NUS Rotaract Club has carved many unforgettable memories into my university life. The Volunteer Camp 2007 receives notable mention because it is one of the earlier few events that positively made me who I am now.

Mao Mao

Publicity Director (2006-08)

Our trip to Cebu, Philippines was a memorable and beneficial one. I learnt and experienced many things from this trip, some of which will remain in my memory for the rest of my life. Aside from experience, I also gained many new friends and contacts.

The crux of the trip really began when we started fundraising by selling donuts and having a carwash. Equipped with just my tongue and wit, I tried my best to convince people that what we were doing was for a good cause. Despite countless rejections, I had lots of fun working with the team and being the “kiasu” person that I am, I attempted to outstrip everyone at fund-raising.

The long exam break after the fund-raising was followed by packing and rehearsals for our performances of bottle blowing and dancing. It was an excellent time to truly get to know all my team-mates thoroughly. While it was really hard learning how to blow bottles and gyrate to a groovy Indian song, it was a golden period to get to know everyone better.

We left for Cebu soon after, and upon arrival, was bombarded by series of activities that left us sleep deprived. I felt that we could have gotten some rest before embarking on the daily activities but in the end, we managed to pull through fine, despite some glitches in the bottle blowing.

The following day was the carnival for more than 20 children from Mary Help School. It wasn’t too hard to manage, but the kids seemed quite bored with my word-linking station. Due to their below average command of English, it wasn’t an easy game to play. While waiting for lunch, a few of us got together and performed magic tricks which I felt made the kids happy. Thank goodness we had a translator in the form of Charlene or the kids wouldn’t have been able to understand us.

We went up to the mountains to Cabunghan Elementary School the next day and having a carnival for them proved to be far more challenging. Personally, I felt that it would have been possible, to just have more stall games (eg. Water bombs, Pin the Tail on the donkey) for the children instead of separating them into mass games and carnival games, but having two separate activities worked as well. As the speaker for “Simon Says”, it was hard to manage, mainly because the children didn’t understand English. They were following my actions more than my words. I think a series of easy actions should be pre-planned if this game were to be played again next year. Also, a second mass game that is easy to understand would help.

The next activity was the visit to Comprehensive High School. Upon arrival, we were given a robust welcome by the students an teachers with a series of performances lined up for us. While the performances were very entertaining, I also felt that such an extravagant display was not necessary for such a simple visit. After lunch, some of us went around the school to interact with the students there. They seemed exceptionally happy to talk to us and I think interacting with them should be part of the planned activities as it was the only time we were really connecting with them. The rest of the activities that followed did not seem to involve much community service or charity, but seemed to be more for own experience and enjoyment. Nevertheless, painting with the students and playing sports was fun and entertaining for us.

Following the visit of the high school was our visit to DSWD, a home where they teach skills to disabled and poor people. While the girls went to visit the home for abused girls, the guys were spilt into two groups: one for painting and the other for building the foundation for a future gazebo. I was part of the latter group which mixed the cement and poured it into the ready dug holes. It was hard work and I found us to be more of a nuisance rather than helpful. I think the workers agreed because after a while, they took over most of the work although we stuck around to help out. After all the hard work, we stuck around for a series of performances by the people of the home. We ourselves performed and I feel that for future groups going for this trip, a bit more preparation on the performances should be done. I also felt getting everyone to sing together is not a good idea and that getting one or two good singers to sing together would actually be nicer. Perhaps a nicely choreographed mass dance (e.g. JC mass dances) would be nice. I also managed to slot in a bit of interaction with the disabled people at the home. I felt that it was necessary to actually get up and talk to the people at the home as that was one of the reasons we were there, rather than just sit amongst ourselves.

The next day was a relaxing day where we kicked backed and relaxed a little. We went to the University of San Carlos (USC) for a visit in the morning and we greeted by a bunch of enthusiastic student-tour guides which took us around the place. A few of us actually interacted with them and got to know them better, much to the chagrin of some of the members of the trip. Despite certain allegations thrown at a few of us, I felt talking and interacting with the USC students was better than just sticking to ourselves and not opening up. I also felt it gave a better impression than the usual anti-social attitudes of Singaporeans who normally stick to their groups. Following the visit of the university was a brief but enlightening tour of the city. The tour was very enlightening and helped us understand the history and culture of Cebu and the Philippines better.

The second last day of our trip was the excursion to Orlando Island where we visited an elementary school, a village and went mangrove planting. The children at the elementary school were delighted to see us were more than happy to receive the new school bags that we distributed to them. I felt the time we spent there was too short, as we had to leave soon after we gave them bags. We barely had time to play and interact with the children. We went to a village after that where we gave out meals of porridge to the villagers to eat. Despite the porridge being simple and plain, it was evident that the people of the village were very grateful to receive it. After spending about an hour at the village, we proceeded to the mangrove planting on the island. We were taught about the importance of mangroves to the environment and proceeded to plant tree saplings in the muddy mangrove soil. It didn’t take much effort the plant the saplings and soon, we off on the boat back to the mainland with a nice suntan. I was a little disappointed that swimming in the sea was cancelled as I was actually looking forward to it, but I suppose the opinion of the majority wins. Damn…. Democracy sucks…..

The last day in Cebu was spent mostly for relaxation and shopping although we did visit the Mother Teresa Home in the morning. The children there were all abandoned and a substantial number of them had defects or deformities. I took some time to play with them and talk to some of them, and to me, the environment there was acceptable by Filipino standards. The rest of the day was spent for recreation and shopping, with a visit to the mango factory in the morning and shopping in the afternoon. All were interesting activities and it was a good way for us to wind up the trip. We left for Singapore later in the evening and arrived after midnight.
-By Low O-Wern

Joining NUS Rotaract Club is the best decision I have ever made in NUS. It has given me ample opportunities to participate in lots of community service activities, serving a broader group of less-fortunate people: the youth, the elderly, the physically and mentally disabled, and the deaf. It has also given me the opportunity to take up leadership position in the club, to lead a group of volunteers, and most importantly to influence others to do community service willingly, and not for the sake of any rewards.

For me, simply looking at the smiles written on the beneficiaries’ faces and hearing the word ‘Thank You’ uttered by them at the end of any project can really make my day. Being actively involved in community service has changed the way I view life. I am more grateful of what I have, I tend to complain less, and I have learnt to be a good listener as well. It makes me more aware that there are so many people out there in the community, who are in need of our help. There is so much fun in doing community service that the more you get involved in it, the stronger your passion will be. And it’s really heartening to see the club members, who share the same passion, working together as a group to bring joy in the beneficiaries’ lives.

I have certainly grown over the years, thanks to the opportunities given by the club and the friends that I make throughout my 4 years of Rotaract journey. I have also watched this club grow from a small community service club to what it's today...a club which offers more varieties of community service projects, serves more groups in the community, boasts higher membership, and is filled with more passionate individuals. What a great satisfaction! ;)

~Lydia~

The start of a new academic year marks the beginning of a set of objectives and goals. As a year 2 foreign student, we have to start joining CCA clubs and earning points for us to stay in the hostel. Thus, under the introduction by a friend, I found myself joining the Lions Befrienders Lunch Service organized by the NUS Rotaract club. This was my first exposure to community services. Little that I know, in the following years to come, NUS Rotaract Club will offer me opportunity to serve in various community service projects. And these ranges from hospital services, elderly lunch service to overseas volunteer services.

As a child, I never did experience the love of my grandparents, nor did I get to experience childhood as other normal kids do. Personally, maybe, through these events, I see a way of receiving a smile that I long for. A smile given from an elderly person to their grandchildren or even the smile and laughter of kids for having fun and appreciation for what they obtained. Of one event which has imprinted so firmly in my mind is an event I participated during the holidays at my 3^rd academic year.

The event was an overseas volunteering visit; it brought us to an elementary school in a mountain village in Cebu, Philippines, the Cabungahan Elementary School. The event was organized by the Rotary Club of Cebu West, we were there to give a day of fun to the kids there. Initially, the students there showered us with performance, one of which is a song dedicated to thank someone for the blessings and joy they receive. This song was sung by a group no more than 30. We then continue on with our programs, to entertain and let them experience games and food we brought from Singapore. The kids have so much fun that, at the end of the day, the same “thank you” song, however, was not just sung by a group of 30, 40 or even 50 students. This time, it was sung by all the kids, teachers and parents who joined with us. The song roared across the whole school compound and the sense of satisfaction and joy was beyond comprehension.

Serving the elderly was something different compared to serving the small and young. They are more understanding, and also more cooperative. The elderly will often welcome a person of whom they can talk to, a person, of whom they can interact with. They may not be able to run and hop as the young, but they just want to share their experience, their heart and soul. Moreover, when they see that I’m not feeling well, they will start nagging me, ask me to go to the local pharmacy, get some medication, or even give me a seat just to sit down. Just imagine, being offered a seat by someone who’s about to turn 90. Well, I guess I’m living in a more fortunate world they lived in.

In the end of the day, what matters most is that we know that they are happy, and the memories we instill will bring them joy for days to come.

WK

St Luke’s Hospital Volunteers

Tay Young Soon

Year 2, Physics

After one semester to work as a Rotaract member, I found that it is a really meaningful event for us to put effort in. Although this event needs to do a lot of preparation beforehand, I really enjoy in doing so. Whenever the patient said thank you to me, I will feel that I have done something wonderful in my life. The only pity thing is that the area that we use to conduct the event is too small and so we face many restrictions when the number of patient is huge compare to our number. Overall, I hope that this event can carry on and have an improvement in next semester.

Tang Chyi Yueh

Year 3, Social Work

The project brought me a new perspective about working with elderly. Glad that we were able to make some contributions to SLH and bring some activities into their stay at SLH.

It is important to consider every patient’s perspective and take into consideration activities that not only engage them mentally, but also physically. It is encouraging to know that we are receiving so much support from the subcommittee members and the social workers from SLH. We are still exploring the most effective way to engage the patients. Despite the efforts put in, it is encouraging enough to hear a word of thank you from the patients.

Kyaw San Wai

Year 2, Life Science

The Rotaract community service project with St Luke’s Hospital, from my perspective, managed to serve its means quite effectively, due to the nature of the location and also the dedication of the volunteers. We were interacting with patients in an already organized environment (hospital), and had received help and support from the hospital staff, especially from Ms Tham. It was a new project for both NUS Rotaract Club and the hospital, but, we were able to coordinate our sessions smoothly, and the hospital was very positive of the programme.

Many of the patients were not as enthusiastic as I had hoped, but once we were able to break the ice, many of them were friendly and they really enjoyed our games and the sessions as a whole.

Some of the long term patients did return to the follow-up sessions later in the course of the semester, but, the majority of the patients we interacted with changed each time.

Throughout the course of our sessions, we tried out a wide variety of games, from focusing the entire patient body into one single game, to different games among small groups in varying environments (small groups near each other, and small groups apart from each other). From my observation, I found that both techniques yielded positive and negative results.

In huge group activities, the patients appeared to enjoy the overall interaction session, but did not feel too comfortable with the students. I think that, since they had to wait for other patients (who maybe more disabled), they were comparatively bored. Games which we tried out for the large group activities were snake and ladders, bingo and flashcards.

In the small group sessions, the patients appeared to grow closer to the Rotaractors, and showed a slightly higher level of interest in the games. In small groups, the nature of the games was more physically demanding – thus, they showed more excitement and interest. For the small group activities, we tried out a huge array of board games – ants in pants (trying to flip plastic ants into a pants-like container), Chinese chess, tabletop soccer, collecting coloured balls from a bowl (there is a vibrating crab to disturb the balls), and even chess with some enthusiastic patients.

We gave some memorabilia / presents to the patients to make them more interested in the games and to put in effort and we found that this was really effective, plus a token of our brief interaction. The gifts were of small, if not no monetary worth, but most are hand-made by the Rotaractors, and this attaches tremendous value, which strengthens the bridge between the patient and Rotaractor.

In retrospect, I must say that overall, the whole St. Luke Hospital Visit is rewarding and enlightening for both the patients and the Rotaractors, as we get a closer touch with life and humanity. I would suggest more interaction trips, since we had only a total of four visits to the hospital (given the schedule of the students), and also a higher number of Rotaractors allocated, since, it was evident in our last session, that we were able to achieve more with a very low Rotaractor to Patient ratio. I appreciate being able to serve the community through very useful projects under the Rotaract Club.

Lysia Tilie Hartadi

Year 3, Chemical Engineering

In my opinion, St Luke’s Hospital Project is a good experience that changes my view of how a life in a community hospital feels like and it also allows me to gain more insights into the situation of those people who are less fortunate than me. It is my privilege to be able to bring smiles on the patients’ faces as we play games with them. I believe that the objectives that we set out can only be accomplished by how much effort we put in. I love seeing all the volunteers work so hard during the preparation of each session and at the same time able to enjoy themselves while interacting with the patients. I am also very grateful to have met some new friends through this project. I really hope that the volunteers will continue to work hard and serve the patients better.

Ng Huey Wen

Year 2, Chemistry

I have been longing for being a volunteer, to contribute at least some effort to the society. So, I chose Rotaract and being arranged into this new project. Actually, to me, it doesn’t really matter which project I am in, as long as I am able to take part in it. As this is a new project, we have to put in more effort, think some new ideas, and get some feedback through each visit, so that we could improve ourselves as well as the running of activities

Personally, I prefer individual games. To me, interaction with the patients is more important, we should try not to neglect every single patient. It is relatively harder for us to take care of every patient, talking with them, let them have a chance to speak out their mind or whatever during a big group activity.

I gained a lot through this St Luke’s project. Somehow I feel, what the patients ‘gave’ us is actually much more that what we have done for them. I really enjoyed myself. This is simply a great experience. I do learn a lot from this project. In short, I m looking forward to the next visit!

Tan Chea Ying

Year 2, Business

Only two times have I committed my service to St. Luke Hospital. However, I have had a very good impression towards St. Luke Hospital because all the staff is nice and kind. I feel even more gratified when I saw the patients were happy to come down and have some funs with us, they would not feel awkward but instead they enjoyed in it. Although they were sick, they still have a cheerful mindset. Just a simply “Thank you” from them, had made all of us very happy and all we have done was granting which we do not even expect for the grant.

Every session we have had was generally well-prepared. However, the games always finished very early and sometimes I could sense the boredom which the patients have. It is unavoidable that some patients are “well-spirits” and they found the games we prepared for them were childish and said “Why let us play children’s games?” Thus, we as a volunteer have to motivate them and makes the games looked fun and challenging. This is what we should do as to make the patients happy is our initial aim.

On the other hand, sometimes I feel we were out of choices for games. Patients might feel tired for those games after playing so many rounds and those healthier patients might get even more boring. I greatly feel that we can try to do something more other than simply playing games. We can sing together while teaching them body language for that song, it can help them to exercise also. Alternatively, we can always sing a few songs before starting our games so that they are warmed up. I think language is not the problem as if we teach them body language and singing together shows the most effectiveness on letting them have the togetherness.

Some patients (especially female) simply want to find someone to chit-chat. If then, we can find volunteer who speaks the patient’s mother tongue and just simply chit-chat with him/her rather than play games if the patients feel tired of the games.

Besides that, we as a volunteer should take the initiative to talk more to the patients instead of letting them sit there quietly. We really need to show our passion to them and also our sincerity.

Playing the games together is really better than spreading it out to other places, the togetherness is very important to patients and they might feel the environment lively. And the length of the time of the section is appropriate, we did make full use of the time to play with patients and try our best to make them happy.

Last but not least, I really hope patients are happy to be with us. Our happiness is greatly built on their happiness. Thus, we will surely try our best to make every section the most impressive and fun!

Wong Jin Huei

Year 2,

Overall, I have had a happy moment when playing with the patients in St. Luke’s Hospital. Most of the patients there show their energetic participation, this is however quite different from my prior perception that most of the patients might not be so energetic due to their condition. Some of them are very talkative; they share a lot of their experiences with me. For example, in the last session, an uncle told me that he had taught NUS student in music before. Due to one of his hand is hurt, he cannot play musical instruments like guitar. So, he really hopes that he can play guitar again. Some of the patients even make new friends during the session.

In my opinion, if the number of patients is too much compare to the amount of volunteers, the interaction between patients and volunteer will become lesser. This will reduce the ambient mood when playing games and therefore makes the whole session become very boring. Some of the patients also cannot get the instruction of the game rule probably due to lack of volunteers.

I think the biggest challenge for me is the language barrier. A lot of old folks speak Hokkien, which I do not understand and therefore makes it quite difficult to interact with them.

黄嘉欣

Tai Jia Xing

Year 2, Applied Chemistry

其实自己之前对“做义工”有一点恐惧感，因为在高二那年，到了一间老人院，而当中有一些失智老人，也有暴力倾向的老人，由于担心他们走失或攻击人，他们被困锁在由厕所改造的”牢房“里。那时，这样的景象，让我的心萌起了强烈的恐惧感，我也以为从今我再也不敢做义工了。今年，机缘巧合下，我有幸参与St Luke’s Hospital 的计划，而我也很享受和大家一起筹备，一起到医院和疗养的病人们一起游戏的过程。渐渐的，我喜欢上了这样的活动，也觉得自己的生命，不再只为自己的生命，也一点点地富足起来，也和一群很好的朋友，建立了愉快的友谊。所以，对于自己能参加这样的活动，我始终是很感恩的。希望，明年我们能继续地把欢乐带给大家，也带给我们自己。

冯俊源

Wee Kin Guan

Year 2, Physics

于St. Luke 医院社区服务有感

今年是我在大学的第二个年头。记得那时候，曾问过自己能够做些什么。大学所孕育培养出来的，绝对不能够是只会埋头读书的人。于是，我与Rotaract 结缘了。

那时候加入Rotaract，其中的原因除了想多了解这个团体外，也因为许多朋友都一起参加。不甘寂寞的我，也多了一个加入Rotaract 这个大家庭的动力。

Rotaract 有许多的社区服务计划，而我参加的是到圣路加医院进行服务。圣路加医院坐落在武吉巴督，是一座让患病的老人家养病、复员的医院。由于这个计划是今年才开始实行，医院方面也与我们通力合作，希望把这个第一次的服务做得尽善尽美。

我还记得我第一次去服务的时候，心情非常的紧张。自问没什么服侍过老人家的经验，也不太会方言，我自认没什么信心。虽然负责人和我们说过语言不是障碍，但心情也未免战战兢兢。因为每个人都必须负责把老人家从病房移步到一楼的大厅，我负责的是一位非常开朗的巫裔老太太。已经把马来文给忘得一干二净的我，只好用破烂的马来文和她交谈。聊着聊着，突然发现语言果然不是阻挡人们沟通的高墙。只要有双肯聆听的耳朵，一颗热情的心，就能把任何的隔阂融化。

我们一伙人在大厅和老人家们一起玩游戏，玩的是宾果游戏。只见大家都落力地替老人家们解释规则，也替他们放置卡片、出谋划策。偶尔一瞥，看到老人家们时而开朗的大笑、时而温馨的微笑，我的心里就十分地开心，也非常安慰。曾经有人说过带给人们笑容的是天使，突然觉得自己好像也变成了天使。抬头一看，瞧见了大伙儿满足的笑，转念一想：这些老人家不也是天使吗？呵，原来只要一个笑容，施者和受者都变成了为人世间带来幸福和笑容的天使。

过后几个星期，我们也进行了几次服务。当然，其中也有很美好的回忆。然而，人们说第一次的感受总是最深刻，不是吗？=）

张美诗

Chong Mei Sze

Year 2, Life Science

虽然一直以来都对社区服务之类的活动有兴趣，但这次却真的是第一次的尝试。刚开始的时候觉得很别扭，因为不知道自己要做什么，也不知道如何开始。其实也挺害怕的，因为家里没有年长者，本身的沟通的技巧又还有待改进。还好一起活动的会员大多是蛮熟的朋友，大家打打闹闹的，即使是刚认识的也非常好相处，这样的气氛让我舒缓不少。

每次都会有点担心，在想准备的游戏是否适合他们，是不是可以很好地娱乐到他们每一个人。若是看到他们玩得很尽兴、投入，心里就会很开心和满足。有时候听他们说话，也让我了解到一些我的生活层面以外的事情。最感动的时候，就是有些病人回去时会很真诚地跟我们道谢，好像我们帮了一个大忙似的，可是自己发现到我们能够做的东西其实真的很少。可是至少，至少我的生活中可以做一点东西是能够让别人过得稍微更好一点点的。总的来说，这个活动让我接触到不同的人事物，看到一些以前不知道的事情。或许以后会考虑也参与老人院的义工活动吧，因为觉得他们应该也很需要关怀。

过了一个学期，在参与活动的过程中都很开心。除了因为活动本身非常有意义，也是一个不错的学习机会，当然还因为会员们一起相处的感觉很棒。

曾崇胜

Chan Chong Sheng

Year 2, Computing

能够和老人家相处的机会并不是很多，很感谢 Rotaract 给于我这次难得的机会，和老人家有更深的接触、并更深地了解到他们的需要。

以前都不太愿意和老人家打成一片，因为心中就是有那样的隔阂。即使是亲生父母，也因为自己的性格而无法很好地和他们相处。或许是因为年长者不管怎样都受自己尊敬而不敢大胆地越界和他们玩闹、开玩笑，所以都一直不敢跨出晚辈应有的态度，不敢和他们过分玩闹，免得有失晚辈礼仪。

但是，自从参与了 Rotaract 之后，我终于看清原来老人家也可以象朋友般经得起玩闹的。和他们相处的时间虽然不是很长，但也或多或少认知了他们的需要。他们的要求并不多，只希望有人能够听听他们心中的话、听他们唠叨、听他们诉苦、或单纯地想要消磨一个沉闷的星期六上午。看他们玩得开心，我自己也满足了起来。

基本上，我很满意这项工作，有望来年能够和老人家玩出更多的新花样，以及擦出更多友谊的火光。

纪淳允

Kee Chun Yun

Year 2, Engineering Science

第一次参加这种活动，也很高兴参加了。虽然目前只到过医院四次，跟病人们的互动时间也只有八个小时，但是从他们身上也学了不少。也很感激病人们给予的合作，虽然有时游戏是幼稚了一点，无聊了一点，但他们仍旧乐于参与、给予配合，让我们的游戏能成功地进行。期待下学期的活动，期待和新病人的接触，期待从大家身上学到更多的东西。真得很高兴参加了这活动。

陈玮馨

Tan Wei Shin

Year 2, Life Science

基本上，community service 也不算是首次，去年都有去IMH办活动。。所以，不会说不适应或是陌生什么的。当然，比较是无法避免的。St luke’s 相对而言，是比较靠近，至少不用一个小时的travel time.唔。。但是，可以办的活动相对来说，却是没多少，大概是地点就在医院里面吧。同时，病人们散布各年龄阶层，有时候，有些想法觉得应该行得通，但是反思后又觉得，对某一些年龄层的病人来说可能会太闷，太无聊à增加想活动时的烦恼。再来，就是能够使用的空间有限。在有限的空间和有限的器材下，活动想必没什么变化。而且，最重要的是，可以用的游戏实在是不多，不是说没有，只是大部分都是不适合被用而已。试想想吧，你能够跟上了年纪或手脚不灵活的病人们玩小小的棋盘吗？也许，可能的话，尽量去增加游戏的种类吧。。

大致上，去了那里有4次吧（除了第一次的活动没有出席à完全是因为没有事先通知我那天会有活动的原因，不是无故缺席的）给我的感觉是，不错，至少跟病人多少有点交流。哈哈。。基本上由于英文太烂了，就跟病人用英文交谈的时候，很有陌生感。反而是最后一次session的时候，跟那位亲切的婆婆用广东话交流很有亲切感。好久没有用广东话来谈天了，很庆幸那时候是去接那位婆婆。虽然，之前在那间ward有发生一些不如意的事情啦，本来是希望不想再去那里的，但是还好没有拒绝咯。。

郑淳方

Tay Chun Fang

Year 2, Life Science

一开始，真的什么也没想。

纯粹因为想参加而参加，

可能靠是一股冲动吧！并没有什么特别的原因。

小小声说，这是我第一次参加这一类型的活动哦！

抱着期待的心理，踏进一个陌生的地方。

希望自己能为你们做些什么，就算一点点也好。

该怎么形容当时的我呢？

心情紧张，七上八下吗？

应该说是… 不知所措吧！

毕竟是第一次嘛…

第一次和你们相处，

发现懂多一点点语言是有好处的，皮毛也好。

当然，就算不懂，

一个笑容和一个点头的动作，

也可以是最好的沟通语言哦！

你们都好活泼，好健谈。

好喜欢和你们相处时，

那一种轻松愉快的感觉。

看到你们脸上的笑容，

看到你们玩游戏时的投入，

看到你们聊天聊得很开心的样子，

不知不觉，自己也开心了起来。

简简单单的游戏，

因为有了你们的参与而变得丰富。

原来… 快乐可以很简单，很平凡。

听到你们一声声的谢谢，

听到你们说游戏很好玩，

真的，真的很开心。

想说的是，

我也要谢谢你们哦！

谢谢你们给我带来了那么多的欢乐，

谢谢你们与我分享你们的人生经验，

谢谢你们对游戏注入那么多的热情，

谢谢你们给我带来这么宝贵的经验。

每一次，每一次，

都真的、真的很感谢你们。

最后，

虽然很老套，但是我还是一定要说：

谢谢圣路家医院让我有机会参与这项活动；

谢谢圣路家医院里的护士先生小姐们给予的协助与包涵；

谢谢 Ms Tham一路以来的帮助，还有那美味可口的巧克力蛋糕；谢谢所有、所有的人。

多谢了哦！

期待着下一次再与你们相见…

i remember sometime back at the intellectually disabled home i was volunteering at. we were going to start on a group activity of a simple walk outside the home. just about every one of the residents were raring to go as they hardly had a chance to take a glimpse of the outside world. this old lady, actually she wasn’t all that old, but she had quite a bit of difficulty walking. i could see the huge scars on her leg and her one hand gripped onto the walking stick, putting all her weight on it. i asked her a few times if she wanted to follow along with us. she didn’t answer me and her face did not reveal any emotion. a fellow resident of hers than communicated to me that it was best to bring her along and walk slowly behind. so i did so. for the whole twenty minutes or so, she gripped onto my hand tightly, as if clinging on for her dear life and hobbled along as i tried my best to bend to her height and pace my steps for her. at the moment, i felt her. i felt her determination to walk on and her plea to not let go of her.

it is just that sort of feeling that makes you feel that no, i can’t abandon them.

-marie

Hi all,

Thank you for visiting this blog. Even a bigger thank you to all those who have donated or contributed your entries at our booth on 14th February, Thursday. Please watch this space as your stories will be uploaded soon!

For people who are interested to contribute to Rotaract Club in one way or another, please do come find us at the Central Library Walkway (Towards AS6) on 15th February, Friday.

Thank you! Hope to see you there. (:

Cheers,
Rotaract Club of NUS

Love is All Around!