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Marsiling Trip
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Reflections 29/3/2008
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Today, our group visited the Marsiling Self Collection Centre to help out in the house-to-house distribution of imperishable food items to the needy residents in Marsiling. Because our training ended late, and we were unsure how to get to the place, we reached the Self Collection Centre late by 15 minutes. Although it was not very polite for us to be late (particularly when we have promised we will come on time to help out), we were lucky enough not to witness a suicide attempt by one of the residents in Marsiling.
According to Eon (the co-ordinator for this distribution of food), the person had earlier wanted to land himself in the hospital because he was in a sorrowful plight (having no money). He was at the top of the building waiting for the Civil Defence personnel to pump up the “cushion” for him to land safely. However, before the personnel had pumped up the “cushion” properly, the man jumped to his death. It was really pitiful because it shows us how desperate people can get when they get into a predicament (in this case, the victim did not have money). By witnessing and knowing about these kinds of incidents, I feel more motivated to help the poor in Singapore. By just doing simple deeds of kindness, we can prevent somebody from going to the extremes. In this case, the man would not have attempted suicide if he had received financial help and support.
Anyway, the main reason why we came to Marsiling was to experience first-hand the house-to-house distribution of the food items. Our group got to distribute the food items to the needy residents living at the neighbouring block. Despite the relatively small size of the plastic bag which contained the food items, the food items weighed quite a lot. I was really surprised at how the needy can survive on these rations for a month. After all, we are used to being well-fed and constantly have money to splurge on. We carried the food items to the neighbouring block and distributed the items. We had a list of the people who had registered with Food From The Heart with us, and thus we were able to find the households that needed these food items. I found out that many of Food From The Heart’s beneficiaries generally have very low or no income at all. Some of these beneficiaries were elderly or they had to take care of a handicapped family member. What struck me most was the fact that these beneficiaries waited eagerly for the food to be distributed to them. They were so poor that they could not afford to spend money on meals, and thus relied a lot on the food being distributed. When we gave out the food items to them, they were very grateful to us. It was really great to see smiles on their faces after we had given out the food items.
I remember I had a discussion with my sister one day about why she always liked to buy prepaid cards for her online games. One card costs $10.50 (not a small amount), and she bought a few cards just to “buy her gaming character some clothes online”. I have always believed that buying such cards is a waste of money. After witnessing how the needy in Marsiling treated their food, I really felt that the money being spent on these prepaid cards could actually be spent to buy food for the poor. Little as the donated food might be, it meant a lot to the beneficiaries of Food From The Heart.
I thus believe spreading the awareness of the existing problems faced by the poor in Singapore would be very helpful in our cause to help the poor. By encouraging people (especially teenagers) to save money on unnecessary items, and to use the money to buy useful items to help the poor, the beneficiaries of Food From The Heart (or even any other charity organization) can really benefit. What is lacking is the awareness of the situation of poverty in Singapore, and the lackadaisical attitude youngsters now have regarding these issues. Many teenagers I have seen are more concerned about spending money on their computer games and television programmes than about the community at large. I seriously hope that our project can succeed in encouraging more people to help the needy in Singapore.
According to Eon (the co-ordinator for this distribution of food), the person had earlier wanted to land himself in the hospital because he was in a sorrowful plight (having no money). He was at the top of the building waiting for the Civil Defence personnel to pump up the “cushion” for him to land safely. However, before the personnel had pumped up the “cushion” properly, the man jumped to his death. It was really pitiful because it shows us how desperate people can get when they get into a predicament (in this case, the victim did not have money). By witnessing and knowing about these kinds of incidents, I feel more motivated to help the poor in Singapore. By just doing simple deeds of kindness, we can prevent somebody from going to the extremes. In this case, the man would not have attempted suicide if he had received financial help and support.
Anyway, the main reason why we came to Marsiling was to experience first-hand the house-to-house distribution of the food items. Our group got to distribute the food items to the needy residents living at the neighbouring block. Despite the relatively small size of the plastic bag which contained the food items, the food items weighed quite a lot. I was really surprised at how the needy can survive on these rations for a month. After all, we are used to being well-fed and constantly have money to splurge on. We carried the food items to the neighbouring block and distributed the items. We had a list of the people who had registered with Food From The Heart with us, and thus we were able to find the households that needed these food items. I found out that many of Food From The Heart’s beneficiaries generally have very low or no income at all. Some of these beneficiaries were elderly or they had to take care of a handicapped family member. What struck me most was the fact that these beneficiaries waited eagerly for the food to be distributed to them. They were so poor that they could not afford to spend money on meals, and thus relied a lot on the food being distributed. When we gave out the food items to them, they were very grateful to us. It was really great to see smiles on their faces after we had given out the food items.
I remember I had a discussion with my sister one day about why she always liked to buy prepaid cards for her online games. One card costs $10.50 (not a small amount), and she bought a few cards just to “buy her gaming character some clothes online”. I have always believed that buying such cards is a waste of money. After witnessing how the needy in Marsiling treated their food, I really felt that the money being spent on these prepaid cards could actually be spent to buy food for the poor. Little as the donated food might be, it meant a lot to the beneficiaries of Food From The Heart.
I thus believe spreading the awareness of the existing problems faced by the poor in Singapore would be very helpful in our cause to help the poor. By encouraging people (especially teenagers) to save money on unnecessary items, and to use the money to buy useful items to help the poor, the beneficiaries of Food From The Heart (or even any other charity organization) can really benefit. What is lacking is the awareness of the situation of poverty in Singapore, and the lackadaisical attitude youngsters now have regarding these issues. Many teenagers I have seen are more concerned about spending money on their computer games and television programmes than about the community at large. I seriously hope that our project can succeed in encouraging more people to help the needy in Singapore.
Wei Jing
If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.
Reflections 25/3/2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Last Tuesday, we went to Clementi Residents’ Committee to share with them about our plan to have a ‘toy drive’ at Clementi. I have learnt quite a lot from that trip there. The people we met were quite interested in our project, that is the kind of feeling I get from them, and I can tell that they really are supportive of helping those who are in need, in this case, those children who lack a proper and happy childhood and thus it was quite heartwarming for me. However, it was also quite seeable that they hoped that the toys that were collected would be helping the people in Clementi. This is not wrong as being the leaders of the Clementi RC, they should see that the welfare of the people in that area is being taken care of, and therefore of course they would want to have some benefits so as to help the community in all.
Our plans were quite ok but during the discussion with them many more ideas were generated. Such as to sustain the project, we might want to look at the long term effects instead of the short term effects. For example, we can set up a collection and distribution centre at Clementi as currently the only centre in the west is at Commonwealth, so it would be good to have a collection centre in the town itself and it would be a long term collaboration with Clementi RC as well as Food From The Heart. I personally feel that this is a good idea as it would allow sustainability of the project as well as improved the community on the whole. From the information of the RC, they also said that there are a number of people in Clementi who may be facing financial difficulties to have three proper meals a day so if we are able to have a centre at that area it would benefit those people a lot. Furthermore, the RC also seemed very supportive of this idea.
Our toy drive was sort of confirmed to be in the June holidays and it would be held for most likely two days at least and notice is to be given a few weeks in advance so that the residents would be able to know and understand who they are actually donating their toys to. It would also allow them to know that there are ways to help the poor and also educate them on the severity of the situation of poverty in Singapore. Therefore, all in all, I think that the meeting with the RC has opened my eyes regarding the issues pertaining to the generation of ideas as well as the planning of an event of exhibition.
Our plans were quite ok but during the discussion with them many more ideas were generated. Such as to sustain the project, we might want to look at the long term effects instead of the short term effects. For example, we can set up a collection and distribution centre at Clementi as currently the only centre in the west is at Commonwealth, so it would be good to have a collection centre in the town itself and it would be a long term collaboration with Clementi RC as well as Food From The Heart. I personally feel that this is a good idea as it would allow sustainability of the project as well as improved the community on the whole. From the information of the RC, they also said that there are a number of people in Clementi who may be facing financial difficulties to have three proper meals a day so if we are able to have a centre at that area it would benefit those people a lot. Furthermore, the RC also seemed very supportive of this idea.
Our toy drive was sort of confirmed to be in the June holidays and it would be held for most likely two days at least and notice is to be given a few weeks in advance so that the residents would be able to know and understand who they are actually donating their toys to. It would also allow them to know that there are ways to help the poor and also educate them on the severity of the situation of poverty in Singapore. Therefore, all in all, I think that the meeting with the RC has opened my eyes regarding the issues pertaining to the generation of ideas as well as the planning of an event of exhibition.
Aaron
There is no better exercise for your heart than reaching down and helping to lift someone up.
Reflections 12/3/2008
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Last Thursday, the group continued our weekly discussions outside the staffroom. Two of our group members are away in China and I believed the discussion was still productive, although it could have been more fruitful with the presence of all the group members. We had a recap of our plans and future directives and tracked our progress. Learning that the prelims of the projects day competition is round the corner, we decided to advance to the drafting of the PowerPoint slides. Besides food drives and toy drives, we have also brainstormed on further plans for our project and came up with the plan of setting up an exhibition in our school. In my opinion, it fits very well into this project as it encompasses the objective of raising awareness among students in our school. This idea indeed includes some of the exclusive features of our project.
We learned more about learning objectives from our mentor and commenced on the reflections and learning journal for this particular project. Once again, we have showed progress by reminding ourselves to ponder and record this wonderful learning journey ahead. We would also like to infuse into ourselves the notion of learning through serving. Thus, we have come up with a “Quote of the Week” feature. During each discussion session, one of the members would contribute a quote in relation to service learning. Then, through this approach, we will add in our thoughts and opinions about the quote in our reflections. In my view, this feature of our project will reap intangible benefits and the true essence of serving the community would be cultivated amongst us to a large extent.
Finally, some problems cropped up. The group has sent out requests to allow our project to advance with the drives and start on the practical work. However, maybe Mr Sarizan is too busy but we are hoping that we would be able to get his reply as soon as possible so that progress can be made.
We learned more about learning objectives from our mentor and commenced on the reflections and learning journal for this particular project. Once again, we have showed progress by reminding ourselves to ponder and record this wonderful learning journey ahead. We would also like to infuse into ourselves the notion of learning through serving. Thus, we have come up with a “Quote of the Week” feature. During each discussion session, one of the members would contribute a quote in relation to service learning. Then, through this approach, we will add in our thoughts and opinions about the quote in our reflections. In my view, this feature of our project will reap intangible benefits and the true essence of serving the community would be cultivated amongst us to a large extent.
Finally, some problems cropped up. The group has sent out requests to allow our project to advance with the drives and start on the practical work. However, maybe Mr Sarizan is too busy but we are hoping that we would be able to get his reply as soon as possible so that progress can be made.
Bertram
Experience is something you cannot get for nothing.
Reflections 4/3/2008
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Since the end of the previous year, our group has decided to work hand in hand with Food from the Heart to tackle problems faced by the poor daily. The journey till now, even before the execution, was never easy. We faced many difficulties on the way and have made many major changes to our original plan. However, there are many learning points picked up during this period of time.
Before I embarked on this project with my group member, sadly, I did not know much about the poor in Singapore. Apart from certain minor community involvement work, I did not initiated or approached any needy to give my helping hand. Only after starting on this project, I managed to know more about the poor around us, and not forgetting the problems that surfaced in their lives. Actually, I believe that I have grown to be more empathetic, not only towards the less fortunate, but also to the people around me, especially my group members. After understanding more about the lives of the less privileged from the charity organization, I am clearer about their lives and the troubles they face daily, and most importantly, financially. In addition, I am able to understand my group members more. Everyone, in faced of a similar situation, will think and act differently.
Helping the poor to lead a better life was my original motive for the project. I thought that it will be sufficient if we just provide our maximum ability to help them by the various methods. However, slowly, I began to realize that that will only be the minimum. As the old saying goes, “Give a man a fish, he lives for a day. Teach a man to fish, he lives for a lifetime”, the project should not only be so simple, and we have to create a long term situation and a sustaining impact. For example, by the end of the project, the poor in some ways should be able to lead a better life on their own and not rely on others.
Since the start of out project, we faced many challenges that we have never expected at the start. For instance, some of our ideas were rejected by Food from the Heart causing us to change our original plan. One learning experience was the idea a setting up a café in school. The founder of Food from the Heart was supportive of the idea and we spent huge amount of time planning for the idea (looking for suitable location, doing surveys and more). However, the second time when we went to the organization, we realized that the café previously set up by them were closing soon and the in-charge for the café was also leaving the organization. This was a main setback for us as it meant that all the time spent have been “wasted” and we would have to come up with other ideas. However, we stood up again and brainstormed for new ideas.
Everyone will have their strengths and weaknesses, and our group is no different. I think that most of the group members lack the initiative and drive. We were unable to meet some deadlines and caused some delays with the project. I believe that to change a situation, everything has to start from a person which will be I. I will try my best to meet deadlines or even be earlier which can help in the project in many ways.
Before I embarked on this project with my group member, sadly, I did not know much about the poor in Singapore. Apart from certain minor community involvement work, I did not initiated or approached any needy to give my helping hand. Only after starting on this project, I managed to know more about the poor around us, and not forgetting the problems that surfaced in their lives. Actually, I believe that I have grown to be more empathetic, not only towards the less fortunate, but also to the people around me, especially my group members. After understanding more about the lives of the less privileged from the charity organization, I am clearer about their lives and the troubles they face daily, and most importantly, financially. In addition, I am able to understand my group members more. Everyone, in faced of a similar situation, will think and act differently.
Helping the poor to lead a better life was my original motive for the project. I thought that it will be sufficient if we just provide our maximum ability to help them by the various methods. However, slowly, I began to realize that that will only be the minimum. As the old saying goes, “Give a man a fish, he lives for a day. Teach a man to fish, he lives for a lifetime”, the project should not only be so simple, and we have to create a long term situation and a sustaining impact. For example, by the end of the project, the poor in some ways should be able to lead a better life on their own and not rely on others.
Since the start of out project, we faced many challenges that we have never expected at the start. For instance, some of our ideas were rejected by Food from the Heart causing us to change our original plan. One learning experience was the idea a setting up a café in school. The founder of Food from the Heart was supportive of the idea and we spent huge amount of time planning for the idea (looking for suitable location, doing surveys and more). However, the second time when we went to the organization, we realized that the café previously set up by them were closing soon and the in-charge for the café was also leaving the organization. This was a main setback for us as it meant that all the time spent have been “wasted” and we would have to come up with other ideas. However, we stood up again and brainstormed for new ideas.
Everyone will have their strengths and weaknesses, and our group is no different. I think that most of the group members lack the initiative and drive. We were unable to meet some deadlines and caused some delays with the project. I believe that to change a situation, everything has to start from a person which will be I. I will try my best to meet deadlines or even be earlier which can help in the project in many ways.
Alfred