Fourteen days, twenty personalities, one village school. The team of Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information (WKWSCI) students went with the idea of hoping to make a difference but came home with valuable lessons learnt as well.

The team focused on organising enrichment activities for the primary school students, who were well-behaved and always eager to learn. The initial language barrier was quickly overcome as lesson plans were quickly adapted to be more interactive and suitable for the local context. The team even picked up some Lao language along the way!

At the same time, the team also looked at trying to improve the hygiene of the toilet facilities in the Na’Learng/Na’Tai Village Primary School as the standard was quite poor. They began with laying the foundation for a new toilet and subsequently, the rest of the construction was completed with the help of the local construction workers.

Throughout the project, the team had the opportunity to interact with the villagers and understand the local culture through activities such as cluster cooking and the traditional Baci ceremony. Cluster cooking saw the team cooking Singaporean dishes for the villagers while sampling the local food at various villagers’ houses. The Baci ceremony took place at the end of the trip where the villagers thanked the team for their contribution through blessings and lively celebrations.

The village homestay proved to be an eye-opening experience for most of the team who had never lived in these simple, humble conditions before. The hospitality of the host family and the bonds forged with them left a deep impression on the team.

I was too big and tall to fit in as a woman, especially in Laos, where most people are petite, I often got stares of awe or incredulity from locals. My love of sports was strange to them so I guess me running , shouting and playing soccer with the guys, caked in mud, blood and bruises everywhere was weird because it was a place where the boundary between woman and man was distinctly drawn. We spoke different tongues and yet they actively sought to understand and communicate. These kids, welcomed me and even invited me to play soccer with them even though I can barely kick a ball. I’ve never played soccer before and yet they kept encouraging me, to try. It wasn’t a competition, it was connecting through sports and something that I really, really love and appreciate. Would such warmth and generosity of the heart come from people who spoke the same language? Their innocence and goodness doesn’t just end there. Once, I went back to the school at night to run some errands and the secondary school boys insisted on walking me back, pointing to me: you girl, then back to themselves: I boy, not safe. Moot liao. (The sky’s dark already) they even walked on the pavement closer to the road, ushering me further in. I was really touched, nobody had done that for me before (?!) and to think I thought that I should’ve been the one protecting them. But for kids who learnt how to fix bicycles at 8 and make a fire to keep warm at 9, I have so much to learn from them. It’s not about communicating, it’s about connecting. The heart will go where words can’t.
Lynn Chia, Student Volunteer

 


About Weetrip

Weetrip took place over two weeks from 13 – 27 December 2015. A team of 20 Year 2 and Year 3 WKWSCI students headed to Na’ Learng Village to help with basic construction activities as well as to conduct enrichment activities for the local village students.