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.
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
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
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!
