Temasek JC volunteer for the invisible groups
Students from Temasek JC volunteer to care for the invisible groups
January 24, 2024
From January 10 to 24, eight Form 1 students from Temasek Junior College participated in a volunteer project jointly organized by SHINE Children & Youth Services and the Blue Cross Charitable Institution (BCCI) through the school's Form 1 Internship Program. The project consisted of five volunteer activities held at a social welfare home under the Blue Cross Charitable Institution. Each activity included pastel nagomi art creation and mindfulness meditation.
SHINE Children & Youth Services has a wide variety of volunteer activities, serving a wide range of beneficiaries. The social welfare home residents served in this project are poor people with mental illnesses. Because the beneficiaries are special, SHINE Youth and Children Service Center held a volunteer training before the event officially started to introduce the beneficiaries and some practical service tips.
Temasek JC Volunteer Huang Guanxun (16 years old) expressed his deep appreciation for this. He said: "SHINE's mentors let us understand the "social welfare home residents" in an objective and kind way from the beginning. This is the first step to break the prejudice. They are all flesh and blood human beings like us, and they are three-dimensional. We should not only see their labels."
Finding creative inspiration from memories
Pastel Nagomi Art is the main attraction of this activity. Pastel Nagomi Art is a kind of painting activity that promotes tactile perception. The painter must rub the pastel on the paper with his fingers to spread the color. Each activity will set a specific theme, such as "childhood", "pride", "courage", etc. Volunteers will communicate with participants according to these themes and encourage them to find creative inspiration by recalling the past and create paintings with pastel Nagomi Art.
In the exchanges, the volunteers of Danchu have a deeper understanding of the residents and this special group. Temasek JC volunteer Shen Yude (16 years old) said in an interview: "I was not familiar with social welfare institutions before, so after the training, I learned that the residents there had mental illnesses, and I was actually a little scared. But after actually participating in the activities, I felt relieved and found that there was no need to worry."
"They are actually the same as us, with their own thoughts and stories. They are also receiving drug treatment, so there is no need to be particularly afraid of safety issues. Our five activities have all been carried out very smoothly.
Admire social workers
This activity gave the volunteers of Temasek JC the opportunity to see the working environment and practical service process of social workers. In these three weeks, in addition to interacting with the elderly, the volunteers also participated in the planning of many activities. After each activity, the volunteers also shared their experiences and thoughts with the social workers who were watching the activities. In these exchanges, the volunteers not only gained a deeper understanding and admiration for the social service industry, but also broadened their horizons and learned better the importance of emotional processing and adaptability when encountering problems. Temasek JC Volunteer Shen Yude (16 years old) said in the summary of the sharing session: "I have always firmly believed that the standard for measuring the level of civilization of a city is to see how the city treats the most vulnerable groups in society. I feel great admiration when I see that there are still people in the world who believe that everyone should be treated fairly. This is not an easy job, and we have only experienced a small part of it during this internship.
Re-understanding the meaning of volunteering in practice
Temasek JC volunteer Liao Jingtong (16 years old) said, "Most of the volunteer activities I participated in before were once a year, and my understanding of volunteer service has always remained at this level. But this volunteer activity made me re-understand the meaning of being a volunteer. Volunteers serve the people, not themselves. Good volunteer service is not a one-time thing, but a long-term one, so that it can truly bring effective companionship and support to the beneficiary group."
Yang Xunzhong, general secretary of the Blue Cross Charitable Institution, called on the public not to underestimate the importance of social service departments and encouraged the public to participate in volunteer activities. He said: "I hope the public can have a deeper understanding of the importance of social services, not only to provide help, but also to build a supportive community. Public participation is crucial to improving the impact of social services."
The organizer of this project, SHINE Children and Youth Service Center, is a registered charity and a member of the National Welfare Council. The Blue Cross Charitable Institution is the community partner of the project.
