Our project to Laos from the 21 – 30 May was the first of its kind by Saraca Hall. With two leaders and fifteen members, we managed to start and complete our pilot overseas service learning project.
This overseas project started with the recce held in January 2024. During the recce trip by the leaders, it was noted that there were improvements to be made to the environment of the school. Roofing was run-down and had – holes, lack of shelves in certain classrooms, and paints were old and peeling. Upon seeing this need, our project decided to provide a better learning environment for the students. We spent the first few days of our trip scrapping off old paint, putting on a fresh new coat of paint, and layered on more paint as the days went on. Across the various days, we spent our nights reflecting on what we could have done better. The first days went with us painting without much care, as we were focused on finishing the task, until we realised that the paint was splashing all over the floor which resulted in paint stains.
With the assistance of the parents and teachers of the school, we were taught on how to build shoe racks. Most of us had little to no experience on how to build the shoe racks. Thankfully, despite how clumsy we were with the tools, the parents and teachers were patient in showing us how to do so. We came across multiple failures where the nails in hammered in did not go in straight, which resulted in us needing their help to pull these nails out again. The students there also chipped in to help. We realised that most of them were very well-equipped with basic handyman skills that most of us Singaporeans did not have growing up. This surprised us as most of them were younger than us.
For the school refurbishment, we also helped provide materials for the roofing works. We did not manage to help out physically due to safety concerns but we did watch in awe as they confidently climbed up to the roofs and hammered it in.
In addition, before the trip, our partner organisation told us that due to the weather, the villages are lacking access to clean water. Hence, we made it a part of our program to visit the villages to install water filtration systems for them. We helped to fix up the water filtration system by first drilling a hole into the pail, then attaching the water filtration mechanism to it. We then split ourselves into two groups and went around the families in the village to pass them the bucket, as well as explain to them how to utilise it. We also learnt how to wash the water filtration system by doing a reverse flush, which we tried to explain to the villagers, but faced much difficulties due to the language barriers. Thankfully, we had volunteers who took the time to go around with us to help to explain on our behalf.
Overall, we managed to hit our project goals.
Apart from them, our participants benefitted through learning journeys where we visited the embassy, explored start-ups and social enterprises such as Disability Service Center in LAO PDR DSC, Xom Phao and COPE. The various visits allowed us to learn about the economy of Laos, and better understood the ties between Singapore and Laos. What was most impactful regarding these visits were the interactions we had with the representatives of each place, which taught us a lot about their culture and stories behind each of the places.
Throughout this trip, one constant was the kindness of the Lao people. Their warmth, from greeting us with smiles to teaching us simple phrases, was truly inspiring. Ella Quah, Member
About SaraCare: Project Buffalo
SaraCare: Project Buffalo is spearheaded by Saraca Hall. It is one of the newest and the smallest hall in NTU, with our motto ‘A Home for All’. We hold regular activities, including events and co-curricular activities, to cater to the varying interests of each of the residents in our hall. SaraCare is the volunteering arm of the hall, where we are involved in local and overseas volunteering, through gathering like-minded individuals who are passionate about the cause.
