Watoto Children's Choir 2012

On the 7th of April, our Saints Advocates, in conjunction with World Vision Singapore, organised a concert performed by the Watoto Children's Choir from Uganda, right here in our College's very own Cultural Centre.

We would like to thank World Vision Singapore for providing the Saints Advocates and SAJC this precious opportunity to organise and host the concert, and inviting us to their Thanksgiving Tea, where we shared the joy of the success of World Vision and the Watoto Children's Choir. Such an experience has certainly left an impact in our lives.



We have Natdanai, the I/C of the Watoto task force, and Efrata, the Vice-President of the 2nd Saints Advocates, to share their thoughts and feelings for their 6-month journey leading up to the concert, and their time at the Thanksgiving Tea.

     

What did this “concert of hope” mean to me?

    
Imagine you yourself being able to bring about a lasting impact in the lives of others. As part of Saints Advocates, I am a servant leader. Before embarking on this 5-month long journey, I never knew what it meant to make a commitment. However, as I went through this event, I began to feel my entire life pledged to a commitment, a commitment to change others’ lives for the better. To me, the Watoto Children’s Choir was not merely another concert. Instead, it was life-changing.
   

 
As the IC, I bore a great responsibility in ensuring that the objectives of the concert were met. Working on this project, I acquired many skills, both expectedly and unexpectedly. I would never imagine myself capable of creating an acceptable piece of artwork, designing the poster and concert tickets, which were quite well received. In addition, not only have I learnt to be more responsible and work better as a group, I have also become more appreciative of the true value of life and I am very thankful for that.
    

    
Furthermore, as our motto states, “Saints Advocate: Advocating Changes, Inspiring Lives”. I wanted us Advocates to discover the value of empathy. I wanted to encourage, bring hope and remind the children from Uganda that they are not forgotten. I wanted the unhappy to cheer up and the abandoned to feel cared for. Ultimately, I wanted every single one of the audience to return home with big smiles on their faces and even bigger ones in their hearts. Therefore, to achieve this success was a must!
      





The journey was certainly not smooth and was filled with ups and downs. On our first day of ticket sales we barely sold 10 tickets! At the end of the day, I was heartened to realize that our 1000 tickets could not keep up with growing number of kind-hearted souls, with some unable to acquire tickets for the concert.
     

       Faced with the various difficulties throughout the course of the project, I was not deterred. Instead, I learnt to work under pressure and became more determined. Above all, I wholeheartedly believe that as I worked with the Watoto children in glorifying God, He would never abandon us.

Of course, organizing a concert was no easy feat, but this quote always encouraged me to strive for the best: “Tiredness is just temporary but pride and a peace of mind last forever.”
      

     
Lastly, I am convinced that we would not have achieved this level of success without any of the Saints Advocate members, without the support from our Saints and the public but most importantly without the hope and joy that the Watoto children brought with them.

-Gamee Natdanai Jungpairoj

~Our Saints Advocates~

Efrata's reflections:

24^th April 2012

I am writing this note one hour after the tea-party session with the Watoto children and the other stakeholders in World Vision’s new office. There are many thoughts going through my mind and mixed feelings in my heart and it is really hard for me to explain what and why, but I will try my best.

At the start of the reception, I felt really 'small'. The others who were invited were all important people; they are pastors from many churches in Singapore, the World Vision Singapore's president, the leader of Watoto Asia Tour from Hong Kong, and Natdanai and I, two young SAJC students wearing our school uniform, carrying backpacks.

I had a good chat with many people from different churches, sharing how we hosted the Watoto choir. Many of them were really impressed that in SAJC, the concert was arranged by the students. They could not believe it, so they started asking us about our CCA, Saints Advocate.

I also talked to one of the adults from the Watoto choir, Nicholas Byamukama (he asked me to add him on facebook haha). He remembered our school! He said "Saint Andrews right?" I was so excited that they actually remembered our school! So he started asking me who am I, why did I arrange the concert, what CCA I am in (he didn't understand the term CCA before that I explained to him) I had a good time telling him about Saints Advocate. He was shocked when I told him that we call all the students in our school 'saints'. I told him about my CCA, what we do, serving people, helping the poor, initiating projects, and raising awareness. He was very impressed by my story. He went on to say "your school is really sweet. I remember the gifts you gave us at the end. That was really really sweet. There are so many gifts that you gave us; the books, the bottles, and many more!" I smiled. A lady who was standing next to me suddenly said "you guys gave them gifts?" She was really surprised that we actually went an extra mile to show our appreciation to the children. She commended our efforts!

Another story was when I spoke to one of the girls. Her name is Lyan, 13 years old. She said she loves the food in Singapore. She said she loves our school, SAJC. She also mentioned that her favourite songs were Mumba Sawa and I'm not forgotten. She was smiling all the time even though I was asking her a lot of questions. She patiently and politely answered my questions one by one. (I really wouldn’t mind bringing her back to my hostel to be my sister, seriously!) She told me that they have to practice 5 months before they could go for the tour. When I asked her what will she do after the tour ended, she said "I wanna come home to Uganda". She said it with a big wide smile on her face. So I asked "you look really happy that you're going back to Uganda soon." And she replied, "Yes, I miss my family." And I felt a pang inside my heart, I miss my family in Indonesia too; I think I know how she feels.

Another adult from Watoto, Michael told me that SAJC is the best school. He actually said it three times and it was awkward because I kept on saying thank you, thank you, and thank you. I was touched. I do not know whether he said it from his heart or just want to make me happy, but I am glad, and really delighted that they remembered SAJC. Although they performed in so many places in Singapore, they did not forget SAJC. I believe that it was our all-out efforts that had made an impression in their hearts and made them remember our college.

I had fun. I had lots and lots and lots of fun. Just talking to them for few minutes have encouraged me so much to persevere in pursuing my dream to serve the community. This feeling of satisfaction, knowing that whatever we have done did not go in vain, knowing that we have touched their hearts in one way or another, knowing that people actually appreciate what we have done, reaffirms me on my future path that I want to pursue. I want to serve the community till forever. It does not matter if your dream is to be engineer, businessman, teacher, pilot, or whatever, you can always use the talents you have to initiate changes. The bottom line is to never stop serving the society, the poor, the needy, and you will never stop touching hearts and transforming lives.

"I heard SAJC had done a great job! The next time Watoto comes to Singapore, SAJC should be given the priority to choose their date!" said the president of World Vision Singapore. I'm contented.

Efrata,

Vice President

 2^nd Saints Advocates