OCIP trip to Batam, Indonesia (cont)

Day 2

From a fifth advocate's journal

"Dear journal,

'Selamat pagi' (good morning)! We said it out loud and waved at the children under the bright morning sun. Smiling broadly, the children waved back at us. I told myself it would be a smooth day ahead. I was very excited as today was our first time to teach the children.

Walking to the construction site

In the morning, some of us had the chance to teach the children geography and simple dance lessons. The rest of us were to do construction work like plastering the cement. Although plastering the cement sounds like a simple task,  it was actually quite challenging to make the cement stick nicely and smoothly on the wall. We did not do it right at first but we pressed on and were able to finish the task ahead of time. Although it may sound cliche, we came to understand the wise saying 'Practice makes perfect' more deeply. At the same time, we appreciated the work of construction workers more as the seemingly little things that they do matter.

Plastering cement on the wall

Lunchtime, to me, was the most exciting time because of not only the food but also the fact that all of us could play games with the children. We were really impressed by how they played happily with the simple things that they had from rubber bands to styrofoam cups. On the contrary, we are always uttering 'I am bored' while we have more things to play than they do. We realize that sometimes we are so busy finding happiness in the pursuit of materials that we forget to find joy within ourselves and everything we have.

Playing with the kids

Finding the locations of the countries

Selamat makan

We ended off the day after finishing plastering half of the room. Looking at what we have done, I could not help smiling proudly. I knew that I had made right choice to go on this trip."

By Nguyen Linh Lan
5th Saints Advocate  

OCIP trip to Batam, Indonesia

Day 1

After we had reached the orphanage, the tour guide led us around the area. We noticed that almost every child was relatively skinny and the conditions of the orphanage were poor. For example, the huge fan in their cramped room was full of dust and was not airy. This made us feel guilty of taking our comfortable homes for granted. On a bright note, this has taught us to be more appreciative of our good living conditions we are blessed with and nurture our empathy towards these children, giving us greater motivation to bring about positive changes in their community. 

After that, we were led to the construction site where we will be building an orphanage. The builder briefed us on how we should make cement and plaster it on the wall. 

Making cement at the construction site

Plastering cement on the wall

Cleaning the equipment

We went on to distribute our tasks in order to complete today’s work efficiently. Although it was physically demanding, we worked together and persevered, as well as reminding one another to have frequent water breaks. This taught us to step out of our comfort zones and cooperate with one another. Teamwork was indeed most important during the course of work as cooperating with one another well ensured efficiency and work quality.

Interacting with one of the orphans 

Despite our flagging spirits after plastering cement on the wall, we enjoyed our day as it was worth our efforts

After we had our dinner, we gathered together to discuss about our team goals and precautions that we should take. Eventually, we came up with three key goals for the team. The first one is to help the community, hoping to bring smiles and provide more knowledge to the children, as well as finishing the new orphanage. In addition, we aim to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses in order to distribute tasks more efficiently while building relationships, ensuring that nobody is left out. (including non-OCIP troopers) Last but not least, we hope to increase efficiency by being on task and have this sense of urgency, striving to give out best in helping the orphanage.

Overall, it was an eye-opening and fulfilling experience for us.

By Kwee Si Min, Grace @ Guo Jia Wen
5th Saints Advocate

Community Builder Week 2014 - Impossible? I'm Possible

Community Builder Week was a truly meaningful and memorable one. It started off with the video presentation to the cohort in CC. The video made me realize that the importance of showing our care and support to the disabled. 

Activities held at the booth by the canteen were interesting. For example, I find the Braille keychain an appropriate souvenir as it is related to the theme of empathizing with the disabled. Students who got it will most likely hook it to the zip of their bag, which will serve as a frequent reminder that they should always put themselves in the disabled people’s shoes. 

The board of opinions on disabilities at the canteen

Monique (4th Advocate) is making a Braille keychain 

Saints are making Braille keychains

The activity I like the most is  ‘I believe, I can’. I was one of the helpers in the activity during my 1 hour break. As not many students came forward to the booth, I went around the canteen to persuade my fellow schoolmates to write on the board, while explaining to them the rationale of it. It was heartening to see some of my schoolmates write aspirations that they have on the board, clinging on to the hope that they have the ability and will achieve it someday. I feel that this activity is meaningful as it gives students some time to think about something they want to achieve. Through this activity, they are actually declaring that their dreams can be achieved, which can be a turning point of life for some students.

"I believe I can..."

Wheelchair bound challenge at the canteen

During the last day of Community Builder Week, we attended the Service Learning Convention where we listened talks and participated in activities on a specific scope of the disabled. The videos ‘Invisible people’ made me realise that we often neglect the homeless people on the streets. I then asked myself this question, 'if I could love my family members, why can’t I show a least bit of concern to the homeless people?’  I attended the “autism’ workshop and  I managed to learn more about how people with Autism behave. For example, information that they want to share with others cannot be well-understood. Through the activity of conveying a message via paper without writing, it helped me to put myself in the shoes of those with Autism and be better aware about who they are.

Student-led workshop on "Wheelchair bound" disability

Student-led workshop on Visual impairment

Service Learning Seminar

Community Builder Week task force with teachers and seniors

The 5th Saints Advocate Inauguration

Today marks the beginning of our journey as an Advocate; the beginning of serving others before self, and encouraging others (particularly the college) to do likewise. 

We are very honored to receive our badges from the principal, Mrs Lee Bee Yan

09 May 2014
Today marks an especially meaningful event for all of us- the day that all heavy responsibilities of the 4th Saints Advocate are removed and bestowed upon our shoulders.

Justine Hermoso (from 5th Saints Advocate)

I wish to commit to my CCA by being a source of assistance my CCA mates can depend on , and by encouraging and promoting sustained cohesiveness and long-lasting relationships amongst the members.

The 5th Saints Advocate is taking the pledge with compassion and determination

As an Advocate, I do recognize the heavy title I bear, and I will give my best to live up to it. This can be done through meticulous self-reflection and re-evaluation about my dealings with others. As I begin to serve more people during my Advocate journey, I believe that serving will help me to grow into a better person. I will persevere in my contributions to my CCA and strive to be of help to others despite the limitations of my capabilities.

The 5th Saints Advocate with our teachers-in-charge

Dinh Hai Bao Lien
5th Saints Advocate

Metropolitan YMCA Big Sweep

Metropolitan YMCA Big Sweep is a monthly project that Saints Advocates are involved as the whole CCA. In MY Big Sweep, the main objective is interaction with the elderly. This is very essential for Advocates because when we understand more about the community, we will know the need of people and help them in a more meaningful way.

10 May 2014

This week's Big Sweep was especially a pleasant surprise for all of us.

The conversation flowed well from the start all the way to the end, and fortunately our auntie opened up and told us many details beyond the superficial. 

A cheerful photo captures the smiles of auntie and Carine from 5th Advocate

Last session, we learned about who she was (a blind craftsman, a believer and an altruist), and this time, we got to know what she had endured before she could become who she was today. And so she began to paint us a mental picture of her life and the people she encountered. What struck me the most was how she still believed in the act of giving after all that the struggles and agony had been through.  Personally, I felt a tinge of shame. This is so as I would not have been courageous enough to do what she did if I was in her position. Her strong will to be herself regardless of difficult circumstances was a great learning point for us all.

The whole group with auntie and her friend

An aspect we can try to improve on for the next session is to talk more about ourselves in order to spark a two-way relationship instead of a passive give-and-take. We have tried to improve on this by narrowing the topics that we can talk about, which are our school problems and studies as well as personal struggles (if any) so that she could probably give us some valuable advices in the process, and this would serve to better engage both parties in a conversation. 

Photo of another group - Narthana (from 5th Advocate) was very engaged in the story of auntie

The 5th Saints Advocate in our first Big Sweep

By Dinh Hai Bao Lien

5th Saints Advocate