A trip back to Gia Bac

OCIP trip to Vietnam, Gia Bac

Carrying a heart filled with excitement and anticipation, our OCIP boarded the plane to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. Going back for the second time to the same village, I felt a sense of nostalgia and a bigger responsibility being the leader this round.

Going for the first time in June as an exco member, I think it helped and prepared me for the Dec OCIP trip.The June OCIP opened my eyes to the environment in Gia Bac village which did not change much in the Dec trip.

View of Gia Bac

Also, it taught me various lessons such as sense of urgency, being a team and how to manage the relationships I had. All these were useful in the Dec OCIP trip as I encountered a few conflicts which were peacefully resolved in the end. Knowing how important it was to keep up with the pace and being exposed to the vigorous work schedule we had in June, it allowed me better prepare myself as this trip was longer and made resting times a priority for the trip itself. I also found myself giving constant reminders to the group. Being familiar with the environment allowed me to better schedule the bathing times and how to go about organising the team.

Sleeping Area

However, the trips differed as not only was the Dec trip longer, we had volunteers from SMU joining us as well. This brought the total number of volunteers in Gia Bac to about 70. However our daily routines weren’t affected as the SMU team had kindly proposed to work around our routines as we had arrived earlier. Working with them was a pleasure though we had disagreements initially.

Bamboo weaving for the library windows

Building the library walls

They were really friendly and being Singaporeans in a foreign country, it allowed us to relate to each other better.

Dinner with SMU on our second last day

Personally I feel that the main learning points we can take away from them is how humble they were in learning from us, they would seek our feedback and listen to us though they were much older. Also, the facilities that we had in Dec has improved and we have more toilet facilities which allowed us to solve our bathing problems with the arrival of SMU. We had a change in headquarters as the new headquarter is a house and thus we had more place and could eat indoors everyday.

Meal times

Knowing about the new facilities we had when we first arrived brought a smile to my face as within the 6 months, there was improvements made to the village and that could mean more people are now aware of the living conditions and problems faced by the village.

House for Hope: Building a kitchen for a family

In conclusion, both the June and Dec OCIP trips were memorable but different. The June OCIP trip was memorable as I felt that I have learnt more about Gia Bac and the situation in the village itself. The Dec OCIP trip on the other hand, taught me more about myself and I felt that I grew in terms of leading a group from the constant feedbacks given. Also, the Dec OCIP trip focused more on personal learning and development as compared to the June OCIP trip where it focused on the international community.

-Gio

Cambodia; Fulfilling and Fruitful

The experience I have accumulated in the June OCIP trip was indeed a great help for my end of year OCIP trip. The experience from June OCIP trip allowed me to be more familiarize with the preparation for the trip, having more knowledge about the purpose and aim of an OCIP and last but not least, to be prepared to deal with unforeseen circumstances – expecting the unexpected.  Knowing what to expect, I was also able to adapt to the village’s living conditions without much difficulty. In short, I felt that the first trip serves as a stepping stone towards doing greater community work.

As the Nov/Dec OCIP trip was much longer than the June OCIP trip, it was indeed more challenging, both mentally and physically – from building a kitchen (June OCIP) to constructing a library, building water pumps, preparing local dishes and putting up a cultural performance (Dec OCIP).  However, because of all these, the nov/dec OCIP was much fulfilling and more fruitful as I had more interactions with the local people and children there.

As a participant in the June trip, most of the arrangements were more or less planned by the ex-co then and I was simply had to follow their directions. It was rather easy then.  However, as an ex-co for the recent trip, much more planning has to be done by us and it was not as easy as it seemed. Greater role comes with greater responsibility, Being an ex co was not simple but after seeing how did things go on smoothly (team members are bonded, sufficient items were brought and etc), the feeling was definitely rewarding.

-          Louis

YFC: Reflection/Testimonials (CSL)

Volunteers' Testimonials

Being part of this charity concert has made me realize that I can always use my God-given talent to serve the community. No matter how insignificant it is, I learnt that if something is done whole-heartedly, no effort will be in vain. 

-Efrata, performer in the concert

It is a very tough job to hold a concert, from preparing the technical aspects of the concert to ticket selling. However, when we earn some profits and use it to help the VWO, all our hard work is paid off and I am satisfied.

-Winnie, backstage crew

Team's Reflection

Through the looking glass:

We have learnt that for a project to be successful, We have to take into consideration many possibilities that can arise instead of making assumption. A project which is only based on assumption will not be realistic, thus, the chance of success is very low.

We have also learnt publicity plays a very important role in determining the success of the project, especially a concert. With a strong publicity, the audience will be more impressed and more willing to support the group. This also helps to raise their awareness regarding the social causes that we are trying to advocate. Sometimes, it is not about how much fund we can raise but rather how much more other people understand and sympathise with the disadvantaged children who we are trying to help.

Finally, we have learnt that team work is extremely important as it lays the foundation for a project to succeed. Without co-operation of all the members in the team, we cannot go far. We need to make use of everyone’s strengths to make this project work. If we want to go fast, we go alone. However, if we want to go far, we have to go together.

Looking Within:

Through the project, I have learnt about time management i.e how to manage project without sidelining my academic work. I also learnt how to control my temper even when things seem to go wrong. Besides, the lesson of patience and understanding is also something essential that I have picked up from executing the project with my teammates.

I have learnt a lot from my teammates who manage to work really well even when they are under tremendous stress. They always keep their minds straight and focus in the project regardless of all the obstacles along the way. Their encouragement in hard times helps me to hold on to the project until the very end as well. I really appreciate for having teammates like them. I also learnt how to reach out to other people by demonstrating understanding, care and sympathy. I learnt to persuade people to support our social cause as well.

After the project, I realize that I have grown so much as a person. I know I still have to learn more and participate more in various projects to support more social causes so that I can gain more experiences, understand more and reach out to the less fortunate people in this society.

Youth For Causes Project has changed my perspective of life. I believe that a happy life is not only about having money or being rich but it is more about understanding other people, caring and sharing.

This experience has changed the way I view people. The sales of our tickets for the concert was really bad and we were all extremely worried about not being able to cover the cost, much less make profits. Thankfully, the Saints Advocates (CCA in our school) helped us by manning the booth for the sales of tickets, volunteered as ushers, runners, backstage crew on the day of the concert, helped clean up and tried to garner people to buy the tickets to our concert. Thanks to them, the concert was a huge success and we managed to fill up more than half of the 1000 seats.  It showed me how help can be rendered so generously and willingly by others around us, and how fortunate we are to have people around to help us.

Looking Ahead:

We can contribute to this community by volunteering as a tutor to the young children at the home. These young children need help in their school work and as junior college students, we are equipped with sufficient knowledge in order to aid them in their assipgnments and pull their grades up. In addition, we can also help this community by involving them in our class CIP projects, raising awareness of the home as well, so that more people will know more about the home and the lives these children lead. 

Work Attachment in Vietnam

My Experience to the Agent Orange Village in Tu Du Hospital:
When I had first agreed to teach at HUFLIT University, one of the stipulations that the President and I had agreed upon was that a portion of the money that I earnead would be donated to the victims of Agent Orange. As the Chairman of the Board for the Ho Chi Minh City Association for Victims of Agent Orange, he was pushing for me to visit the Tu Du village, which is part of the local hospital.

As the time neared to make the donation and visit the children, I was hesitant to go. If you venture around the most populous parts of the city (particularly in tourist hot spots), you are bound to see a person afflicted with physical deformities associated with Agent Orange. So, one would assume that after an extended period of living in this city, I had seen enough of this to desensitize myself from what I was going to see at the hospital.

Even so, I felt very uneasy about my impending visit.  I was afraid of what I was going to see and how I would react.  On the eve of my visit I continued to mull over the necessity of visiting the site.  Needless to say, I decided that the right thing to do was to go and to face my fears.

When I stepped into the village area, where about 60 children live, I was greeted with smiles—all of the children were so excited to have new visitors to interact with.  An area approximately the size of the an SA classroom hosted doctor’s offices and beds for all 60 children (ranging from the age of 3-28).

Some children were bedridden because of the growing tumors and mental disabilities, and others were free to roam around on the floor outside. The first few moments you are in one of their bedrooms, and their reality sets in, your heart begins to sink.

In a country with a healthcare system that is already poor, children with special needs are particularly marginalized (on many different levels). Not only have many of these children been abandoned by their parents, but to say that their medical treatment and living facilities are subpar would be a major understatement. Seeing a life in suffering is never easy, the natural reaction is to feel sorry for them. However, when I interacted with them—I could not keep the smile off my face.  These children were so full of life and just genuinely happy to be playing with my friend and I.  Whatever physical disabilities they had did not obstruct their jovial nature—it was a challenge to keep up with their pace!

In exploring one of the rooms reserved for older girls, I met a girl named Hong.  I had been tired out by the younger kids and wanted to take a break, so I sat down on the floor and she happened to come up and talk to me.  I found out that she is a student  and that she will be completing her degree in Information Technology this year, and already has a job lined up as a manager after she graduates.  She lives in the hospital in a small room with about 12 other girls, and when she is not studying for her own schooling, she helps tutor the younger students who are able to attend general school. Every day she drives her motorbike to the university without any special assistance.  Hong has no legs and one functioning arm.

Finally, I understood what my instructor had told me : to feel sorry for these children would be to undermine everything they have accomplished.  It is truly amazing.

-Linh

Cambodia 2011 ; Touching lives

Having gone for the June trip with advocates earlier this year prepared me for the trip to Cambodia.  It taught me the importance of looking out for one another (simple stuff like, does everyone have enough food?) and ensuring we do our best to serve the community.

However this trip was still very much different from the June Trip. Being an exco, I was given greater responsibility to ensure that the team was bonded, happy and able to work efficiently.

Also the trip to Cambodia was more physically demanding compared to the June trip to Vietnam, as we need to build many things. In total the team completed 4 water pumps and 1 library.

Building the library

Getting sand to build the library

Inside the completed library

We also had more classes of students to teach. The June trip gave me some insight of what to teach the students , what logistics to bring so as to give the programmes committee a better idea of how they should carry out their lessons.

Teaching the students

One of the major difficulties faced was the language barrier as there were less translators to help us. Thankfully, the children knew a bit of English already and we were still able to continue teaching them.

The best memories I have of Cambodia would be the times we played with the children. They were extremely friendly people and warmed up to us very quickly. :D

Games

One of the people there I met was the principal of the primary school. The pre trip Local CIP gave me some exposure to interviewing people and taught me to prepare more before interviewing a person.  He is an extremely hardworking person, having work in the school for many years. He was the one that helped to turn the school from a few wooden classrooms to the concrete classrooms we saw. The effort and dedication he put into the school really touched my heart.

Principal of the primary school

 It made me feel thankful that I went for the December trip as this trip gave me more opportunities to interact with the locals and do more things for them, like put up a performance for them

Yet despite the fact that it might have been tiring, everyone still put in a lot of effort and, the end result was awesome. I felt a sense of satisfaction, regardless of whether they appreciated or not, that our efforts had impacted their lives in a good way.

-Christina

Learning Journey to Joan Bowen Café – a Place where we DARE to CARE

Learning Journey to Joan Bowen Café – a Place where we DARE to CARE

We walked to the direction of SAS swimming pool and to our surprise, there was a European-look restaurant hidden there, Joan Bowen Café. From the outside, it looks like any other normal restaurant, but when we get to know the truth beyond its establishment, we were stunned, touched, and deeply inspired.

Here is the truth.

Joan (a girl on the left of the picrure) is a daughter with special needs of Mr. Khong Yoon Kay and Mrs. Jeanne Seah, the founders of Joan Bowen Café. The fact that their daughter cannot live a normal life and the fear for her future became an inspiration for them to care for the needy, make a difference guided by faith, and build this cafe.

All chidren who serve in Joan Bowen Café (including Joan) are needy children who have gone through series of skills training by proffesional chefs and personal trainers. At a glance, you would not realise that they are needy because they look and act just like us, but a little more soft-spoken.

Click here to know the background stories of each staff: http://www.joanbowen.com/staff.html

As if served by the needy was not surprising enough, the food they serve were amazing. They were prestigious restaurant standard, served beautifully, and tasted wonderful. We could not believe that they are made by the needy children. They actually have better cooking skills than most of us.

Below are some of the pictures of the menu which look exactly like how they serve it.

To see more menu, click this link : http://www.joanbowen.com/menu_starters.html

After this learning journey, I was deeply impressed by Joan Bowen Café and promised to myself that I will help the café and respect the needy even more. Sometimes, we looked at the needy with a closed eye, thinking that they deserve to be left out because they cannot perform things as well as us. However, we often overlook the potential within them that they are still human being with capacity who can shine if they are given a chance to.

Joan Bowen Café teaches me that to make a difference, everything must start from passion because there will be manifold of problems along the way and without genuine passion for the cause, we will be crumpled down. But persistence brings hope.

Before we left the café, I approached Mrs. J and told her, “ Your daughter is the luckiest daughter ever.” 
I meant it.


-Efrata