Written by: Daphne Tang
Edited by: Celine Koh, Justlyn Yeo
Photos by: Jiang Xu
It was the second day of NTU-USP’s Freshmen Orientation Programme and we were preparing for NTU Fiesta in the afternoon. All of us were on five hours of sleep at best and after running around school the entire morning, our bodies were feeling the effects of all that exertion. But as the elderly folks streamed into the multi-purpose hall, our tiredness slipped away.
This year’s NTU Fiesta aimed to reach out to elderly residents in the Chai Chee neighbourhood in collaboration with Filos Community Services. The event was set up carnival-style, with numerous game booths around the perimeter of the hall. Each Orientation Group (OG) took charge of two games. Mine decided on a memory card game and a ball-tossing game. Barely 15 minutes into the event, queues were snaking from every booth and people peered over the shoulder of those in front of them to glimpse the action. The hall was buzzing with cheers, laughter, and playful exclamations like “wow, uncle you’re so strong!” and “auntie, your aim is so good!”.
While a few students manned the booths, the rest of us approached the elderly sitting around the hall and those standing in line for games to chat with them. Some I remembered seeing from last year. Even though we only spent a couple of hours together a year ago, asking how they were doing and joking around with them felt like talking to old friends.
The most memorable conversation I had was with this senior who walked around taking photos with the sleek Olympus camera hanging around his neck. Being interested in photography myself, he caught my attention immediately. We spoke about photography, our inspiration, and his five decades worth of experiences. He shared that the most stressful job of his career was taking photos for a wedding where late senior minister Lee Kuan Yew, his family, and other heads of state were present. These stories are not things you’d hear every day. There was weight in the elderly’s gazes as they recounted their younger adventures, and I am grateful for the time spent with them.
The event wound to a close as more participants completed the games and redeemed their gifts (which included two apples this year because the committee found that the elderly do not consume enough fruit due to their high cost). People settled down in front of the stage and the karaoke system was brought out. Classics like 月亮代表我的心 (“The Moon Represents My Heart”) and Chan Mali Chan played. Everyone sang along, clapping or waving enthusiastically. As a tradition, a train of people formed and weaved through the crowd, all while bobbing to the music – a real feat – and pulling people to join the train. When the elderly participants left the hall, they bid goodbye with smiles wide across their faces.
Freshmen sign up for orientation camps expecting to play games and socialize; doing CIP for an afternoon is unique to this camp. As a returning senior at this event, I realize that it is more than a CIP initiative. It embodies an essential characteristic of NTU-USP — the practice of consistently evaluating one’s skills and knowledge to find ways to contribute to the community. This attitude drives many of NTU-USP Club’s initiatives, which are built around the ideas and capabilities of members of the community.
