The Big Water Project (BWP) 2016 was a collaboration between 3 Halls of Residence and Civil and Environmental Engineering Club to build water points for villagers living in Pa Bong Village in Laos, with the end goal of improving living conditions and providing a sustainable water source for the villagers’ daily usage and everyday life.
This team of residents, comprising of 5 leaders and 23 members was from Hall of Residence 14. Filled with uncertainties about the living conditions, they embarked on this journey. However, they were pleasantly surprised when they arrived at the host’s house, which was specially renovated a week before they arrived. Having the chance to stay in the home of one of the villagers for 10 days was an eye-opener as they experienced the warmest hospitality from the host. The team was given a short orientation of the place followed by a time of interaction with the villagers with the help of translation from the project coordinator due to the language barrier.
As the team interacted with the village children, they learned and reflected on how fortunate and privileged they were. They found that the children were contented with the limited entertainment that they had, without electronic devices and they were so creative in coming up with ways to play with anything that they had.
The team was split into two main groups. The first group was responsible for going down to the construction site to dig and build water points while the second group was in charge of conducting lessons for the children in the local school. Some of the members also took on the role of housekeeping in the host’s house, to do cleaning and cooking. Along the way, all of the team members have grown in different ways. Some have never cooked a single meal before, but were able to learn and subsequently feed the whole team. Some have little experience with children, but after some time, they were able to handle and mingle with them.
Overall, the joint construction efforts will see water points built around the village and enable unprecedented convenience and sanitation for the villagers. At the end of the day, the team realised that language barrier was not a problem at all as they still managed to build a strong bond with the villagers and within themselves, as well as build a better community.
Comparing to the kids in Laos, we are much more fortunate. We should cherish everything that we have now.
Student Volunteer
About NTU Hall of Residence 14
Hall 14 is a diverse home for residents of all nationalities and background. We take pride in all our activities, including sports, recreational games, ad-hocs and our hall identity is bold and loud as seen by our supporters at the annual IHG and IHRG!
Residents also take pride in our JCRC, where they spend time and effort, organizing a multitude of activities for the residents, such as Block Supper, Welcome Back and Welfare Pack Collection. Hall 14 is more than just a home for all its residents!
