Interview updates

Dear JC 1 applicants,

We are happy to inform you that 45 JC 1s  have been selected to be part of the 3rd saints advocate.

List of successful applicants will be out on the CIP notice board (2nd floor- next to comp lab 2) on 27th Feb, mon at 8am.

We will like to thank all applicants for turning for the interview. We are sorry that we are unable to accept every applicant. We are touched by your desire to make a difference in the community and we look forward to your support in the various college community programs organised by advocates.

For all successful applicants, please note that the first meeting will be coming Monday,27th feb, 530pm at the trophy room. Pls bring along a pair of shorts, college tshirt and writing materials.

Take care and god bless!

Rgds,
Mr Ho

Work Attachment at Gawad Kalinga (Jeremy)

I was actually rather indignant about participating in this CIP work attachment because I was already so busy with my other commitments. It was because of these commitments that I did not participate in the OCIP but considering the timeframe for the work attachment is much flexible, I thought maybe I should take it up, try something new while benefitting the community.

Though my attachment is rather short, officially it is only about a week long, but it was a pretty enriching week. My work attachment was with Gawad Kalinga, an organisation serving to bring the poor out of poverty in mainly the Philippines but is now reaching out to other developing nations. I got to work with Shruti, a fellow saint advocate, and Rina, a full time worker at the office.

In this 5 days, half of the time was set aside for the planning of our task force fundraising project that we would execute when school reopens. 

Shruti and I would discuss, brainstorm ideas, and do the various planning for the successful execution of our project.

However, I was most impacted by the cause of the organisation and the belief that the full time workers, the beneficiaries and anyone related to GK had for their work. GK is an organisation that is all about the people. 

The first thing that Rina spoke to us about was not about how we should go about doing the fundraising and how we should try to make as much money as possible. Instead, she said that it is not about the money, it is about the cause, how we should focus on the work that the organisation is doing, what they are advocating for (which is to bring people out of poverty), and create an awareness around that. 

She was also glad that we were attending this work attachments and interns that want to advocate and raise awareness of GK rather than those that were fundraising.

After hearing what she spoke of and her passionate believe in the work of GK, it has also greatly inspired and changes my attitude towards social causes. 

Whenever we embark on a project to help the community, we must always remember why and what are we working for. For GK we were working towards bringing the poor out of poverty, through the means of providing them funds to build shelter, farms allowing them to build closely knitted communities that allow them a comfortable, peaceful, safe environment as compared to those in the slums. 

Hearing about the impact I would create, it was inspiring and made me want to champion the cause even more. I had taken part in social projects before but I was often blinded by the hard work and setbacks that I would forget about the vague understanding for what I am championing. This time, I was greatly enlightened by what it means to work for a cause and to have great believe in it and I hope it would inspire me to go further with my GK project.

-Jeremy

Work Attachment at Gawad Kalinga (Shruti)

Gawad Kalinga Hope initative

When I first chose GK as my work attachment taskforce I was clueless and I basically thought it was an organisation that raises funds and builds homes for the poor. However in the very first meeting with the program coordinator I was proved wrong.

Gawad Kalinga is an international charity organisation that aims to help the poor families live in bright, colourful and conducive homes. 

Before GKH enters the slum, the people there generally are territorial and uncaring the extreme hunger and poverty makes them undignified and succumbing to the harsh circumstances of poverty but GKHi builds homes for these people teaches them to care for one another and nurtures a caring community.

Gawad Kalinga as I realise now is all about the people. It doesn’t do work just for the sake of building homes to improve the living standards of those in the slums. 

It empowers the people by showing them that they can live a better life by taking up this opportunity. Apart from building homes the GKHi gives each family a specific plot of land and they can choose if they want to grow cash crops or crops for consumption. What I really like about the organisation is that it empowers people. It shows them they have a choice in moulding their own future. This way the slum people will feel dignified and will work even harder to come out of the poverty situation.

Furthermore the full time workers like Mr. Paulo and Ms. Rina are really passionate about the work they do. The people who work here also strongly believe in working for this cause because they want to end poverty and by being the brothers’ keeper. 

In this way a caring and cohesive community is nurtured. Their stories are inspiring and we as interns can see the bigger picture, that is the need to support and champion the cause for what it is and not merely for fund-raising.

The organisation way of tackling the problem of problem is also really commendable because it teaches the poor to be self-sufficient and live with dignity. They do so by playing a part in contributing to the construction of the homes instead of just sitting there waiting for it to be handed to them.

To conclude Gawad Kalinga as its name implies gives care and its work is beyond each individuals’ own materialistic selfish goals and it aims to bring up a community of people who are there for each other and progress as one community.

-Shruti