In conjunction with Children’s Day, Crafts and Crumbs was organised on 7 October 2018 as part of an initiative by EEE Egnite, where student volunteers brought joy to 70 children aged between 4 to 16 from low income families.
Crafts and Crumbs was a crafting workshop, designed for children to promote creativity and environmental awareness through arts and play. It involved two main activities – firstly, a Bottle Crafting workshop where plastic bottles were recycled into reusable containers with zips. Secondly, a Clay-Baking workshop where children experienced making clay from edible ingredients such as flour, salt and water. EEE student volunteers facilitated the entire process and judging from the constant smiles and excitement of the children, they certainly seemed to enjoy themselves!
In addition to bringing joy to the less fortunate, EEE Egnite believes that the opportunity to interact with these children benefits both parties in the long run. While planning for this event, EEE students also had to learn new skills, celebrating the idea of lifelong learning.
Additionally, the crafting workshop empowered not just the children but volunteers as well, to take ownership of their work, thereby building confidence and leadership capabilities. In the mid of all the fun from the novelty of crafts, the planning team was heartened that the children had an eureka moment when they identify the beauty of reusing recyclables and simple everyday materials to create functional objects.
The success of the event has also been propelled by our collaboration with other non-profit organisations and school groups such as Glyph Asia and NTU Tanjong Hall. Glyph Asia is a social enterprise which provides affordable and accessible education to kids and youth from challenging communities, and NTU Tanjong Hall provided the space to run the workshops, which in turn helped the planning team to save cost and maximise resources. It was the team’s second time working with Glyph Asia and the first with NTU Tanjong Hall and the smooth collaboration this time round is certain to open doors to greater possibilities for future volunteering workshops.
“The gift of giving is the most precious feeling in the world. Seeing the kids at the end of the day, makes me want to continue to inspire others, and for them to have creative and intellectual freedom. It’s truly meaningful when you’re doing it to see the smiles on other people’s faces.” Tammy Tay, Student Volunteer
About NTU School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
The School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE) is one of the three founding schools of Nanyang Technological University. It has become one of the world’s largest schools that nurture competent engineers in the field of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Information Engineering and Media (IEM). Each year, EEE produces well-trained graduates who are ready to take on the challenges of the workplace. EEE Egnite’s volunteering activities are catered to students who are willing to serve the community amid their busy schedule.
