teki Kuih Raya and Duit Raya Treasure Hunting.
 
First activity: Paper Ketupat Weaving Competition
The first activity was hosted by the Head of the Writing Team, Sayyidah Masri and facilitated by the Vice President, Shahirah Bakar. Ketupat Weaving Competition is a paper weaving competition that demands the creativity and crafting skills of participants. In this competition, participants will have to create paper weaved patterns using materials provided such as colour paper, scissors, glitter glue and colourful beads. This activity allows the students to practice & appreciate the Malay tradition of ketupat weaving and uncover their crafting talent. This art and craft activity can also be a way to relieve post-exam stress and have some fun!
Five students volunteered to participate in this competition. The participants followed the guidance from the activity facilitator, Shahirah Bakar and have successfully crafted their very own paper weaved patterns. The finished products were voted by the guests and Zafirah from BruCairo won the best paper weaved pattern.
 
 
Second activity: Pertandingan Teka-Teki Kuih Raya
The next activity was hosted by the Head of Writing Team and facilitated by other BruROSA committee. This competition is a guessing game in which participants were blindfolded to guess the name of kuih raya that they have tasted. This game consists of five rounds and one bonus round. Thus, in total, the participants guessed 6 Hari Raya delicacies which are Kek Mata Kucing, Tart Nanas, Kek Batik, Kuih Nona Manis, Kek Lumut and Biskut Siput. Participants will be rewarded a point with each correct guess. Ribhan from BSUAusNZ was announced as the winner of the game as she accumulated the highest number of points. 
 
Third Activity: Duit Raya Treasure Hunting
Following the Teka-Teki Kuih Raya activity is the Duit Raya Treasure Hunting game. The Head of Entrepreneur Team-Najdah Rahman hosted this final activity. Five Duit Raya packets containing eid money were hidden around the place of the event and the guests had to hunt the Raya packets according to the clues given by the game host. At the end of the game, five lucky guests managed to find the hidden Raya packets with joy.
 
Before concluding the event, the BruROSA committee has chosen the top three best-dressed male and female guests. After final voting, Afiq from BSCM won the best dressed for the male category whereas Adriana from BruYork won the best dressed for the female category.
The event was concluded with a closing remark delivered by the Vice President of BruROSA, Shahirah Bakar followed by the recitation of Surah Al-'Asr by the Head of Media Team, Rizwandy Ramli. Alhamdulillah, this event was an amazing opportunity for the students to get to know BruROSA and also network with the others. A big shoutout to the Hannani Shukry, a member of the Media Team for being in charge of designing the photobooth and decorating the space. BruROSA hopes to hold this event again in the future, inshaaAllah!

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​Welcoming speech delivered by Vice President, Shahirah Bakar

 Variety of appetizing food & refreshing beverages served for the Hari Raya feast 

  Male guests pose for a group photo 

 Finished products of paper weaved patterns 

 Blindfolded participants in Pertandingan Teka-Teki Kuih Raya
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​  Duit Raya Treasure Hunt game hosted by the Head of Entrepreneur Team, Najdah Rahman 

In conjunction with Negara Brunei Darussalam’s 37th National Day, the annual regional Majlis Khatam Al-Quran has been conducted virtually due to the restrictions surrounding Covid-19. For this year, the Brunei-Ireland Society (BruEire) was given the opportunity to be the host for those in the Republic of Ireland and Scotland while the Brunei-Newcastle Society (BruCastle), Brunei-Cardiff Society (BruSCa) and Brunei-Nottingham Society (BruNotts) were honoured to be the hosts for Northern, Southern and Midlands region of England respectively. Following this sequence, each of the events were carried out on 27th February, 6th,7th and 13th March 2021 via online platforms which includes Zoom and Google Meet.

Majlis Khatam Al-Quran can act as an opportunity for Bruneian students across the UK and Eire to gather and hence strengthen their networks and teamwork. Through this event, a unity amongst the students can then be further implemented. Other than that, this event aims to be a reminder for the students to also have a deeper understanding in Islam while striving for their academic success in order to realise His Majesty the Sultan of Brunei’s dream to make Brunei as ‘Negara Dzikir’.

Yang Mulia Cikgu Mohammad Danny bin Aimi, the Director of Studies of Brunei Students’ Unit has attended the events as the guest of honour while Yang Mulia Ustaz Haji Muhammad Fahmi bin Haji Abas, the Religious Officer of Brunei Students’ Unit was invited as the special guest. The events started off with the recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah and followed by speeches from the guest of honour and the hosting society’s president which comprises of Wardatul Ramzuna from BruEire, Md Haziq Ihsanuddin Hj Zainal Ariffin from BruCastle, Bibi Fatimah Aidi from BruSCa and Alvina Chan Yi Ting from BruNotts. Each of them presented their speeches according to their respective events.

The events proceeded with the recitation of Surah-Surah Lazim, Takhtim, Dikir Marhaban and lastly Doa Khatam. Due to the nature of a virtual event, the hosting society has elected one or more lead readers to recite each section. The lead readers for the event hosted by BruEire were Raden Mas Fadhli Raziq from Brunei-Northern Ireland and Siti Munirah binti Awang Muhamad from BruEire . Meanwhile, the lead reader for Northern region was Mohammad Hasan Basri bin Haji Hanipah , the Yang di-Pertua of Majlis Perwakilan Pelajar Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali. Then, the lead reader for Southern region was Muhammad Hariz bin Haji Azmi from BruSCA and the lead readers for Midlands region were Ak Mohammad Aisar Al-Walid bin Pg Yussoff, Md Harith Syafiq Md Halim, ‘Aqilah binti Haji Mat Dani and Nur Natasya Hj Norariffinihazalin. The lead readers for the Midlands region are all from BruNotts. In order to wrap up the events, a closing speech was delivered by Ustaz Fahmi and this is followed by a group photo session. 
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Majlis Khatam Al-Quran has come to an end with an average of 17 attendees per event. To conclude, the events went smoothly and the Brunei Religious Officers Students Association hopes that the next Majlis Khatam Al-Quran will be able to be conducted in a physical setting and hence encourages more people to join.

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BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, TUESDAY, 08/09/2020 - Brunei Students’ Union (BSU) has collaborated with Brunei Religious Officers Students Association (BruROSA) to hold its annual Outreach Tour with the theme “Paving Your Path : Journeys Through Perseverance”. The programme has been successfully conducted in 3 institutions consisting of Sekolah Menengah Sayyidina Ali (SMSA), Maktab Sains Paduka Seri Begawan Sultan (MSPSBS) and Pusat Tingkatan Enam Sengkurong (PTES) on 31st August, 7th and 8th September 2020, respectively.

The Outreach Tour is an annual event organised by BSU and BruROSA, which aims to motivate the students to cogitate and pursue their future career pathways. This is done by inviting various individuals, each with different academic backgrounds and career pathways as guest speakers. The programme also provides a safe platform where the students may voice out their future concerns or current hardships. 

The Outreach Tour sets off its course on 31st August, with a participation of 123 students at SMSA. The tour started with a series of ice breaking games and inspirational speeches by 4 speakers. The 4 speakers include Cindy Sim from BSU, Abd Rahman from Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD), Chai Roslin from InTurn Co. and Hazwan from Gentleman Stitch. Both Cindy Sim and Abd Rahman shared their experiences as A levels students and their enrolments in university. On the other hand, Chai Roslin and Hazwan have presented their struggles of being an entrepreneur, and the honest truth of starting up a business.

The next tour was held in MSPSBS on 7th September. It started with opening remarks from Umar, President of BSU and  Zakwan, President of BruROSA, followed by an ‘Amazing Race’ event with a total participation of 154 students. Afterwards, a forum titled ‘Journeys Through Perseverance’ began, involving 6 speakers: Dina Roslan and Darren Pui from BSU, Shahzaad Aslam and Mariam Yunos from Persatuan Mahasiswa/Mahasiswi Universiti Brunei Darussalam (PMUBD), Waznah Ghazali from WeCare, and Shahirah Bakar from both Kelab Komuniti Belia Transformasi (KKBT) and Belia Dai'e. Representatives from BSU and PMUBD shared their struggles of being a student and how they persevered through it, while Waznah and Shahirah talked about their experiences in volunteering. Shahirah also touched upon her experience with depression as a student, and how she struggled to overcome it.

On the 8th September, the Outreach Tour reached its finale with a participation of 91 students from PTES. The highlight of the tour is the inspirational talks from Vanessa Ang from BSU and Afiq Izzuddin from PMUBD. With the title ‘I am more capable than what I give myself credit for’, Vanessa gave a speech about academic motivations. Meanwhile, Afiq gave his speech titled ‘Life is one amazing journey!’ which explored the issue of mental health awareness, and how he overcame his mental struggles. As previously done in the other 2 sixth form institutions, the tour in PTES concluded with a sharing session for the students to convey their problems and receive proper guidance for them.

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BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, MONDAY, 24/08/2020 - Recently, the Brunei Religious Officers Student Association (BruROSA) has conducted its annual summer break project, Unsung Heroes with the theme, ‘The Life of Giving’. The event was held on the 23rd and 24th of August 2020 at the parking area of Jame ‘Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque.

First started in 2016, Unsung Heroes is a charity drive event organised annually by BruROSA where donations in the form of lunch packs are distributed specifically to construction workers. As its theme suggests, the aim of this project is to give back to the construction workers who are also contributing to the development of Brunei Darussalam, yet they receive little to no recognition from the public. Hence, they are the ‘unsung heroes’. The project also hopes to raise public awareness against discrimination on migrant workers, while at the same time instill the youth with philanthropic values.

The first day of the event commences at 9am. 12 BruROSA members assembled at the parking area of Jame ‘Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque, ready to receive donations from the public until 3pm. The event resumed on the next day, with the presence of 12 BruROSA members and 21 volunteers, starting as early as 7am to receive more donations. The donations received consisted of a variety of items including lunch packs, dry food, canned food, bottled drinks, snacks, cooking oil and rice. By 11am, the distribution of donations began. Both BruROSA members and volunteers allocated themselves into 8 teams, assigned to deliver to 10 different construction sites. Some of the construction sites include sites at Regent Square, Kampong Kapok Mosque and Jalan Bedil. In total, 206 construction workers were given lunch packs.

The Brunei Religious Officer Students Association, or more distinctively, known as BruROSA is an association of religious officers from across the UK and EIRE that deals with the religious welfare of all Bruneian students studying in the UK and EIRE. Currently, the association has 16 Executive Committees and 32 Religious Officers from all Bruneian societies in the UK. and EIRE. Other than Unsung Heroes, BruROSA also organises various annual events such as Kem Ibadah, Khatam Al-Quran, Photography and Writing Competitions. The association hopes to keep organising more meaningful events available for all to join in the near future. 


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BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, TUESDAY, 19/08/2019 -  The Brunei Religious Officers Student Association (BruROSA) had recently held the annual Kem Ibadah, for three consecutive days, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 15th until 17th of November 2019 for Bruneian students studying in the United Kingdom and Ireland at Brunei Hall, London with its theme, ‘The Reconnection: Restoring Your Iman Network’.

Kem Ibadah is an annual religious camp held in the United Kingdom organised by BruROSA for Bruneian students in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The main objective of this camp is to motivate the students to strive for success not just in their academic studies but also in the understanding of the religion.

A total of 74 students including the BruROSA members were gathered at Brunei Hall, London. The opening ceremony was held on 16th of November, where Her Excellency, Pengiran Hajah Rooslina Weti binti Pengiran Haji Kamaludin, the High Commissioner of Brunei Darussalam in the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland attended as the guest of honour. 

The chairpersons for this year’s Kem Ibadah is Mohammad Harith Syafiq Bin Mohammad Halim from University of Nottingham and ‘Afifah Binti Haji Mat Dani from University of Bath. Muhammad Aqil Bin Awang from Cardiff University and Nur Arina Binti Haji Hamidun from Cardiff Metropolitan University are the camp commandants for the male participants and the female participants respectively.

The event began with the recitation of surah An Nisa verses 36-38 by Ahmad Zakwan Bin Haji Mohd Salleh from Imperial College London followed by the translation by Abdul Halim Bin Anuar from Loughborough University.

The highlight of the day was the amazing race which took place at Hyde Park where groups of participants compete in various games. The rest of the day was filled with meaningful indoor activities including ice breaking sessions and quiz on Islamic Events.

On 17th November 2019, participants gathered at the prayer hall for their Subuh prayer and later on had a small forum and a feedback session between the organisers and the participants. The chairpersons and camp commandants gave their farewell speeches and held a small gift exchange between all participants. 

Nur Shahirah Binti Haji Bakar from University of Edinburgh representing the female participants mentioned “I have learned about how ukhuwah can be very rewarding to ourselves if it is Lillahi Taala. Friends can be the ones who can help bring ourselves to Jannah. It is our responsibility to take care of each other and remind each other of Allah.” in her speech at the closing ceremony.

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