Simei Care 2012

When we first embarked on this project, I had no idea what we had to do. Firstly, we had didn’t know much about Simei Care Centre and secondly, we were the first batch of Advocates to work with this organisation. In the process, we faced many setbacks and there were times when I felt like giving up, but the encouragement and support of the task force members was really heartening. Knowing that I was not alone really motivated me to persevere through.

An auntie at the centre showing us her handmade bouquet,
which we sold to raise funds for their cause

We spent hours researching on the various mental health conditions and also went down to the centre to find out about their needs. The more I knew about the mental health patients, the more I felt compassionate for them. It was not their choice to have such conditions; it might have been the result of trauma from going through a painful incident, or even passed down by genetics. Yet the society that we live in, which could possibly have helped their conditions by giving them the love and care they desperately need, instead showed a lack of sympathy and understanding that caused them to be stigmatised and shunned. The staff from Simei Care Centre also told us that some of the members do not go home because their family members do not understand them and see them as a burden to the family. After having a better understanding towards mental health conditions and Simei Care Centre, I really believed wholeheartedly in the cause that we were advocating.




Term 3 was really a busy term for me. Almost immediately after Common Test, we were told to start work on our project. There were times when I felt discouraged, especially when our proposals got rejected again and again. As someone who sleeps early, it was the first time I stayed up until 4 o’clock midnight just to make the presentation video. Even then, there were still a lot of amendments that had to be made to the video. However, the immense happiness and sense of satisfaction was indescribable when our video was finally approved and shown in school.

Publicity poster: ACCEPT don't ALIENATE

Being in a task force, teamwork is very important, and I am very grateful to have such cooperative members, providing each other with support whenever we needed it. I could clearly remember the times when we stayed back in school for rehearsals the days before our presentation, the times when we stayed up late to amend our slides and scripts through the internet, and the times when we came to school as early as 6.30 am to familiarise ourselves with the script and the stage while the Cultural Centre was still empty. Although tiring, it was a unique and unforgettable experience that I have gone through with the other task force members.

Boards that share more about common mental illnesses
and the activities of Simei Care Centre

It was not easy for us to cope with the heavy workload, especially with one of the task force members leaving us. In addition, we had to juggle with our academics with Project Work getting busier and MSA2 around the corner. Thankfully, we were given a lot of help from the St. Andrew’s Autism task force.  We even met up on weekends to work on the boards and come up with ideas to make it more appealing so that more people would read it and be aware. The fundraising and exhibition during the mental health awareness week wouldn’t have been possible without their help (and of course not forgetting the help from the other advocates for manning the booth)!

Our Teacher's day sales to raise funds for the Simei Care Centre

This project really taught me a lot. It has been a difficult journey for all of us, but we managed to go through it together, as a task force!

-Hui Koon, 3rd Saints Advocate