Telematch @ Block F!

17 December 2012

*yawn* early morning to wake up during the second week of holidays for what?! 

Well, it was actually for the telematch! =DDDDDDDDDDD Volunteers had to meet even earlier than Saturday sessions because we need preparation for the event. So early in the morning volunteers went into the home in preparation for the event. Well, first thing first, WATER BOMBS *evil smirks*. As part of rainy day plan, our dear boss came up with the idea of adding dark soya sauce into the water. Despite the scorching hot sun shining upon us and not to waste resources, WE ADDED IN DARK SOYA SAUCE. MUAHAHAHAHAA. Ok, its pretty disgusting as the smell of the soya sauce floods the early morning air. =/

After the preparation, we gathered the boys and split them into 2 teams named Dragons and Hornets. Volunteers were split evenly between them. It was difficult to get the boys to start playing the game and everyone was reluctant to play. However, after much encouragement, the boys start to willingly join in and started to enjoy themselves! It was a heartening sight to see. So to start off, the first game was called U-tube. Representative from each team had to up the bet of adding either dark soya sauce, vinegar, ketchup into the water. After bet was made, the mixture was poured into the tube and each player holds 1 end of the tube and blows into it. So, as expected either one will have the gooey mixture into their mouth! *yuckss* =( hahaha.. I had a lot of laugh watching thou =P Well, at the end, Dragon team won! *hurray!*

Next game, was rolling on the canvas sheet. The losing team had dark soya sauce, vinegar added into the canvas sheet while the winning team had normal water on the canvas sheet. All members in the team had to flour themselves white and roll on the sheet to clean themselves up. The fastest team wasssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss, DRAGONS! ^^

Next, the game I call it exaggerated scissors paper stone. On the canvas sheet of yucky mixture of all the condiments, representative had to army crawl along the canvas sheet and play S,P, S. the losing player needs to crawl across the whole canvas while the player stands and leaves.  After a tough fight of 11 games, HORNETS WON! WOOOTTTSS!! =D

Lastly, and the most awaited one, WATER BOMB WAR! So the main aim was to just throw water bombs at opposing team. After I started the game, I start to feel unsafe as I feel people targeting me!!! >=( den I went to hide with Swee Ying. Hahaa. Menacingly Qing Feng came with a water bag and threw at me. HENG I siam fast enough. Ahhaaha.. well, watchin the whole game was quite interesting as I was literally watching some romantic encounter unfolding. =P hahaa.. those who know, knows. <3~ Well, the  boys had a fun time playing with each other and with the volunteers. So finally to decide who the winner is, we had a game of plain scissors paper stone and Dragons won. So they were awarded notebooks. All participating boys were given a pen as a gift of participation.

Watching everyone having such a great time, the fatigue from climbing out of bed early in the morning, perspiring under the hot sun was all worthwhile. The experience in Block F was great and I look forward to much more interesting events with them! =D

Till den,
Aimin! =)

S One family

10 Nov 2012 was a momentous day for all participants of the Boy’s home family day. For some of the boys and parents, it was a long awaited reunion for them after months of separation. For the event organizers, it was a rare opportunity to take a glimpse of what goes on beyond the high walls of the home. For us, it was another day of great fun and joy amidst volunteering.

The decision to leave the running of the events to external organizers was a wise one (I can’t imagine what would happened if I was made to run it). The organizer definitely has a good hold on things, with activities catered to both the young and the old. Kids were having fun with each other in the bouncing castles, the boys were enjoying dancing and having a hell of a time with the Kinect, while parents had the chance to reminisce about the old days with games involving marbles and a life-sized snakes and ladders. Of course, a carnival would not be complete without something to fill empty, growling stomachs. Food will always be the main attraction, and the wide variety of Kacang Puteh (don’t we all just love the white sugery nuts), candy floss, hotdog buns and bento sets didn’t disappoint (it actually made my trip from Tanjong Pagar to boy’s home pretty worthwhile…free flow food. Hehehe)

The stage event was another draw. It was quite heartening to see 8 of the boys going on stage to perform emcees role (most of us have problems even speaking to a class or girls), and thus, it was an extremely laudable effort on the part of these 8 boys. As a parent, I would be very proud to see my son out there addressing a crowd of hundreds. Doing the gangnam-style with one’s parents proved to be the crowd pleaser, with everyone on scene tickled with laughter.

For us, it was one of the rare occasions that we got to see the boys as themselves with their family, without the strict supervision of the guards. It was a great opportunity to also catch with boys that have left our individual blocks and went to other blocks. Without a doubt, we had a great time there as well. Kelvin’s paternal instincts were literally oozing out as he picks up that one year old Malay girl inside the bouncing castle (When BTO?). Shawn’s dance was just plain awkward and horrible (unlike Yeh lin’s and mine…I’m sure the people who were there agree with me). Some of us also had the opportunity to interact and expand our network with the event organizers (wink wink* Shawn)

But as the cliché goes, all good things must come to an end. Time flies when you are having fun, and scenes of separation are always the most poignant.

But I guess for the boys and their families, long-term reunion is a matter of when, not if.

Cheers,
Kramie J

PS: Everyone jiayou for exams! :D:D:D      

16th June 2012

16^th June 2012 is Father’s day.

On this Saturday, 7 fathers and their sons decided to spend their morning participating in some activities organized for them. For the first part, they head towards Bishan and tried their hand on prawn catching. That took most of the morning. After which, they proceed to Bishan park and that is where we come in.

The first game we had with them is just a classic marble shooting game. Players try to shoot and hit marbles out of the required boundary to win more marbles. The boys were teamed with their parents and they compete to see who are able to get the most marbles. Some of them were pretty good at their marbles throwing skill and can finish the game quickly. I guess this may not be surprising as some parents may have mastered this skill from their childhood. The second game played was chapteh. Marbles were awarded according to how well the teams are able to play with the chapteh. Yet again, we can spot some amazing chapteh players among them almost straight away. It wasn’t that hard. The event ended with a small prize presentation and lunch.

It was just a simple affair for the boys to spend some precious time with their dad. There are no expensive prizes or elaborate performance. In this modern hectic society, I guess time has become the most precious commodity. What can be more precious than time? It is heartening to see that people are willing to take time off for this activity. And I am quite sure that this is time well spent. For everyone.

Darren

So many people have asked over the past 2 years, why am i in Blk D? What is it that i am trying to achieve here? Actually, i felt that once you asked these questions, it means we have failed to meet your expectations in some way. Some people join youth to help boys academically, some just wants to know more about them, some wants to make more friends. No matter what, all of us came with an expectation.

I have to admit that we have failed to meet your expectations in the past 8 months. And with the family day cancelled and news that we are not going to be involved in camp, we will continue to disappoint you. Thus, I would like to appeal to all Blk D members, whether senior or junior, to treat Blk D as a newly opened club. With no history, past events, culture to build on, just a group of close and committed volunteers. Whether you are just a volunteer or in the main comm or you had MIA for half a year, i would like you to actively build blk D from scratch.

Get us more events to interact with other youths, organise more outings or set up an initiative for our weekly sessions (eg. Singing classes) You do not have to be in main comm to start something here! The main comm is there to work for you! And who is there to say that our involvement have to be related to the home?? We can help out in cc or other schools too. Someone have to help to start the initiative.

In these few years where talk is cheap, commitment is now an understatement. It takes much more than a mature mindset or great ideas to make things happen. We need actions. We can make Blk D a more meaningful place together.

New Committee!

We have complete the whole voting process this evening and we would like to congratulate Chee Wei for being the centre head, Carmen for the vice-centre head and Eugenia for the Financial Controller, as well as Aimin and Lilin for the event ICs for fathers' day celebrations and Blk D annual family day!

Here are the voting results, a total of 31 votes are casted:

Ang Lilin-14

Carmen Chow-19

Eugenia Goh-15

Tan Chee Wei-28

Yeo Aimin-12

Kudos to all who when thru the gruelling rally! Hope all will continue to give your support to the new comm, especially during the busy month of June where attendance are most needed!!

Remember to attend next Friday Handover and Camp Planning too!!

Best Regards,

Kelvin Choo

Voting!!

Here are the candidates manifesto:

1) Ang lilin

To me, I feel that sessions these few days are getting better. Better as in cause we can interact more with the boys and get to know them more this time round. Initially, I felt that sessions were pretty much routine like every week we just go down and play games with them. There wasn't like much purpose going down for sessions cause I don't really know the boys. But once you get to know the boys, you won't find it like sian or whatever to go down for sessions.

For example last week, one of the boys, Avery (I don't know how to spell his name), joined us for games! Initially, he didn't like our games at all. One of the week, we played monopoly deal but he thinks that it is very boring. So, as volunteers, of course we felt rejected and sad! ): Although this week he didn't join us for twister but he sort of spin the game thing for us, which in a way is also participating in the game? After that when we got tired of the game, we improvised and used the hoops in that twister game to play "monkey". AND AND, HE JOINED IN! :D :D :D at that point of time, i really felt like there is this sense of accomplishment that he joined in the game! And that session became very fulfilling because for once, he really joined in the game! And I think maybe because of this, he is slowly opening up as well. (: After that when we played uno stacko, he joined in as well! Normally he will just say that the game is boring and then sit one side. But this time he joined us!!! :D

Not only Avery participated in the game, Bruno (another boy) initiated to want to talk to us. Like after the games end and everything, he just tells us that hey, let's sit down and talk. This is also another happy thing because this time round, it is the boy who initiated to want to talk to us and I assume that maybe he wants to know us more as well. (: Ohya, last last week, Bruno also told us that he will be having a performance, which I think he is hinting us to go but we as volunteers, we don't know if we are allowed to like go or something. :/ But, for him to be able to share this to us, I think it took him an amount of courage to say it as well. And this is what made me feel that, sometimes they maybe just need someone to talk to instead of playing games and having fun all the time. This is something that I learnt from the few previous sessions.

Hahaha, back to the topic! So, in the future, I hope that everyone of us will have the chance to feel this sense of "accomplishment" (I don't know how to describe this feeling) because I feel that this sense of "accomplishment" will be the motivation for us to continue going for sessions and also take the initiative to get to know more boys. But of course, not all the boys are like Bruno or Avery, there are bound to be some boys who are more shy and may take quite some time to open up to us. But I'm sure if we keep trying to get to know them more, they surely will take the initiative to talk to us one day! (: After all, we are just making friends with them! (: And of course, instead of having games every week, maybe sometimes we should put in some "skills lessons", like the sign language the other time. (: Maybe we can teach them balloon scrulpting, magic etc etc. Or just ask them for opinions like what would they like to learn. (: And most importantly, I feel that we should take the initiative to talk to them. To be honest, I don't know all the boys yet but at least I'm getting to know their names one by one. (:

I just hope that all of us can get to know majority of the boys better and just talk to them and get to know them. Basically, just making friends with them! :D To approach them in a group doesn't seem like a bad idea as well! (which I think is what is happening now) At least one of us confirm will have a common topic with the boys one. (: Like be it music, sports or even computer games? Once you have a common topic, it will be easier to approach the boys! :D And hopefully one day, all of them will tell us "see you next week". Confirm very heartwarming one! :D

2) Carmen Chow

As part of a committee, I feel that welfare of the members is of the top priority and that brings to the point that everyone will have fun and enjoy in this CCA. In addition, it is also equally important that we learn and gain some experience in the process.

For the upcoming year I believe that it will be more enriching and fulfilling for everyone if there are other activities apart from weekly sessions.

For example, a possible activity that I find meaningful is to bring the boys out as I found out that they usually do not have any plans during their home leave. A possible activity is to bring them to another home (e.g. old folks home) where they will be the volunteers instead. Although such activities are not easy to plan, I believe that it is worth trying out because the boys are always on the end where volunteers come to interact with them. Hence it will be a different experience for them and us, when they themselves are the volunteers instead.

As for the weekly sessions, I feel that we should continue having games at the start for interaction, and have a 20-minute befriending session at the end. However, we should also find out who are the ones who may be interested in tuition (especially those having major examinations soon), and offer help accordingly.

3) Eugenia Goh

The main focus should be both pro-beneficiary and pro-volunteer, like what Kelvin mentioned previously. I feel that the point of going for sessions is to enjoy meeting your fellow cca mates and also engaging with the boys.

Also, the main focus of sessions now would be to interact with the boys and not to complete the games (As some of us may have felt that the focus was on completing the game in the past). The games would only serve as a platform for us to engage the boys (like a “common topic”!). That’s why we have been having lots of board games sessions recently. I feel that it’s a good step to take! As such, all of us do not have to follow a fixed schedule of things to do and complete. We are able to improvise on the spot and I feel that often that is better than planning. But of course, we should still have planned sessions, just that we should be more flexible and ensure that the games allow for interactions. I have noticed that during our planned sessions, there tend to be some boys who just sit at a side and not join in and there is nothing much we can do about it. However, when we have impromptu sessions (like board games), it is easier to engage these boys whether through playing together or talking!

Previous session, we played twister and monkey with some of the boys. On the whole, I felt that it was a really successful session as all of the boys were engaged actively with all the different volunteers. Small groups like this would facilitate talking even better as it would be easier to talk to the boys about their lives and for us to learn a listening ear to them, if needed. If possible, we could have more physical games (like twister and monkey)! They don’t have to be really physical likes sports but perhaps more physical than like those where we are seated down and have to think. Even some of the boys who do not join in our planned games normally joined us. I felt that was one step towards getting to know them better. (: We had station games previously. It was more physical compared to our other planned sessions but the session did not really go according to how we planned. I feel that it could be due to the “rules” that we implemented. From my point of view, the boys will participate more actively when they feel less restricted.

Enrichment sessions like the sign language were useful and meaningful. But to the boys, they felt that there was no point in learning it. That is according to feedback when we asked them. Nevertheless, they still took part in it and it was good! Perhaps we could teach them things that are more relevant to them. I can’t think of examples at the moment. :/

For those more musically inclined boys, we could bring in musical instruments (like guitar). But I think this idea might not be very feasible since it wouldn’t be able to engage all of them. Maybe some of us volunteers (the guys..?) can play some songs and put up a mini performance there! (:

Overall, it is nice to see the boys and us evolving session after session together and how they are more open to speaking to us, likewise how we have overcomed our initial shyness to speak to them.

4)Tan Chee Wei

As you know, I’m running in the block elections. And so, I was told to write up on what I wish to do for block D but I figured I should let you know a bit more about myself.

Frankly, I am an unmotivated individual and have little intention to run for the top position – Center Head. I was simply worried that there was simply no one willing to take up the leadership roles and so, I volunteered to do so. If you think there are any better candidates among the nominees, please do support them.

Anyway, from my sessions of volunteering, I recommend the following modifications:-

· To balance the number of volunteers on Wednesday and Thursday

o Mentioning the days of volunteering to the next batch

o Acquiring class timetable from volunteers for better fit

o Recruiting fellow RSP Youth volunteers from other blocks for Wednesday session

· To align our sessions with the Boys’ Home’s new teaching philosophy

o Profiling (casual) of volunteers based on their hobbies and expertise

o Allowing boys to teach us their expertise

· For better administration purposes

o Setting up of Block email for better smooth handover

o Setting up of Block calendar for volunteers to synchronize with

o Setting up of Block folder in cloud storage platform such as Dropbox for easier proposal reference

After all, you are the one volunteering and none of this should be forced upon you. Should my modifications be uncomfortable to the volunteers, please do tell me. I’ll definitely be more than willing to hear from you proposals on how we can improve the block sessions together.

Should I not be elected, I wish that the next committee can take into consideration of what I have proposed.

Cheers,

Chee Wei

5) Yeo Aimin

Direction :
1)creating an enjoying and fulfilling session for the volunteers.
2)recreational session/need a listening ear session for the boys
*definitely not counselling session.

Hopes/room for improvement
1)instilling a sense of commitment in the volunteers.
-> the boys know who came and expect to see u agn the next round.

Here's the 5 candidates thoughts! See you all on Wednesday 21st March 7pm AT WSC room!! Your vote is important!! Remember there is camp planning too!!! Regards!

Recess week session

Hi all,


This is supposed to be a post on sessions during the recess weeks, but it is loo...ong over-due because I am busy waging war with various mid-terms and projects. So finally by now, most of us would have already finished our mid-terms. (Or did the mid-terms finished you guys, anyway it's over...)


So back to session.


Have you tried talking with your hands, or listening with your eyes?
For the session during recess week, the boys were taught on how to use sign language. After learning the basic alphabets, they were asked to spell out words using sign language for their group members to guess. And trust me it wasn't easy, at least for a slow learner like me. You had to look at the hand gesture and relate it to one of the twenty six possibility available. By the time I figured out whether the first letter is a "T" or a "K", he had already finished spelling out the whole word. But luckily for us, we had expert Yeh Lin in our group, and this was a piece of cake to him. He reads sign language as fast as reading a book.


It was an interesting and fun session. Something new and not tried before. Maybe next time we can try morse code or even cryptography.


Okay back to projects. Bye~


Cheers,
Darren

Totally Random! =D

Dear all,

First ever post here, so I shall make this very readable... As people say, a picture speaks a thousand words. So this post shall be filled with images hahahaaa...

First of all.. I must say, the strong spirit of volunteerism is within all of us. And really, despite Kelvin wants to be pro-volunteer, we ourselves yet decide to be more pro-beneficiary. which is a very very good thing! hahaa.. so thousand of applause for all of us...

I can sense that all of us are very bonded as a group, so this image shall depict our close relationships.. =)

hahaa.. cute hor? =x can name who is who ma? =)

Also also, helping out and returning to the society is something I see as taking an extra mile ahead, so all of us can be regarded as superheroes of the society. Making a little effort to help make life of another person a little bit better. By being a listening ear, the Boys will be able to share their woes and happiness. Which i truly believe that they appreciates.. =) and hope that someday, we can be their own superhero!

Last but not least, something inspirational.... :)

Looking forward to coming Wednesday session to teach the Boys sign language!!! :DDDDD

PS. Hope that everything went extremely well for Yong Sheng.... :)

<3<3<3 Aimin!!

The Spirit of Volunteerism

Everyone is unique and different, yet we all still able to come together as one. All of us are from different faculty, different ages, different background, different gender, but we have one thing in common that bring us together and commit ourselves weekly to a strong passion we have in us.

The bonding session at ECP last weekend was an eventful one. Being away from Singapore last semester as I was on student exchange programme, I do feel that I need to step out and interact with the rest within a shortest period of time as possible. Seeing how everyone appears to be very friendly and approachable made me once again feel warm and glad to be back home. This further reinforce my view that the common belief we have in Block D, is the strong SPIRIT OF VOLUNTEERISM.

Weekly session at the Boys' Home was something for me to look forward to. Part of what impressed me deeply during the session was the opportunity in warming up to them and getting to know each one of them better. Although I had prior experience in leading youths in various orientation programmes and events, but this group of youths needed more effort in handling them. It was not easy to get them started on completing tasks when they feel unfamiliar with the environment and the people. However, I enjoyed the challenge of capturing their attention and these sessions provided us an opportunity to train in maintaining the engagement of a group. They required more guidance and prompting from us in carrying out various tasks. After every session, I gained a better understanding of them and hopefully in the next coming session we will be able to see a greater change in them.

RSP Youth Block D.

Joan

sign language alphabets and numbers

Hi all!

For those coming to session this week, please familiarize yourself with the following yeah! Let me know if you have problems with your fingers' flexibility! hahha!

~yeh lin~

Session activities for the period of 15th Feb to 1st March

Hi fellow volunteers!

Here are the schedule of activities for the period of 15th Feb to 1st March.

Please bear in mind that the functions of the games serve as a tool for interaction between the boys and the volunteers:)

Further briefing will be conducted prior to the session at the boys home.

Main Objective of the 3 sessions:

To allow the volunteers to interact with boys and to break down any existing barriers of communications.

Volunteers are advised to stick with the group of boys they are more comfortable with for the 3 weeks to reinforce communication efficiency.

15/02/2012 and 16/02/2012

Pictionary

Logistics: Facial Masks, White Board Markers, Card boards

Themes for the pictionary: Movie, Songs and Sports

How is the activity conducted:

The boys will be split into groups. Each group will take turn to send a representative up to the whiteboard area to draw the words given out by the game master. The person who's drawing needs to wear a mask to prevent cheating.

The winning group will be the one with the most number of correct guesses.

*****************************

22/02/2012 and 23/02/2012

Board Games

Logistics - available games from blk D's inventory

*****************************

29/02/2012 and 01/03/2012 (NTU Recess Week)

Sign Language Game

Logistics - Sign Language Cards, Masking tape, markers.

How is the activity conducted:

The boys will be told that they will be learning sign language and a short sign language lesson will be conducted before the start of the game. Everyone will be given a sign language card.

At the end of the introductory sign language lesson, everyone will stand up and write their name on the masking tapes provided and paste it on their chest. A boy will be chosen at random and be asked to come to the front.

He will be asked to sign the following "My Name is XXXXX" " My friend is XXXX"

the person who sees/or is able to interpret that his name is spelled out will be rotated to the front and the original sign-er will be allowed to sit. otherwise, the process will continue.

*****************************

Happy Chinese New Year!

Hello everyone!

This is my first time posting here. I want to say that I'm really glad to be in Block D! This is the place with the most fun and laughters! :D It is also very heart-warming to see that the people in Block D are bonded! Even though I joined Block D quite late, I'm very happy that I've the chance to bond with you people! From Kukup to gift exchange to sessions... And I'm sure that there will be plenty more to come! :)

This week's session is gooooood! The games ended earlier than expected. At first I was quite scared that there will be awkward silence. But luckily all of us managed to kind of "sabo" everyone to bring "entertainment" to the boys. So, it is better than I expected! :) Hopefully the Wednesday's boys will open up to us soon! :)

CNY is coming! I wanna wish everyone a HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR! Hahaha, get lots of ANGPAOS! :D

And, SEE YOU ALL THE NEXT SESSION! :D :D :D

Byebye~

- Li Lin

It’s a new year. Let’s have new dreams.

Well time passed really fast. It would be cliché to say that time flew with the blink of the eye, for during the past half a year in RSP-Youth, I have gone through countless of blinks which I’ve held dear.

My half a year in RSP-Youth has been ironically my first commitment to an RSP despite being in WSC for the past 3 years. I have served most of my time in Special Projects, hassling much events planning and adventure camps for the deaf, doing administrative work to ensure the bridge between the special projects and the university’s administration. My work, rather, my involvement for the past 3 years has definitely been eventful and memorable. I had my fair share of laughter and tears, hair pulling moments and gratifying instances. I’ve learnt immensely, regardless hard skills, soft skills and at least personally, I think I’ve emerged as a better person. At this point of time, I am proud to say, “I’ve never regretted a single moment spent in WSC”.

It was at the beginning of my year 4 semester 1 that I asked myself “why not a RSP?” Perhaps it would be adept to answer firstly “why Special Projects at the start?”

When I was in year 1, a blur and lost freshie amongst the crowd of the colorful varsity campus, I admitted to have randomly chanced upon the WSC fair and spotted by friend. I never had the intention to join WSC, let alone to know what it stands for. This friend of mine (who was already a senior in NTU) pulled me into a special project portfolio. I rationalized that it would be good to start from a special project (SP) since the commitments would not be on a regular basis. Boy! Was I wrong! The physical commitment wasn’t regular, the mental commitment and the need for individual work responsibility was colossal. Yet I preserved and continued on for another year. For in the eyes of the beneficiaries and their gestures of appreciation, I saw something which I haven’t felt for the past years. In the words of a fellow volunteer, I heard something which I shared countless times with my other peers:

“You know I wanted to quit during this point of time? It was really tiring. But at the end of the camp, when the beneficiaries came over and thank me, it was the genuine “thank you” I felt that makes it all worthwhile…”

Indeed, it was all worthwhile.

At the end of my stints in the management committee of WSC, I told myself I wanted to be reconnected with the core of volunteerism, to be a normal volunteer again. I wanted something that I can feel for. I wanted something which I know I can impact the lives of others. Perhaps, I wanted something extraordinary. Perhaps I yearned to be part of a new place, to see new faces ignited with the same passion for the society, to be touched with the same experiences that kept regular volunteers coming back for more.

I chose RSP-Youth and I’ve never regretted thus far.

This is where I got my second exposure to the hidden side of the society (the first was that in army). This is the first chance for me to impact this hidden side of the society. I remembered my first session with the boys. I was definitely edgy. I wasn’t afraid of the society’s stigma of tattoos etc. I realized had no idea how to communicate with the boys.

Well, I wouldn’t say that I am proficient with the boys now. At least I’m already comfortable amongst them. Hey! I joined in their chants for Kelvin to perform forfeits etc. I got to know some of their stories. I got to know some of their aspirations which I know they will go on to strive for after this chapter of their lives. I knew many of them would have seen the light of tunnel when they leave the complex and continue with their normal routines.

Many a times, during the course of volunteering, I asked myself how many lives have I changed? How many people will go on and remember this chap that might be preaching about the rights and wrongs? How many people whom I’ve got in contact prior would even remember what I’ve said? And then, I chanced upon the quote.

“If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one.” - Mother Teresa

No single effort is insignificant. Every step, every gesture counts. I do indeed feel good about doing good. Using the words in the name of a youtube channel “Doing good is contagious”. Doing good releases endorphins… bah! You get what I meant, or you’ll eventually get what I meant J

I am also honored to be walking amongst the ranks of fellow regular volunteers. I sincerely applaud you guys for making this bold move towards such commitment. I earnestly congratulate you guys for making a momentous and gratifying choice.

And a year has passed. The spring dawns after the winters retreats. Sun sets and cyclically rises, from dawn till dusk. Yet almost every week, most of us would still sit at the visitor lobbies, eagerly waiting for the time to walk through the fences of security, into the oh-so-familiar classrooms of the complex, eagerly waiting for the session to start. Definitely not forgetting the kopi-pengs, teh-pengs, holick-pengs, milo-pengs almost ritually at around 9.30pm.

This is RSP- Youth Blk D J

~yeh lin~

January Sessions!

Firstly, heartening to see so many volunteers coming down this week! Hope that this will continue without the effect of affecting your studies. Great job to the duty commers too! Even though there were some obstacles at first, both sessions ended on a high note.

Due to Chinese New Year, there would be no sessions for next week. So have a nice rest!!

Sessions will continue on 1st Febuary. For that week 2, we would be playing...

Guess the song title
With the music and lyrics, one person from each group would be acting out the lyrics and the rest would guess the song title. More points would be given for sending a boy out to act. The first grp to guess correctly the song title will win. There would be (6-7 songs in total)

We are Singaporeans
Questions on Singapore would be asked and grps will answer the questions

Logistics for week 2
Lilin- Mp3 player loaded with songs and lyrics
Swee Ying- We are Singaporeans Questions, paper and pens


Week 3-8th and 9th Febuary

Week 3 would be station games. There would be 3 grps and each grp will rotate ard the stations. Each station is 15 minutes.

Station 1-6 tasks in 100secs

Task 1-Blow ping pong ball out of water
Task 2-Tongue Twister
Task 3-10 Push up
Task 4-Memorise a 3 lines paragraph
Task 5-Chopstick 3 ping pong ball
Task 6-Blow and burst a balloon

Station 2- Balancing game
Using a cloth and plastic cup, balance a ping pong ball on top of the plastic cup while walking to the other side.

Station 3-Drawing Game
A simple object would be given to one person, the person would have to describe the object for the others to draw out.

Logistics for week 3

Peiwen and chris
1 sheet of tongue twister
1 3 line paragraph
plastic bowl(4) and chopsticks(3)
Water bottle with water
Trash bags
Pens
Drawing Qn
Paper

Kelvin- Ping pong balls and balloons

That's all!! Huat ah!!!

Hello everyone!

First time posting here. (: I'm happy to be a part of Block D cause I think you're all awesome people yay. Okay back to the topic..

I've had fun this few months, going for session every week and having frequent suppers with you guys! Its interesting to see how the boys have evolved, from their intial shyness during the first session when we met them (and also our initial shyness hahaha) to how they are more comfortable around us now! I'm sure we are glad to see this "evolution".

The latest session we played the price is right! Its fun to see how the boys actually know the price of some of the household products that I thought I knew (but eventually don't know LOL). Never knew they would have this side of them also. :S

Looking forward to more sessions and more bonding events! (: Block D ♥!

So those who have not been coming sessions should come! ^^

Eugenia