BY FELICIA LEE YANHUI, GOH KAIXUAN & TANG LENG ZE
Note, for the safety and security of the beneficiaries, no pictures with the faces of the children will be shared in this post. Some photos from the Dry Run are shared as placeholder photos.
Every year, the Holistic Development (HD) Portfolio organises a Community Involvement Programme (CIP) to give scholars the opportunity to give back to the community at large. This year, the HD Portfolio collaborated with FaithActs, to engage disadvantaged children from low-income families. Project Athenae is a 2-day CIP event; Athenae draws inspiration from the Greek Goddess Athena, a Goddess of War, Strategy, Wisdom and Handicrafts. The various activities we have organised embodied different facets of this. The physical challenges embodied the fighting spirit and strategy, and the art and craft activities embraced creativity in handicrafts, all of which served to inculcate values and wisdom in the children. Through the various activities, they took away priceless knowledge and forged stronger bonds with their friends.
DAY 1
After months of hard preparation, we were finally ready to kick-start our annual CIP event! All the volunteers came down earlier to help with the transportation of logistics and setting up of the activities before the children started streaming into the centre. By 1pm, the children were gathered and split up into 4 different groups, ready to meet our friendly volunteers.
We started the day off with some lighthearted icebreakers so that our volunteers and children could get to know each other better. We had 2 main games for icebreakers, Mr and Mrs Right and Broken Telephone to keep the children entertained. The children were all very energetic after their lunch and were extremely excited to take part in the games. This was especially so for Broken Telephone, where we modified the conventional game to allow children to pass down messages in terms of clay figurines which they had to mould themselves. Everyone could tell that the children were intrigued by the hands-on aspect of the activity by their wide smiles.
After the volunteers and children were comfortable with each other, we proceeded on to the main activities of the day. The first activity, Rock Sugar Crystallisation, demonstrated how to make rock sugar candy from finer sugar. Most of the children had not tried this before, which made them extra curious about what was going on in the pot when the volunteers were trying to create a saturated solution to leave overnight. The children had fun labelling their names onto the respective glass jars in hope of the results this activity would yield the next day.
Our next activity was Captain’s Ball, which was a game physical enough to meet the high energy levels of the children. We brought the children out to a big field right outside the FaithActs compound so the children could have a larger place to move and for them to get their daily dose of Vitamin D. 2 groups took turns competing against one another in an intense battle of Captain’s Ball. Although there were some disagreements between the children, it was heartwarming to see some of the children acting as mediators and attempting to comfort their friends while they were upset. Through the game, we believe that the children had definitely grasped the concept of competitiveness as they did their best to try to win every game. After completing the game of Captain’s Ball, we still had some time to spare and some children even took the initiative to suggest playing dodgeball, which gained the support of most of the children on the field!
To balance all the outdoor time we had planned for the children, we engaged them in our next and last activity of the day, Upcycling, where they could use their creative juices to create something unique with the materials provided. Prior to the event, our volunteers had collected and prepared the materials the children may need to create their own pencil holders. Generally, the pencil holder was mainly created from a half-cut plastic bottle, with other recycled materials such as newspaper, paper, old fabrics and buttons to decorate it. In fact, during our dry-run, our volunteers had tried to make some pencil holders for the children to take inspiration from.
Throughout the whole upcycling process, the children were extremely focused on creating something that was unique to them. By using recycled materials to create their pencil holders, we hoped that this would allow them to be resourceful and eco-conscious. One popular design of pencil holders that came out, especially among younger children, was the Among Us character design, which was in fact inspired by one of our volunteer’s designs. Instead of creating a pencil holder, some children even thought out of the box and made binoculars instead, which they were very proud of and were interesting for volunteers to look at. Many children were excited to bring their creations home to show their parents and siblings.
As the day came to an end, it was heartening to see many children take the initiative to help us clean up. Although day 1 was extremely tiring, it was very fulfilling to see the smiles on the children’s faces.
DAY 2
We were now into the last day of our 2-day CIP event. Some of our volunteers arrived early in the morning to prepare ingredients for one of our activities. These ingredients included bread, seaweed, hard-boiled eggs, mayonnaise, tuna, cucumber and carrots. Could you guess what food we are making? If you guessed sandwich-making, you wouldn’t be too far off. Do read on to find out what we are making!
Once again, the CIP event started at 1pm, with 2 activities in a station games fashion. One of these activities was Tote Bag Creation, whereby the volunteers and the children joined hands to draw and paint a tote bag, expressing their creativity and resourcefulness. Using tote bags as their canvases (no pun intended), the children had the freedom to draw anything, from their favourite cartoon characters to sceneries to abstract expressions. If the children needed more help drawing, we provided printed layouts of some cartoon characters and carbon paper. By tracing the designs on the printed layouts, onto the carbon paper and hence tote bag, the children easily drew their favourite characters. After the paint had dried, we added a layer of varnish on top of the paint itself, creating durable and washable memorabilia.
Our second activity, Bread Sushi Making, involved the ingredients mentioned earlier. By rolling bread (instead of sushi rice) with other ingredients placed on top, we created bread sushi. In this activity, the children created 6 rolls of bread sushi, with an assortment of flavours ranging from tuna, ham and cheese, and crabstick to cucumber and egg mayo. The children could also freely create any flavours they want. We also taught the children how to make egg mayo by themselves. Through this activity, we taught the children how to make simple yet delicious meals, all the while encouraging them to eat their healthy greens (and oranges). Some of the children touched our hearts when they offered to share some of their bread sushi with the staff at FaithActs.
In the second and final part of the entire event, all four teams headed outdoors, to compete in the Relay, a series of mini-games that groups have to complete by working together. At the first station, two opposing teams competed in the Competitive Tic-Tac-Toe. Teams had to run towards the 3×3 grid made out of hula hoops and then throw bean bags into them. The first team to complete a line proceeded to the next station while each in the losing team had to do 20 jumping jacks. The second station was the Pen Balancing Game. By balancing a pen on each of their heads, they had to walk to the finish line. Should the pen drop at any point in time before completion, the child would freeze on the spot, awaiting their teammates to help replace the pen at the top of their head again. The third and final station was Rolling Ping Pong. Each kid was given a tube, and the team was given a ping pong ball. By taking turns, they had to transport the ping pong ball with the makeshift slide to the finish line.
At the end of the event, the volunteers debriefed the children on the values the activities emphasised. But wait, there was still another surprise awaiting the children. Remember the rock sugar the children made the previous day? Well, they crystallised overnight and the volunteers packed them into bags for the children to bring back the sweet treat.
SUMMATION
Undeniably, this was an enriching experience for all the volunteers – confronted with boisterous and energetic children, they truly learnt the values of patience and how to care for them. The children also had a fun time, enjoying the various art and craft activities which honed in on their creativity, while the food making filled not only their stomachs but their hearts. In spirit, we have achieved what we set out to with HD’s CIP event: we helped not only others but ourselves in this journey of growth. The HD Portfolio hopes that with this event, we’ve encouraged a spirit of volunteerism, care and empathy for others.