Project Athenae

20 Jun, 2022 | Events

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.

Brown Bag Sessions: CPR and AED Readiness

20 Jun, 2022 | Events

BY TANG LENG ZE

Moving on to our penultimate Brown Bag Session for the semester, Kaixuan is back to raise awareness about CPR and AED. If you recall, Kaixuan (who was an Emergency Medical Technician in National Service) held the first Brown Bag Session, which was about First Aid, months back.

Starting with CPR, which stands for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, Kaixuan emphasised the importance of CPR in saving cardiac arrest victims. Did you know that COVID-19 has increased the incidence of cardiac arrests? COVID-19 has caused heart inflammation in youths and also affects the respiratory system due to excessive mucus production, both of which are risk factors for cardiac arrests.

How do we identify cardiac arrest victims? Kaixuan explained that cardiac arrest victims are people who collapse a few minutes before they are found, and have no pulse and no breathing. For those who are worried about getting sued by victims or their families for performing CPR, Kaixuan explained that despite the lack of the Good Samaritan Law in Singapore, there has been no lawsuit thus far. As long as CPR is performed in accordance with the procedure, we need not worry about any liability. Hence, Kaixuan’s advice was to get CPR training, as we would never know when we need to save a person’s life.

Moving on to the topic of AED, which stands for Automatic External Defibrillator, it is a device that functions to reset the rhythm of the heart to normal sinus rhythm by delivering a shock. Interestingly, Kaixuan said that TV scenes on defibrillation tend to be inaccurate, as it is meaningless to shock a flatline asystole rhythm (the constant beep sound kind of heart rate). AED is to be used in conjunction with CPR on cardiac arrest patients, and when they are practised in a timely manner, the chances of resuscitation rises from less than 1% to 30%.

Last but not least, we managed to borrow a CPR manikin and training AED kits from OHSE NTU, allowing Kaixuan to conduct hands-on training with the participants. Participants practised how to locate the correct position to perform CPR (2 fingers above the sternum notch), performing chest compressions at a rhythm of 100-120 bpm (apparently, singing songs like Stayin’ Alive while performing chest compressions help!) and how to properly paste the AED pads. Overall, the participants enjoyed the process.

As you can see, Kaixuan covered a lot of content in this 1-hour sharing (the full content can be found in the slides attached). However, a typical CPR+AED training and certification take at least half a day. Readers who are interested may take up formal training from recognised organisations. For those who are currently studying at NTU, they may also take up lessons from Red Cross Youth NTU Chapter or NTU LionHearters.

Check out the slides shared here.

Brown Bag Sessions: Fermentation and Cocktails

20 Jun, 2022 | Events

BY TANG LENG ZE

On to our sixth Brown Bag session, we have Ong Hai Xiang sharing his hobby of fermenting and making cocktails. Just like how every superhero has their origin story, Hai Xiang’s story began when he bought a bottle of poor-tasting Bacardi Carta Blanca rum at the age of 18 – his first alcoholic drink in fact. To tune the flavour into something more edible, he endeavoured to create a cocktail. He added 23ml of lime and 23ml of sugar syrup to 60 ml of rum; the end result was a daiquiri.

On his first sip, Hai Xiang felt an epiphany; he could not believe that he managed to transform something so rancid into a concoction of complex but balanced flavours. Down the rabbit hole he went, as his passion for alcohol and cocktails ignited (simply put, he has become an alcoholic who makes his own alcohol).

Hai Xiang immediately went geek mode and started reading books on fermentation. After reading the “Cocktail Codex”, he learned that there are 6 different base drinks and every single cocktail is a variation of these bases. Starting from the bases, Hai Xiang started substituting the ingredients with other food of similar taste. For example, the flip cocktail is one of those bases. By substituting the egg with another fat, coconut cream and the cane sugar with pineapple, one would get the pina colada. Additionally, Hai Xiang created his own rendition of the pina colada, adding Italian amaro and Italian bitters.

Looking for a challenge, Hai Xiang started preparing cocktails that required longer and more meticulous preparation. He also started visiting bars to learn preparation tricks and even worked as a waiter in one of those bars. As a waiter, he learned about the ingredients behind every cocktail on the menu and the story of the inspiration behind each cocktail. Eventually, he had the opportunity to prepare cocktails for the bar. His time in the bar greatly sharpened his skills. Having access to high-end machines like the dehydrator iSi whipper and rotovap, Hai Xiang learnt how to prepare cocktail ingredients in a culinary manner. Some of the cocktails he created even entered the menu!

To this day, Hai Xiang continues to make his own alcohol and experiment with new cocktail ingredients. One of his latest creations, inspired by tide pods, leans towards the avant-garde. The result is a cocktail sealed within an edible casing made of calcium or alginate salts, such that, upon biting, would burst into our mouths. 

Capping off his sharing, Hai Xiang shared reasons why one should try out fermenting – it is surprisingly healthy, provides flexibility in controlling the desired taste and some drinks are even rich in probiotics. After reading this, if you feel inspired to try fermenting drinks, do take a look at the slides. Hai Xiang has shared a simple recipe for making 2 drinks: Kombucha and Mead. Do keep a lookout for our next Brown Bag Session!

Check out the slides shared here.