Service Learning Residential Programme 2015!

From the 11 – 21 November 2015, the Sixth Saints Advocate stayed in SA Hall for an enriching 10-day programme, engaging in various leadership workshops and activities. Through their stay, The Sixth had taken away many beneficial skills and had definitely grown both individually and as a team. Here is an outline of the residential stay:

We started the stay with checking into the cosy hostel rooms, settling into our homes for the next coupe of days.

During the duration of the stay, we had various activities lined up for us. Some of these included 

• 2016 Task Force Meetings:

• Operation VO50 Planning and event
• Leadership workshop by Positive Intentions and Intercultural Workshop by Mr Jason Ong 

•  Walking Trail at Mount Faber 

• Last but definitely not the least, we volunteered at Willing hearts, packing over thousands of packets of food for the needy! 

Not only did we have to start by cooking the food,

We had to prepare the food prior to cooking them,

Followed by continuous stirring of the pots, where the food was finally being cooked.

Ultimately, the experience was indeed eye opening, and it also tested out resilience as we pushed forward packing seemingly endless amounts of food into Styrofoam boxes.

Through the Service Learning Residential Programme,  The Sixth not only got to experience living in the SA Hall, but they also got to evaluate their Saints Advocate journey, plan for what’s to come in 2016 and bond as a CCA even more outside the school time.

Late night CCA Frisbee bonding

The residential stay is definitively something that The Sixth will always hold fond memories with as it is one that fostered closer relationships and also bonded the CCA as a whole.

Learning Journey to Simei Care Centre

On 15 November 2013, the 4th Saints Advocate had a Learning Journey trip to Simei Care Centre, which is a rehabilitation center for people with mental disorders. This was a meaningful and eye-opening learning journey as we had the opportunity to understand more about these people, and the mental illnesses that make them patients. From this experience, we also learnt to open our hearts and to remove our own stigmas that we unknowingly had concerning these patients.

4th Saints Advocate, visiting Simei Care Centre, filled with excitement!

My takeaways from the trip to Simei Care Centre:

1. I learnt that we are susceptible to such mental illnesses too and a substantial number of in-patients used to be professionals and very accomplished in their career or studies. They have the capabilities of normal people and most importantly, they are normal people, the same as you and I. In line with this, we should respect them and not discriminate against them.  Stress can get to us and we might also be victims of mental illnesses, which is why even as we have no right to judge them, we should care for them and help them recover. (Plus, we should try to control our stress level!)

2. It is difficult for them to get back to society/the workforce due to the social stigma. It is difficult to find jobs but nevertheless many of them try their best, and some do manage to become independent and rebuild their lives. A lot of them have the ability and skill to work, if only given a chance. I think if ever I become an employer, I will surely not discriminate against such applicants and I will give them a chance to prove themselves.

3. Their handicrafts are important to them for earning a living, and is also done to enable them for better recovery and to remain active. It is with great effort that they hand-make most of the items in the MOSES Gift Shop. Therefore, buying these items encourages them and also helps them sustain a living. Hence for us, we should do our best in selling their items during Friendship Week, and also share the message of their plight (the social discrimination that presses down on them, instead of the social encouragement that should be helping them up). Even if the items are quite expensive, it is also with great expense that they were able to craft these items.

4. SIMEI Care Centre is a meaningful VWO because it helps these patients settle back to society. It helps cure these people and believes in them. That's why, now whenever I advocate for SCC, I will do it with more compassion and drive.

-Lynn Monique Co, 4th Saints Advocate