Dear All,
We are currently working on a new website to bring your experience with us further. This is only a draft design so be sure to check back for even more updates!
And please take note of the following upcoming events:
06 Oct 2006 - Mooncake Fest Celebrations @ West Coast Park (1700 - 2200hrs)
Get together and have fun under the moon. Savour mooncakes and enjoy the company of fellow Primers. Be prepared for a fun-filed mid autumn Festival. Fee is $4/-
14 Oct 2006 - Inter-Poly Olympics Day @ Ngee Ann Poly (0900 - 1500hrs)
It's the time of the year again. As organisers of this year's IPOD, we are trying our very best to reclaim the overall trophy. Be part of the team. There are sports like soccer, basketball and captain's ball. Fee: $2/-
17 Oct 2006 - Afterglow @ TCT MagicBox (1900 - 2100hrs)
Bet the Project Cambodia participants shared some of their experiences with you already. But Afterglow allows you to come and really feel what the participants experienced. Make a difference and register now. Fee: $0/-
9.30.2006
9.23.2006
Receive TeamCambodia
It seems like just yesterday that a group of Primers went to sent off the ProjectCambodia team at Changi Airport. Today, 22nd Sep 2006 1115pm, is the day ProjectCambodia team returned back to their homeland-Singapore.
Sad to say, due to the inconvenient flight arrival time, only 4 girls, Huishan, Shihui, Jasmine and Diana, can make it to receive the team back. The girls met at 930pm to begin their long journey from Jurong to Changi Airport. Although there are only 4 of us for the long night journey, we managed to entertain ourselves in the MRT.Ha-ha. But first, we got off at Aljunied station for Diana to get the "flowery surprise" from David that we prepared for the Cambodia team. What is the surprise? It is those flowers, of orchids and jasmine combination that used to welcome important people. Thanks to David for going down to Little Indian specially to purchase it.
After that, we continued our journey. It was 1020pm when we arrived at Changi Terminal 1. We waited at Delifrance for Evelyn, baby Ne-ne, Candy, Liang Ming, Pastor Roland, Pastor Lai Fun and Terry to arrive. It was a long wait for the Cambodia team to come out of the arrival gate. Meantime, we are all well entertained by Pastor Roland's jokes.
At 1145pm, we finally catch a glimpse of Kenny and Zhi Hao waving to us. Quickly, we arrange Pastor Roland to present our surprise to the 3 officers, Danny, Kenny and Lionel while Terry and Candy were to present to the rest of the Cambodia team. The receiving team was all on stand-by.
Soon, the whole Cambodia team together with their luggage came out. Click…thank… click…oh….wonderful… click” taking photos, greeting and thank-giving are all done at the same time.
After the celebrative photos we taken, we bade goodbye and all of us took separate way home. Not much talking with them but I believe there is great story waiting to explode to us soon.
-diana-
Sad to say, due to the inconvenient flight arrival time, only 4 girls, Huishan, Shihui, Jasmine and Diana, can make it to receive the team back. The girls met at 930pm to begin their long journey from Jurong to Changi Airport. Although there are only 4 of us for the long night journey, we managed to entertain ourselves in the MRT.Ha-ha. But first, we got off at Aljunied station for Diana to get the "flowery surprise" from David that we prepared for the Cambodia team. What is the surprise? It is those flowers, of orchids and jasmine combination that used to welcome important people. Thanks to David for going down to Little Indian specially to purchase it.
After that, we continued our journey. It was 1020pm when we arrived at Changi Terminal 1. We waited at Delifrance for Evelyn, baby Ne-ne, Candy, Liang Ming, Pastor Roland, Pastor Lai Fun and Terry to arrive. It was a long wait for the Cambodia team to come out of the arrival gate. Meantime, we are all well entertained by Pastor Roland's jokes.
At 1145pm, we finally catch a glimpse of Kenny and Zhi Hao waving to us. Quickly, we arrange Pastor Roland to present our surprise to the 3 officers, Danny, Kenny and Lionel while Terry and Candy were to present to the rest of the Cambodia team. The receiving team was all on stand-by.
Soon, the whole Cambodia team together with their luggage came out. Click…thank… click…oh….wonderful… click” taking photos, greeting and thank-giving are all done at the same time.
After the celebrative photos we taken, we bade goodbye and all of us took separate way home. Not much talking with them but I believe there is great story waiting to explode to us soon.
-diana-
9.22.2006
The Gift From Your All Hearts
SP Primers had proudly sent a team to Cambodia for OSLT on the 14th of September. Apart from the participants who went, there is another group of us who still like to contribute. Some contributed funds for the trip while there were 38 of us who used our hearts to prepare a gift for each of the 38 children that we have not seen yet.
I was put in charge to do the collections of these gifts. I was thankful for the RIO GLs who helped to call their members and I was so proud of my Primers that they took up the responsibility without any complaints.
The whole process was tedious as I had to meet each of them individually since we are having school holiday. That was another reason why I was proud of my Primers as they did not sound a word of grumble that they have to purposely meet me at town to pass me the gift.
Some bought notebooks, some bought pencil cases, and there were also some who bought food. There were a few who gave more than they required. Many of them also wrapped up the gifts though it was not required. They were required to write a note of blessing and attached with the gift and Qingyan & Derrick actually drew something for them instead!
In conclusion, I am seriously proud of my Primers who were so willing to give and be part of this project. Though they were not physically there, these little acts actually meant a lot not only to me but also to the participants and the children who are going to receive it. And you never know how much these little small acts can bring how big the smiles of the children.
I thank all and sincerely appreciate it all.
-shan-
I was put in charge to do the collections of these gifts. I was thankful for the RIO GLs who helped to call their members and I was so proud of my Primers that they took up the responsibility without any complaints.
The whole process was tedious as I had to meet each of them individually since we are having school holiday. That was another reason why I was proud of my Primers as they did not sound a word of grumble that they have to purposely meet me at town to pass me the gift.
Some bought notebooks, some bought pencil cases, and there were also some who bought food. There were a few who gave more than they required. Many of them also wrapped up the gifts though it was not required. They were required to write a note of blessing and attached with the gift and Qingyan & Derrick actually drew something for them instead!
In conclusion, I am seriously proud of my Primers who were so willing to give and be part of this project. Though they were not physically there, these little acts actually meant a lot not only to me but also to the participants and the children who are going to receive it. And you never know how much these little small acts can bring how big the smiles of the children.
I thank all and sincerely appreciate it all.
-shan-
9.21.2006
Sending Off TeamCambodia
Today is the eve of the sending off for project Cambodia team. We met at 8pm at Tampanies MRT station and went makan at Yoshinoya (Tampanies Mall). After our dinner, we went to catch a movie- “Little Man”. This movie is really soooo lame and funny, making us laugh non-stop. All of us really enjoyed the movie a lot…wahahah(:
After the movie, some of them went home and the rest of us continued to stay out. We walked to the MRT station but didn’t manage to catch the last train. Anyway it doesn’t matter, we came here to celebrate Diana’s birthday. We waited awhile at the station while huishan and shuxian preparing the cake. 12 O’clock…Happy Birthday to Diana!!!..we sang two different version of birthday songs, English and Chinese version..lolx.. Then, we had our group photos..say cheezz!!!
After that, we headed down to Changi Airport (viewing gallery) to ton. Wooo..can see aeroplane…and we spent our night there.
At around 4.30am, here come our project Cambodia team. They looked so fresh and “high” ar…I’m sure that they are ready..all right manz!! Then we chatted with them, the time seems to pass so fast, is time for them to leave. We gather together, pray for them and have our group photos. Although we can’t bear to leave them but we knew that they will spread their loves to the Cambodian kids there..
ALL THE VERY BEST to the team (Lionel, Kenny, Danny, Sheng Long, Vimel, Chun Yuan, Juli, Charmaine, Li Xuan, Mei Jun, Bernand, Mark, Zhi Hao, Zhi Yuan, Jeff, Sunder, Edwin, Wei Qiang and Jun Jie)…加油!!加油!!加油!!
-LiliNG-
After the movie, some of them went home and the rest of us continued to stay out. We walked to the MRT station but didn’t manage to catch the last train. Anyway it doesn’t matter, we came here to celebrate Diana’s birthday. We waited awhile at the station while huishan and shuxian preparing the cake. 12 O’clock…Happy Birthday to Diana!!!..we sang two different version of birthday songs, English and Chinese version..lolx.. Then, we had our group photos..say cheezz!!!
After that, we headed down to Changi Airport (viewing gallery) to ton. Wooo..can see aeroplane…and we spent our night there.
At around 4.30am, here come our project Cambodia team. They looked so fresh and “high” ar…I’m sure that they are ready..all right manz!! Then we chatted with them, the time seems to pass so fast, is time for them to leave. We gather together, pray for them and have our group photos. Although we can’t bear to leave them but we knew that they will spread their loves to the Cambodian kids there..
ALL THE VERY BEST to the team (Lionel, Kenny, Danny, Sheng Long, Vimel, Chun Yuan, Juli, Charmaine, Li Xuan, Mei Jun, Bernand, Mark, Zhi Hao, Zhi Yuan, Jeff, Sunder, Edwin, Wei Qiang and Jun Jie)…加油!!加油!!加油!!
-LiliNG-
9.19.2006
Food Junction [PRATAMANIA]
The day had kicked off at Chinatown MRT station. Heaps of people had turned up for the happening affair. Amidst the crowd were familiar faces as well as new ones. Due to the overwhelming number of people gathering at the station, an SMRT officer came and requested us to leave the area. To avoid making a big hoo-ha out of it, all of us conceded with the request and moved to an open-spaced area near the station.
It did not dampen our spirit by abit. All participants were divided into 6 teams. A series of get-to-know sessions was then held. This was when we got to know people in the team. After some brain racking moments, we finally came up with the name “PrataMania” for our team, a fusion of local and Italian favour. “Roti Prata” was declared - almost unanimously as the favourite food among us. To enhance the uniqueness of the name, “PrataMania” was suggested and all of us agreed upon it instantaneously. Coincidentally, the word “Mania” which originated from Greece
means “madness”. Thus our team name “PrataMania” will mean “Prata Madness”. This is definitely meaningful to our group of prata lovers!
Following, a number guessing game which originates from Taiwan was played. It was aimed at fostering greater team spirit through inter-group competition. Each group had to send one representative to participate in the game. The participants were required to give a number from 1 to 99 in sequential order. If the number given was the actual number given by the game administrators, the team would lose the game. The range of numbers got narrower and narrower as the game progressed. Inevitably, one participant finally called out the “lucky” number. Initially, only the participant had to eat up the wasabi bread prepared as forefeet. However, at the last stage it involved the entire team. Two thumps up for that team!
After a short briefing session on Food Junction 2006, the event of the day finally began! Food Junction 2006 encourages creativity within the teams. Besides that, it aims at fostering greater team spirit among members of the team. The key to conquering the game was, Speed. It was basically a test of both the teams’ stamina and quick-wittedness. The game originates from a very popular TV variety show in
Taiwan known as “Shi Zi Lu Kou”. Participants would be roaming around the streets to find the dishes they need to proceed on with the game. During the game, participants would be required to complete certain tasks in order to obtain clues from the game administrators to continue with the game. At this food junction, instead of using Mandarin words to form the food chain – likened that on the show, English as well as dialects was used.For the record, our team completed the competition with 15 dishes. It took us about two hours’ time. We had roamed through a big portion of Chinatown
in search of the appropriate dishes. It was indeed a test of our stamina for all of us. Our teams’ goal wasn’t to win the competition initially, we simply did not wanted to be the last team. We wanted to avoid the dreadful forefeet prepared for the losing team. However, as the game progressed, we realised that we were one of the fastest teams. This had spurred us on to focus on winning the competition. In the end we did manage to win the competition - we came in second. Despite that we were contented and happy with it.
The first dish of the game was a hot favourite among most Singaporeans – Durian. To save time, our team decided on “Durian Ice-kacang” as our first dish, with a hawker centre in sight.
We met another competing team at the dessert stall. Perhaps like minds really do thinks alike. Following a quick snapshot of the dish by our photographer – Wang Li, our team began to gobble up the dish. In a blink of the eyes, “Durian Ice-kacang” was gone. Guava Juice was next on the list. One of our group members Jian Ting managed to finish the drink on own accord in a minute’s time. Again, snapshots were taken before and after the drink were finished.
For the next dish, we had egg tart in mind. However, we realised that it was not available at the hawker centre. So we decided to leave the centre and began the search for egg tart nearby. A cafe was spotted and egg toast was on its menu. Since egg toast starts with an “e” and ends with a”t”, which was what we needed, we decided to have egg toast instead.
The friendly lady boss agreed to help us the dish within the shortest possible time. Our photographer Wang Li began to video the process of preparing the toast as well as the friendly lady boss. As soon as the toast was ready, the team began to gorge it up. We left the café right after photos were taken. The fourth dish was a brand of sweets “Tic-tac” that was bought in a Guardian outlet opposite the café.
The fifth dish was Century Egg century as specified by the game administrators at the beginning. This marks the end of the first phrase of the competition.
We were then required to play a game with the game administrators that involve using the hands. Upon winning the game, the clue was finally revealed – it was “Haem Ji Beng”. This was to be the last dish for the second phrase.
We went to the hawker centre in sight to purchase egg tart, our sixth dish.
For the seventh dish, quite some time was spent in searching for it – tuna puff. Finally, we found it at the allocated hawker centre that has our last dish!
Then the search for our eighth dish fruit punch began. It was available in one of the drinks stall in the centre.
Following, we had “Haem Ji Beng”, the last dish of phrase 2. By the time we were done with the dish, the game administrators were nowhere in sight. We seized the opportunity to relax and bought caned drinks to quench their thirst.
Only after five minutes later did the game administrators arrive. Again, we had to accomplish a task to get the clue for Phrase three. This time, all team members were given a stick. The task is to pass the eight polo sweets given from one person to another and at the same time eat up one of the sweets. In the whole process, no one could use their hands.
After completing the task, we got to know the last dish of Phrase three – tang yuan (glutinous ball).
The dishes for the Phrase three were green tea, apple tea and tang yuan, in sequential order. Green tea and apple tea were both bought at the 7-eleven stall nearby.
Tang yuan was bought from a roadside stall along the street. The name of the stall was “Ah Bai” so the exact name of the dish was “Ah Bai Tang Yuan”.
After that, we had to complete another task to get the much needed clue. It was then that we realised that we were the leading team. The task involves the passing of a ping pong ball among the members using plastic spoons. The person that has the ball on the spoon had to walk a short distance before passing it on to the next person. Finally, we got the clue for Phrase four, the last phrase of the competition. It was herbal tea.
For the last phrase, we had nugget, teh followed by herbal tea. Substantial amount of time was spent in search for nuggets to no avail. It could not be found along the roadside stall. Perhaps this was the reason why we had lost to the first team. To avoid further wastage of time, MacDonald’s nuggets were bought despite our budget constraint.
Teh and herbal were then bought along the same stretch of shops. Upon finishing the herbal tea, all in team began to run towards the ending point.
After a very close fight between the first two leading team, the other team managed to clinched to first position. We came in second.
When all the other participating teams had arrived, the last round of testing was conducted. Each group had to send a representative to recite all the dishes that had been eaten. I was the appointed one.
Thankful, we passed the test and were spared of the ordeal. The slowest team had to drink an utterly awful combination that consists of soy sauce, curry sauce, a can of soft drink and more. Each member of that team then took a sip of the “unique” drink. Four thumbs up for that!
Lastly it was prize presentation time. The winning team or rather the fastest team won the tickets to the FINALS of Singapore Idol. However, they were not able to make it due to other commitments. Hence, the SI tickets were given to our group! We won the tickets to FINALS of SI. Hurray!
Prizes were also given to the most creative and the team that had spent the least. Following a brief photo taking session and cheers, it marks the end of Food Junction 2006.
It did not dampen our spirit by abit. All participants were divided into 6 teams. A series of get-to-know sessions was then held. This was when we got to know people in the team. After some brain racking moments, we finally came up with the name “PrataMania” for our team, a fusion of local and Italian favour. “Roti Prata” was declared - almost unanimously as the favourite food among us. To enhance the uniqueness of the name, “PrataMania” was suggested and all of us agreed upon it instantaneously. Coincidentally, the word “Mania” which originated from Greece
means “madness”. Thus our team name “PrataMania” will mean “Prata Madness”. This is definitely meaningful to our group of prata lovers!
Following, a number guessing game which originates from Taiwan was played. It was aimed at fostering greater team spirit through inter-group competition. Each group had to send one representative to participate in the game. The participants were required to give a number from 1 to 99 in sequential order. If the number given was the actual number given by the game administrators, the team would lose the game. The range of numbers got narrower and narrower as the game progressed. Inevitably, one participant finally called out the “lucky” number. Initially, only the participant had to eat up the wasabi bread prepared as forefeet. However, at the last stage it involved the entire team. Two thumps up for that team!
After a short briefing session on Food Junction 2006, the event of the day finally began! Food Junction 2006 encourages creativity within the teams. Besides that, it aims at fostering greater team spirit among members of the team. The key to conquering the game was, Speed. It was basically a test of both the teams’ stamina and quick-wittedness. The game originates from a very popular TV variety show in
Taiwan known as “Shi Zi Lu Kou”. Participants would be roaming around the streets to find the dishes they need to proceed on with the game. During the game, participants would be required to complete certain tasks in order to obtain clues from the game administrators to continue with the game. At this food junction, instead of using Mandarin words to form the food chain – likened that on the show, English as well as dialects was used.For the record, our team completed the competition with 15 dishes. It took us about two hours’ time. We had roamed through a big portion of Chinatown
in search of the appropriate dishes. It was indeed a test of our stamina for all of us. Our teams’ goal wasn’t to win the competition initially, we simply did not wanted to be the last team. We wanted to avoid the dreadful forefeet prepared for the losing team. However, as the game progressed, we realised that we were one of the fastest teams. This had spurred us on to focus on winning the competition. In the end we did manage to win the competition - we came in second. Despite that we were contented and happy with it.
The first dish of the game was a hot favourite among most Singaporeans – Durian. To save time, our team decided on “Durian Ice-kacang” as our first dish, with a hawker centre in sight.
We met another competing team at the dessert stall. Perhaps like minds really do thinks alike. Following a quick snapshot of the dish by our photographer – Wang Li, our team began to gobble up the dish. In a blink of the eyes, “Durian Ice-kacang” was gone. Guava Juice was next on the list. One of our group members Jian Ting managed to finish the drink on own accord in a minute’s time. Again, snapshots were taken before and after the drink were finished.
For the next dish, we had egg tart in mind. However, we realised that it was not available at the hawker centre. So we decided to leave the centre and began the search for egg tart nearby. A cafe was spotted and egg toast was on its menu. Since egg toast starts with an “e” and ends with a”t”, which was what we needed, we decided to have egg toast instead.
The friendly lady boss agreed to help us the dish within the shortest possible time. Our photographer Wang Li began to video the process of preparing the toast as well as the friendly lady boss. As soon as the toast was ready, the team began to gorge it up. We left the café right after photos were taken. The fourth dish was a brand of sweets “Tic-tac” that was bought in a Guardian outlet opposite the café.
The fifth dish was Century Egg century as specified by the game administrators at the beginning. This marks the end of the first phrase of the competition.
We were then required to play a game with the game administrators that involve using the hands. Upon winning the game, the clue was finally revealed – it was “Haem Ji Beng”. This was to be the last dish for the second phrase.
We went to the hawker centre in sight to purchase egg tart, our sixth dish.
For the seventh dish, quite some time was spent in searching for it – tuna puff. Finally, we found it at the allocated hawker centre that has our last dish!
Then the search for our eighth dish fruit punch began. It was available in one of the drinks stall in the centre.
Following, we had “Haem Ji Beng”, the last dish of phrase 2. By the time we were done with the dish, the game administrators were nowhere in sight. We seized the opportunity to relax and bought caned drinks to quench their thirst.
Only after five minutes later did the game administrators arrive. Again, we had to accomplish a task to get the clue for Phrase three. This time, all team members were given a stick. The task is to pass the eight polo sweets given from one person to another and at the same time eat up one of the sweets. In the whole process, no one could use their hands.
After completing the task, we got to know the last dish of Phrase three – tang yuan (glutinous ball).
The dishes for the Phrase three were green tea, apple tea and tang yuan, in sequential order. Green tea and apple tea were both bought at the 7-eleven stall nearby.
Tang yuan was bought from a roadside stall along the street. The name of the stall was “Ah Bai” so the exact name of the dish was “Ah Bai Tang Yuan”.
After that, we had to complete another task to get the much needed clue. It was then that we realised that we were the leading team. The task involves the passing of a ping pong ball among the members using plastic spoons. The person that has the ball on the spoon had to walk a short distance before passing it on to the next person. Finally, we got the clue for Phrase four, the last phrase of the competition. It was herbal tea.
For the last phrase, we had nugget, teh followed by herbal tea. Substantial amount of time was spent in search for nuggets to no avail. It could not be found along the roadside stall. Perhaps this was the reason why we had lost to the first team. To avoid further wastage of time, MacDonald’s nuggets were bought despite our budget constraint.
Teh and herbal were then bought along the same stretch of shops. Upon finishing the herbal tea, all in team began to run towards the ending point.
After a very close fight between the first two leading team, the other team managed to clinched to first position. We came in second.
When all the other participating teams had arrived, the last round of testing was conducted. Each group had to send a representative to recite all the dishes that had been eaten. I was the appointed one.
Thankful, we passed the test and were spared of the ordeal. The slowest team had to drink an utterly awful combination that consists of soy sauce, curry sauce, a can of soft drink and more. Each member of that team then took a sip of the “unique” drink. Four thumbs up for that!
Lastly it was prize presentation time. The winning team or rather the fastest team won the tickets to the FINALS of Singapore Idol. However, they were not able to make it due to other commitments. Hence, the SI tickets were given to our group! We won the tickets to FINALS of SI. Hurray!
Prizes were also given to the most creative and the team that had spent the least. Following a brief photo taking session and cheers, it marks the end of Food Junction 2006.
9.08.2006
Testimonies from 3rd Cambodia training
Today after the training, I had a clearer idea of what an effective team is and it is demanding to organise an effective team. To have an effective team, we must establish (GRPR)Goals, Roles,Processes, and Good relationship with one another, as well as to practice self-discipline. All the components of the efficient team will be affected if anyone of them is poorly managed. After this training, I learnt that every action you do is very important, and therefore it is important that you must have self-disclipine within yourself.
Wei Qiang
Throughout today activities, I've learnt a handful of things. One of which that I've learnt is that goals, roles, processes and relationship plays an important part in getting one big group of people to work together. This was demonstrated in the game, key punch, where our goals, roles and processes changed as the game proceeds. Teamwork and effective communication are important in this game. Apart from that, I have learnt that we should take time off to do some reflection as we usually do things too fast that we did not really go think about those things that we had done. I also learnt to set realistic goals by thinking globally and locally. The session also made me understand the service and learning objectives better. Overall, I felt that the training today will be of help to me for the Cambodia trip, as well as occasions when I had to work with a big group of people.
Juli
Today, I learnt that to have an effective team , GRPR is needed to be applied and under the relationship in GRPR is one of the important thing I learnt. After the lesson i learnt that being late, is a big no no. Relationship between friends might be affected even through, waiting for a late member and so it is important to be puntual, so that trust will not be broken. Lastly, I've learnt that if you have an something important the next day, you must sleep early if you did not sleep early you will not able to concentrate or perform to your best.
Lin lixuan
What I've learned ; Well, um, um, um, I've learned the proper definition of Service-Learning. It means to serve, simply, and learn from the people whom you are serving, be it their behavioural patterns, their living means, or their culture.
Also, i've learned to slow down my thoughts, and react upon them, as it will give me a chance to first, take a step back from the hectic mess that will be going on in my head if i continue to speed-think, and second, reflect upon the current situation, past mistakes, how to apply my knowledge to solve any problem.
I've also learned the process of GRPR. I've learnt more team-building skills, and how to communicate more efficiently. I've also learnt to pace myself more, and to learn my limits, as well as the limits of my team, and work well within them. Also, i've learnt that encouragement is a good tool for motivation!
Sunderason
Wei Qiang
Throughout today activities, I've learnt a handful of things. One of which that I've learnt is that goals, roles, processes and relationship plays an important part in getting one big group of people to work together. This was demonstrated in the game, key punch, where our goals, roles and processes changed as the game proceeds. Teamwork and effective communication are important in this game. Apart from that, I have learnt that we should take time off to do some reflection as we usually do things too fast that we did not really go think about those things that we had done. I also learnt to set realistic goals by thinking globally and locally. The session also made me understand the service and learning objectives better. Overall, I felt that the training today will be of help to me for the Cambodia trip, as well as occasions when I had to work with a big group of people.
Juli
Today, I learnt that to have an effective team , GRPR is needed to be applied and under the relationship in GRPR is one of the important thing I learnt. After the lesson i learnt that being late, is a big no no. Relationship between friends might be affected even through, waiting for a late member and so it is important to be puntual, so that trust will not be broken. Lastly, I've learnt that if you have an something important the next day, you must sleep early if you did not sleep early you will not able to concentrate or perform to your best.
Lin lixuan
What I've learned ; Well, um, um, um, I've learned the proper definition of Service-Learning. It means to serve, simply, and learn from the people whom you are serving, be it their behavioural patterns, their living means, or their culture.
Also, i've learned to slow down my thoughts, and react upon them, as it will give me a chance to first, take a step back from the hectic mess that will be going on in my head if i continue to speed-think, and second, reflect upon the current situation, past mistakes, how to apply my knowledge to solve any problem.
I've also learned the process of GRPR. I've learnt more team-building skills, and how to communicate more efficiently. I've also learnt to pace myself more, and to learn my limits, as well as the limits of my team, and work well within them. Also, i've learnt that encouragement is a good tool for motivation!
Sunderason
3rd Cambodian training
"SIM RAT SU!"(Greeting in Khmer language) hei! thirsty readers! curious what's in today?? Woooo~! Its jam-packed with activities today! It was so fun and FUNNY! So lucky I didn't miss any action thats in for us in the morning.. Come 10am in the morning, we arrived at the 3rd level training room in Marine Parade. Pastor Roland, together with his wife, Pastor Laifun, had a game installed for us. The rules were, to get ourselves into pairs, and change partners, each time a command is given. BOred ya? But the juciest part is this! Eyes to knees, hands to nose, hand to feet! We were told to "attach" oursleves together! One of my partners was Vimel, and i've learnt something!(He's afraid to be touched at the nose!). Such a simple game, but its going crazier each time! From pairs into quads and then having our ears to stomach, with our hands to feet?!? Haha..Scrambling all over the room, with laughters all around the room, and Danny laughing away behind the scenes, its was..FUN AND Sooo FUNNY!
After the game came to a ending, it was time for our PROJECT PRESENTATION! Inside the nutshell, its a brief about the History, Geography, Economy, Culture, Youth and social needs of the people in Cambodia people. We get to know that Cambodia has its bitter stories, real bitter ones, that its main economy thrives on agriculture, the way to sit and greet, the average ages of the Khmer people, and the grave needs of their societies throughout the presentation.. All the presenters had their knowledge to share, their FREEZING JOKES, and their grOOVES to show. It was great! We then went on with a video presentation, directed and edited by Charmaine, performed by all of US! The video covers a range of scenes from classrooms, to homes, to killing fields..Pol Pot..Hmm, wonder if its being uploaded..it was like a Hollywood Movie..Pretty Professional..ahem and comical!Kenny and Danny was laughing crazily when Mark gave out his miracle command! !@#$WQE#! Chiong ah! ..The most unforgetable part is Sheng Long acting as a Khmer citizen, speaking khMER, for about 5 mins or so?..Just a short smaple, bara-Bara, barararara..baba-barara..barararara.... yup, 70% was in that...hee.. You have to watch it to see what i mean. Stomach calls! LUNCHTIME!
Back from sumptuous meal, Service Learning, is what we're into the next 4 hours. A slight introduction to our course faciltator, Lily, and we're in for a start! We were into a game called Have You Ever? . The fastest person to complete the round wins. Hmm, got to know the many injuries my teammates suffered before.. Have u ever fractured BOTH ARMS before? . Have u ever stayed in hospital for 7 days before? ..Man!.HAHA..Yea,barely my knees made it. There were 4 buffalos on my knees! (Shhh!)..So much sacrifices, but JEFFERY won the round -again!!
Soon, we were into the SL session. Its a session that let us realise the importance of service, as well as learning. That it has to be balanced and carried out. We then had our beautiful mindmaps drawn up ya, on what makes a effective team, along with artistic pictures. Take note! GRPR. Goals, Roles, Processes and Relationship are the elements of a effective team! Remember! Away from the theories, it was down to PRACTICAL PART! Time for some fun! Standing behind the wooden doors, locked away from the game site, we were told to elect 2 spies, spying on the inside for instructions to be given to us. The game is to tap a number ranging from 1-40 under 60 seconds. 2 steps, or off steps, it'll go KA-BOOM!! hee..Attempted to dffuse the bomb within the 1 minute time frame was a disaster the first try. We decided on the roles, corrected our processes and responsibilities, and headed into the battlefield again!! Failed, corrected, and tried again! MISSION ACCOMPLISHED on the 4th try! Had our goal changed. Down to 40 secs with a injured Kenny to tackle with.Hmm..think think! JIA YOU! HAO! BAGUS! .. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED ON THE 11th try! 34 Seconds! Wohoo! Components of a efficient team, GOALS-ROLES-PROCESSES-RESPONSIBILITY, it really was. Overall the 4 hours with our trainer broadened our span of knowledge in SL. The importance of SL, GRPR, plannings, preparations, application to what you have learnt and reflection. To reflect, is to improve.
Having done with the training, it was Lionel's turn. Eek, by now, my guess is there should be corpses laying behind me on the floor? Hee..Nope, all was ready to receive juicy details about our flight, and the items to bring. 0430 in the morning!? Hm..and 2330 arrival back in SG? Wow!.. My first plane ride! Ate our malaria pill soon after, 1 down, phew.. 6 to go for the weeks to come! ARGGHH! Then....FOOD! Charmaine's Birthday cake, served cool and choco-lity, YUMMY..It was the saviour for my stomach. But..Damn, can't taste anything, nose B-L-O-C-K-E-D!=(.. Tiring the day was, it was full of hilarity. But the real testimony of the end of the day was, your reflections.. O-KUN. (Thank You in Khmer)
Edwin
After the game came to a ending, it was time for our PROJECT PRESENTATION! Inside the nutshell, its a brief about the History, Geography, Economy, Culture, Youth and social needs of the people in Cambodia people. We get to know that Cambodia has its bitter stories, real bitter ones, that its main economy thrives on agriculture, the way to sit and greet, the average ages of the Khmer people, and the grave needs of their societies throughout the presentation.. All the presenters had their knowledge to share, their FREEZING JOKES, and their grOOVES to show. It was great! We then went on with a video presentation, directed and edited by Charmaine, performed by all of US! The video covers a range of scenes from classrooms, to homes, to killing fields..Pol Pot..Hmm, wonder if its being uploaded..it was like a Hollywood Movie..Pretty Professional..ahem and comical!Kenny and Danny was laughing crazily when Mark gave out his miracle command! !@#$WQE#! Chiong ah! ..The most unforgetable part is Sheng Long acting as a Khmer citizen, speaking khMER, for about 5 mins or so?..Just a short smaple, bara-Bara, barararara..baba-barara..barararara.... yup, 70% was in that...hee.. You have to watch it to see what i mean. Stomach calls! LUNCHTIME!
Back from sumptuous meal, Service Learning, is what we're into the next 4 hours. A slight introduction to our course faciltator, Lily, and we're in for a start! We were into a game called Have You Ever? . The fastest person to complete the round wins. Hmm, got to know the many injuries my teammates suffered before.. Have u ever fractured BOTH ARMS before? . Have u ever stayed in hospital for 7 days before? ..Man!.HAHA..Yea,barely my knees made it. There were 4 buffalos on my knees! (Shhh!)..So much sacrifices, but JEFFERY won the round -again!!
Soon, we were into the SL session. Its a session that let us realise the importance of service, as well as learning. That it has to be balanced and carried out. We then had our beautiful mindmaps drawn up ya, on what makes a effective team, along with artistic pictures. Take note! GRPR. Goals, Roles, Processes and Relationship are the elements of a effective team! Remember! Away from the theories, it was down to PRACTICAL PART! Time for some fun! Standing behind the wooden doors, locked away from the game site, we were told to elect 2 spies, spying on the inside for instructions to be given to us. The game is to tap a number ranging from 1-40 under 60 seconds. 2 steps, or off steps, it'll go KA-BOOM!! hee..Attempted to dffuse the bomb within the 1 minute time frame was a disaster the first try. We decided on the roles, corrected our processes and responsibilities, and headed into the battlefield again!! Failed, corrected, and tried again! MISSION ACCOMPLISHED on the 4th try! Had our goal changed. Down to 40 secs with a injured Kenny to tackle with.Hmm..think think! JIA YOU! HAO! BAGUS! .. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED ON THE 11th try! 34 Seconds! Wohoo! Components of a efficient team, GOALS-ROLES-PROCESSES-RESPONSIBILITY, it really was. Overall the 4 hours with our trainer broadened our span of knowledge in SL. The importance of SL, GRPR, plannings, preparations, application to what you have learnt and reflection. To reflect, is to improve.
Having done with the training, it was Lionel's turn. Eek, by now, my guess is there should be corpses laying behind me on the floor? Hee..Nope, all was ready to receive juicy details about our flight, and the items to bring. 0430 in the morning!? Hm..and 2330 arrival back in SG? Wow!.. My first plane ride! Ate our malaria pill soon after, 1 down, phew.. 6 to go for the weeks to come! ARGGHH! Then....FOOD! Charmaine's Birthday cake, served cool and choco-lity, YUMMY..It was the saviour for my stomach. But..Damn, can't taste anything, nose B-L-O-C-K-E-D!=(.. Tiring the day was, it was full of hilarity. But the real testimony of the end of the day was, your reflections.. O-KUN. (Thank You in Khmer)
Edwin
9.05.2006
2nd Cambodia Training @ Little India
Culture shock that will shock you!
You can never guess out what we had done for our 2nd training of the oversea learning trip! Basically, all our 5 senses are used and learning was very funny and educational with a little exotic experience. Alright, not to that extend of exotic but experiencing new things.
The trip started off with a talk given by Pastor Roland. It is a talk about culture shock which we will be experiencing when we travel to other country. Therefore, it is a very useful talk to prepare us for the culture in Cambodia. Did you know that laughing loudly is very rude in Cambodia? Yes, it is! Of course, we learn many more from the talk.
After the talk, we had our second part of the training and this is where we used most of our 5 senses. As a team, we headed down to Little India for our heavy Indian lunch. After that, we were grouped into 2 different groups (Danny and Kenny) to explore the exotic Little India. I belonged to Kenny group and we walked down the street with a list of items to look for. Unfortunately, I cannot remember the 6 items on the list that was scribbled on Kenny’s paper. However, I could vividly recall the items that we bought and tried. They are basically India tidbits that are very sweet and sour yoghurt. The learning experience was very fun as we go around, trying to learn new things about India and their culture which has been around us all the time without us knowing it. We even stopped by a coconut stall to have coconut drink. Occasionally, we can hear Indian Pop music being played at the Indian Music stall.
We ended our trip at Mustafa Shopping Centre and shared our foods with the rest of the team. Basically, everyone has tried, tasted, smelled, felt, heard and seen India culture. I must say that we have handled a different culture very well. Even though, many of us do not have sweet tooth but we still find the experience of eating sweet Indian tidbits is expectable and fun.
Basically, we were told by officers that we might experience more in Cambodia and the foods we will be eating are not as spicy as Indian food. We might even get a chance to taste their local foods like spiders and other insects or maybe even rat meat. However, I am sure we are quite prepared because we have been through the teaching of culture shock and also the trip to Little India.
The whole training ended with a window shopping at Mustafa Shopping Centre with many Indians around us as if we are in a whole new world despite the fact that we are still in Singapore.
Bernard
You can never guess out what we had done for our 2nd training of the oversea learning trip! Basically, all our 5 senses are used and learning was very funny and educational with a little exotic experience. Alright, not to that extend of exotic but experiencing new things.
The trip started off with a talk given by Pastor Roland. It is a talk about culture shock which we will be experiencing when we travel to other country. Therefore, it is a very useful talk to prepare us for the culture in Cambodia. Did you know that laughing loudly is very rude in Cambodia? Yes, it is! Of course, we learn many more from the talk.
After the talk, we had our second part of the training and this is where we used most of our 5 senses. As a team, we headed down to Little India for our heavy Indian lunch. After that, we were grouped into 2 different groups (Danny and Kenny) to explore the exotic Little India. I belonged to Kenny group and we walked down the street with a list of items to look for. Unfortunately, I cannot remember the 6 items on the list that was scribbled on Kenny’s paper. However, I could vividly recall the items that we bought and tried. They are basically India tidbits that are very sweet and sour yoghurt. The learning experience was very fun as we go around, trying to learn new things about India and their culture which has been around us all the time without us knowing it. We even stopped by a coconut stall to have coconut drink. Occasionally, we can hear Indian Pop music being played at the Indian Music stall.
We ended our trip at Mustafa Shopping Centre and shared our foods with the rest of the team. Basically, everyone has tried, tasted, smelled, felt, heard and seen India culture. I must say that we have handled a different culture very well. Even though, many of us do not have sweet tooth but we still find the experience of eating sweet Indian tidbits is expectable and fun.
Basically, we were told by officers that we might experience more in Cambodia and the foods we will be eating are not as spicy as Indian food. We might even get a chance to taste their local foods like spiders and other insects or maybe even rat meat. However, I am sure we are quite prepared because we have been through the teaching of culture shock and also the trip to Little India.
The whole training ended with a window shopping at Mustafa Shopping Centre with many Indians around us as if we are in a whole new world despite the fact that we are still in Singapore.
Bernard
9.04.2006
RIO [Snow White]
HeY ehhhHH!!
我们有个白雪公主
hey liao liao luo
我有七个小矮人 ehhh
hey liao liao luo
One Two Three Four Five Six Seven
Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti ehhhh
The above is the NO 1 主打歌 for Snow White team in the latest RIO Camp. All the participants of the RIO famine camp would definitely remember the humourous Snow White and their Powerful Power-Fedex team. As an officer of this group, I have truly enjoyed the company of the members in this team.
With a powerful combination of Towering HuiYi, Supportive QingYan, Zealous Ziyang, Creative Wenjie, Bashful BoonKiat, Witty WeiLiang, Encouraging Edwin, Cooperative Bryan, and SMARTIE Shenglong, it’s no wonder how we won the Best Advertisement.
Facilitating them has been pretty easy as they were responsive and ponders deep when challenged. Being in this Famine Camp has helped them to understand the helplessness of the tsunami and earthquake- strucked countries. They could imagine the sense of loss when they worked hard to accumulate their possessions and having to lose it in a terrorist attack, or a natural disaster, so to speak. They could identify with the feeling of hunger; craving for food yet there is NOTHING available. They have to worry about having a shelter over their heads. These experiences are something that cannot be duplicated in our affluent Singapore lifestyle.
Being hungry and tired, the team had to walk ‘aimlessly’ around the island of UBIN in search of some items to replace the things we lost. Despite the long distance, we were entertaining each other with our wildest jokes and kiampah qns (欠扁问答题). Getting-to-know-yous hasn’t been better than this. After such a long and tedious walk, Snow White did not shortchange the family but DELIVERed the most entertaining and best advert, really living up to the ad, we live to DELIVER. =p
All good things must come to an end, with a LOUD bang, we broke our 24hr-fast and had the yummilicious cup noodles! We ended the camp with a time of appreciation where we ‘cut the crap’ but appreciate each other for the time spent together and shared what we have learnt. Indeed, RIO camp is not just an event that is planned and ran for the sake of having a good event/activity. It is of building r/s and family. 1D1N might be a short time to foster any strong bonds, but the willingness to share our lives is the beginning to finding treasures in this FAMILY. =)
Cand
我们有个白雪公主
hey liao liao luo
我有七个小矮人 ehhh
hey liao liao luo
One Two Three Four Five Six Seven
Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti ehhhh
The above is the NO 1 主打歌 for Snow White team in the latest RIO Camp. All the participants of the RIO famine camp would definitely remember the humourous Snow White and their Powerful Power-Fedex team. As an officer of this group, I have truly enjoyed the company of the members in this team.
With a powerful combination of Towering HuiYi, Supportive QingYan, Zealous Ziyang, Creative Wenjie, Bashful BoonKiat, Witty WeiLiang, Encouraging Edwin, Cooperative Bryan, and SMARTIE Shenglong, it’s no wonder how we won the Best Advertisement.
Facilitating them has been pretty easy as they were responsive and ponders deep when challenged. Being in this Famine Camp has helped them to understand the helplessness of the tsunami and earthquake- strucked countries. They could imagine the sense of loss when they worked hard to accumulate their possessions and having to lose it in a terrorist attack, or a natural disaster, so to speak. They could identify with the feeling of hunger; craving for food yet there is NOTHING available. They have to worry about having a shelter over their heads. These experiences are something that cannot be duplicated in our affluent Singapore lifestyle.
Being hungry and tired, the team had to walk ‘aimlessly’ around the island of UBIN in search of some items to replace the things we lost. Despite the long distance, we were entertaining each other with our wildest jokes and kiampah qns (欠扁问答题). Getting-to-know-yous hasn’t been better than this. After such a long and tedious walk, Snow White did not shortchange the family but DELIVERed the most entertaining and best advert, really living up to the ad, we live to DELIVER. =p
All good things must come to an end, with a LOUD bang, we broke our 24hr-fast and had the yummilicious cup noodles! We ended the camp with a time of appreciation where we ‘cut the crap’ but appreciate each other for the time spent together and shared what we have learnt. Indeed, RIO camp is not just an event that is planned and ran for the sake of having a good event/activity. It is of building r/s and family. 1D1N might be a short time to foster any strong bonds, but the willingness to share our lives is the beginning to finding treasures in this FAMILY. =)
Cand
Project Pakistan to Project Cambodia.
On Friday 25th August Shawn (our Team manager for Project Pakistan) wrote this
Hi Guys, Greetings from Pakistan, sorry but I wasn't able to get access to email past 2 days. The situation here in Balakot is not good at all, just traveling to the school was a TORTURE due to the badly damaged roads. Unfortunately the school is located right beside a large river which is swollen from the rain. More than 100 people have been injured and thousands have been made homeless in this place. It is not safe for the students to be here because more rain is expected until October, traveling in vehicles could be dangerous due to the landslides. The road I have been here a few days considering whether you should come but I have to make the call to either postpone or cancel this trip. It is really not worth the risk at this moment. I'm coming back to Singapore tomorrow.
regards, Shawn
When I first read this msg, my heart sank. Already the 1st thing on my mind was to manage the expectations of the Primers. How would they feel if this trip was cancelled? What if we take the risk and go for the trip? What might happen?
So many question so little time to think thru’
On Sunday 27th August, the final call was made to postpone the trip, if not cancelled it. So the hectic meet ups to discuss about other probable trips were made almost immediately. We looked everywhere, from BBHQ to SP to FCBC and thank God for Ps Roland, because he just came back from a feasibility trip to Cambodia. Almost immediately, phone calls were made to the local host, Ps Roland, Danny and Lionel. The team worked furiously at a really frightening pace to get everything up and going. The trip was set to go except for one element.
The students themselves have not been notified of the change as yet. Wednesday 30th august 2006, we released the news during our 1st training date with the students. And I though Bernard’s write up sums it up best
“Stormy clouds and heavy rain caused water to flood over the river banks and submerging hundreds of properties and lives. Large huge rocks might just tumble down or mud will just cover over when traveling on the mountainous road to our destination that we will call home for ten days." This probably is the situation expected in the beginning of our Pakistan trip. Family members, Primers family, friends and people concerned should be quite worried after reading the first paragraph.
The good news is we will be changing our flight plan from Pakistan to Cambodia. Therefore, the above scenario will probably not be faced on the trip to Cambodia. The change of destination was only broken out to 16 Singapore Polytechnic students and 3 Officers from Primers club on the first day of training for the oversea learning trip. Upon hearing this news, many have different feelings about it. Vimel, student from SP and Primers Club Treasurer, felt a sign of relief that the destination was changed because, the place that was intended to go earlier might not be convenient for everyone in terms of safety.
As for Lixuan who is also a student from SP and members of Primers Club felt surprised on learning the news. She was mentally prepared like everyone who is involved in the trip to Pakistan. The change just caught her and everyone by surprise. However, she felt that the change makes a slight impact on her because the team is still going to some other places to extend our love and care.
The change might have the most impact on the trip planners for this oversea learning trip. They had tried their best in getting the administration done in just 2 days which is very short for planning a 9 days trip for 20 people. For the record, a trip for such a large number usually takes weeks or months to prepare. This time, the officers had made a difference by preparing it with such a short time, together with Pastor Roland. It is them who made the trip possible again.
Basically, the training is to prepare us for the oversea learning trip. Therefore, it comprises team building games, talks about the destination and allocated tasks and sharing sessions with the team. This is roughly what we do on the first day of training. The first training ends with a bad and heavy rain at about 4 to 5 pm.
However, there is this saying, "there will always be sunshine after a bad raining day.”
Bernard
The responses from the parents were generally good also and seems like everyone is ready to GO GO GO!
Guys if you are going for this trip, you have to really appreciate the efforts of Danny, Lionel and Ps Roland , because without them all these would not have been possible. Thank God for making everything possible and really without Him this would not have been as smooth as it is.
So if you guys are interested to be involved in this up coming trip, there are 2 ways to contribute right now.
Number 1: you can find any of the students who are going to Cambodia to help sponsor part of his or her trip there. They will provide you with the necessary forms to fill up. People on this trip are Sheng Long, Vimel, Chun Yuan, Juli, Charmaine, Lixuan, Meijun, Bernard, Mark, Zhi Hao, Zhi Yuan, Jeff, Sunder, Edwin, Wei Qiang and Jun Jie!
Number 2: you can approach Hui Shan (Our Vice-President) to be involved in making a personalized gift to the 39 orphans that we are helping.
Hope to see you guys @ the SENDING OFF.
OC
Hi Guys, Greetings from Pakistan, sorry but I wasn't able to get access to email past 2 days. The situation here in Balakot is not good at all, just traveling to the school was a TORTURE due to the badly damaged roads. Unfortunately the school is located right beside a large river which is swollen from the rain. More than 100 people have been injured and thousands have been made homeless in this place. It is not safe for the students to be here because more rain is expected until October, traveling in vehicles could be dangerous due to the landslides. The road I have been here a few days considering whether you should come but I have to make the call to either postpone or cancel this trip. It is really not worth the risk at this moment. I'm coming back to Singapore tomorrow.
regards, Shawn
When I first read this msg, my heart sank. Already the 1st thing on my mind was to manage the expectations of the Primers. How would they feel if this trip was cancelled? What if we take the risk and go for the trip? What might happen?
So many question so little time to think thru’
On Sunday 27th August, the final call was made to postpone the trip, if not cancelled it. So the hectic meet ups to discuss about other probable trips were made almost immediately. We looked everywhere, from BBHQ to SP to FCBC and thank God for Ps Roland, because he just came back from a feasibility trip to Cambodia. Almost immediately, phone calls were made to the local host, Ps Roland, Danny and Lionel. The team worked furiously at a really frightening pace to get everything up and going. The trip was set to go except for one element.
The students themselves have not been notified of the change as yet. Wednesday 30th august 2006, we released the news during our 1st training date with the students. And I though Bernard’s write up sums it up best
“Stormy clouds and heavy rain caused water to flood over the river banks and submerging hundreds of properties and lives. Large huge rocks might just tumble down or mud will just cover over when traveling on the mountainous road to our destination that we will call home for ten days." This probably is the situation expected in the beginning of our Pakistan trip. Family members, Primers family, friends and people concerned should be quite worried after reading the first paragraph.
The good news is we will be changing our flight plan from Pakistan to Cambodia. Therefore, the above scenario will probably not be faced on the trip to Cambodia. The change of destination was only broken out to 16 Singapore Polytechnic students and 3 Officers from Primers club on the first day of training for the oversea learning trip. Upon hearing this news, many have different feelings about it. Vimel, student from SP and Primers Club Treasurer, felt a sign of relief that the destination was changed because, the place that was intended to go earlier might not be convenient for everyone in terms of safety.
As for Lixuan who is also a student from SP and members of Primers Club felt surprised on learning the news. She was mentally prepared like everyone who is involved in the trip to Pakistan. The change just caught her and everyone by surprise. However, she felt that the change makes a slight impact on her because the team is still going to some other places to extend our love and care.
The change might have the most impact on the trip planners for this oversea learning trip. They had tried their best in getting the administration done in just 2 days which is very short for planning a 9 days trip for 20 people. For the record, a trip for such a large number usually takes weeks or months to prepare. This time, the officers had made a difference by preparing it with such a short time, together with Pastor Roland. It is them who made the trip possible again.
Basically, the training is to prepare us for the oversea learning trip. Therefore, it comprises team building games, talks about the destination and allocated tasks and sharing sessions with the team. This is roughly what we do on the first day of training. The first training ends with a bad and heavy rain at about 4 to 5 pm.
However, there is this saying, "there will always be sunshine after a bad raining day.”
Bernard
The responses from the parents were generally good also and seems like everyone is ready to GO GO GO!
Guys if you are going for this trip, you have to really appreciate the efforts of Danny, Lionel and Ps Roland , because without them all these would not have been possible. Thank God for making everything possible and really without Him this would not have been as smooth as it is.
So if you guys are interested to be involved in this up coming trip, there are 2 ways to contribute right now.
Number 1: you can find any of the students who are going to Cambodia to help sponsor part of his or her trip there. They will provide you with the necessary forms to fill up. People on this trip are Sheng Long, Vimel, Chun Yuan, Juli, Charmaine, Lixuan, Meijun, Bernard, Mark, Zhi Hao, Zhi Yuan, Jeff, Sunder, Edwin, Wei Qiang and Jun Jie!
Number 2: you can approach Hui Shan (Our Vice-President) to be involved in making a personalized gift to the 39 orphans that we are helping.
Hope to see you guys @ the SENDING OFF.
OC
RIO [China Hip-Hop]
Day One
From island wide, they came by buses, train, taxi and other mean of transportation. A group of ten people were magically link together to form a village. By the time of 7 plus, one after another they arrived at changi jetty. Our group leaded by our charismatic village head, Diana, gathers us and started off with a round of introduction, comprising of Sunderason, Shi Min, Jian Ming, Mark, Zhen Hong, Wei Jie, Jeffrey, Xinni and Paul.
It took a while for everyone to know each other as we take the boat to Palau Ubin. We reached our campsite after a long walk from the jetty. Terry, our camp commander welcome all of us as he introduced all the camp committees, the officers and also the kind lady who lend us her place for our activities. Danny, our captain, gear us up as he officially start RIO camp 2006 with a challenge posed to us to fast for 24 hours, it simulate the environment for project Pakistan and allowing us to step out of our comfort zone.
Before any activities start we had to come up with our village name, flag and cheers. With Wei Jie influence and his outlook of China, we come up with a rather refreshing name, "China Hip-Hop". At the same time, we also need to fold stars to exchange for materials to build our tent for the night, it seem that we didn't change much only 1 ground sheet. However with some wits of Wei Jie, he manages to get a large blue sheet from the old lady. Plus having Jeffrey's nylon string we build a rather simple tent compare to the rest of the groups but I will like to say it was the most spacious tent of all. Xinni and Shi Min folded the most stars in our group and their efforts were greatly appreciated.
After it we were given the task to design a mural wall as it will be part of project Pakistan, to show that all primers will be part of the trips and not just those who are going. We come up with a design of a heart surrounded by a ring of people holding hand to hand and having both the sun and the moon on both side and grass at the base, Sunder explain our design to the rest and the judges.
Soon after completion, we were set off for our first activities. The first station was a game something like Indian poker; all 10 of us will take a card from a deck and place it at our forehead without looking at the card. All of us cannot speak while one of us instructed the rest, to form into sequence starting from the smallest to the biggest by using trust. It a swift and fast game as Mabel (station IC), gave us the green light and presents our reward, a t-shirt.
We proceed on to the second station. Shi Hui (station IC), divided us into two group of 5, and form us into a line as we need to pass from one side to the other without getting jam if not we need to start again. At the beginning we do it for a few times and with Jeffrey instructions, we completed it. Seeing it, Lionel, our village officer who was assign to our group challenges us. He want us not to say a single word as we do it, we find it hard at the start but once we all know what to do clearly it carry on smoothly. We received a cup noodle as the reward and after all was done we moved on.
We moved on to Chun Yuan station, "jumping jack", we cannot shout out the number "2" as we do the counting, we finish it after the third try. The second part of it was not to shout out "2&3"; we tend to slip off quite easily and redo it for a few times, it ended as we all followed Paul by jumping slowly as we all count. After all ten counts are done; Chun Yuan presented us with a log for burning.
At the same place we meet the station IC for our 4th station, Aloysius. The task was simple, to read out the BB vesper, everyone just need to remember one line of it. Because the last line is just "Amen", all wanted to have that line, we play a simple game of "number one, two and three" to resolve it, Xinni got it and after all of us read for a while, we finish it at the first attempt.
Our 5th station was to stand on a piece of old open up newspaper; all of us need to stand on it without any leg stepping out. And after we were done, Citra further test us by giving us only half of the newspaper to stand on. Ten people, stepping on each other legs, tip toe, hugging, holding to each other and some instruction from each and everyone we mange to stand on the newspaper for 10 counts. Once done Citra gave us a small bottle of shampoo.
Finally all of us proceed on to the last station game, by Liang Ming (station IC). The game was to pass down the message from the first person to the last. Starting from Jian Ming to Jeffrey, we pass the message down, in between we miss out a few line. However it does not matter as the time for the activities were coming to an end.
When we return back to the starting point, we have a mass game, the game we play in Shi Hui station, definitely it on a larger scale as all primers were involved. We didn't really complete the game but surely we have quite a lot of fun doing it. After it's done, we are broke up back into our village and have a time of reflection with Lionel on the game we played. We find out the each game taught us some characteristic of a good team player.
Shortly after the reflection, we are being interrupted by the arrival of the terrorists, as spooky as it seem to be, we all were robbed of the rewards that we have earned during the activities. Those rewards are example of necessities to survive; we are left with three clues to get help. Well we have a great laughs at the terrorist before we set off for aid.
The first clue "help! Alternate no. 999" led us to think of the police station, thus we take the long walk back to the jetty where the police station are located near to it. Along the way, we were supposed to find some materials for our necessities to replace the items we lost like food, water, shelter. Once we have informed the police, we open up the second clue, and its destination was a cemetery, due to lack of time, we proceed on to the third clue which led us to a shelter at the top of a hill. We were given the task to make a short clip asking for the aid of UN. We film the clip with an innovation idea of adding humor to it, starting with serious attitude, two persons were killed but it ended with a comical close in on Wei Jie. (Catch the clip from primer youtube).
Back to our campsite, we are shrouded by fatigue, however it did not damper our lame and creative juice of producing idea, as seem in the final task of making an advertisement asking people to join primers. The camp committees open up the "Village gala night" by presenting soft drinks to us, while we sat back and enjoy the various group of performance. It ended on an emotion note, when all the senior and officers sang a song for us, and we all joining in. We also took a few pictures as a group and after it, it free time for all.
Day Two
The day started at 7am with everyone gather, as Danny gave us our certificates of survive and Kenny gave us our cup noodle. Once all of us have received, the time was nearing 9.40, which signify the closing of our 24 hours fast. 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 and beep….we went off to have our food taken, the cup noodle seem like the most delicious food taken in age.
After done with our meal, it started to rain, but it does not matter as we have a gathering to appreciate each other for their effort and Wei Jie took quite a lot for his humor. We also played the game of "animal game", Jian Ming lost and the forfeit was to propose to Terry and he must say yes. He tries a few time before Terry said yes and we some great laughing moment during the process.
At long last, the camp has ended when all of us took the van back to the jetty. We took the boat back to the mainland and after a security check we waited for the rest of primers to come back. But before it all ended, we took a few photos of the entire primers. We just can't forget the moment we share, it a trip to remember.
From island wide, they came by buses, train, taxi and other mean of transportation. A group of ten people were magically link together to form a village. By the time of 7 plus, one after another they arrived at changi jetty. Our group leaded by our charismatic village head, Diana, gathers us and started off with a round of introduction, comprising of Sunderason, Shi Min, Jian Ming, Mark, Zhen Hong, Wei Jie, Jeffrey, Xinni and Paul.
It took a while for everyone to know each other as we take the boat to Palau Ubin. We reached our campsite after a long walk from the jetty. Terry, our camp commander welcome all of us as he introduced all the camp committees, the officers and also the kind lady who lend us her place for our activities. Danny, our captain, gear us up as he officially start RIO camp 2006 with a challenge posed to us to fast for 24 hours, it simulate the environment for project Pakistan and allowing us to step out of our comfort zone.
Before any activities start we had to come up with our village name, flag and cheers. With Wei Jie influence and his outlook of China, we come up with a rather refreshing name, "China Hip-Hop". At the same time, we also need to fold stars to exchange for materials to build our tent for the night, it seem that we didn't change much only 1 ground sheet. However with some wits of Wei Jie, he manages to get a large blue sheet from the old lady. Plus having Jeffrey's nylon string we build a rather simple tent compare to the rest of the groups but I will like to say it was the most spacious tent of all. Xinni and Shi Min folded the most stars in our group and their efforts were greatly appreciated.
After it we were given the task to design a mural wall as it will be part of project Pakistan, to show that all primers will be part of the trips and not just those who are going. We come up with a design of a heart surrounded by a ring of people holding hand to hand and having both the sun and the moon on both side and grass at the base, Sunder explain our design to the rest and the judges.
Soon after completion, we were set off for our first activities. The first station was a game something like Indian poker; all 10 of us will take a card from a deck and place it at our forehead without looking at the card. All of us cannot speak while one of us instructed the rest, to form into sequence starting from the smallest to the biggest by using trust. It a swift and fast game as Mabel (station IC), gave us the green light and presents our reward, a t-shirt.
We proceed on to the second station. Shi Hui (station IC), divided us into two group of 5, and form us into a line as we need to pass from one side to the other without getting jam if not we need to start again. At the beginning we do it for a few times and with Jeffrey instructions, we completed it. Seeing it, Lionel, our village officer who was assign to our group challenges us. He want us not to say a single word as we do it, we find it hard at the start but once we all know what to do clearly it carry on smoothly. We received a cup noodle as the reward and after all was done we moved on.
We moved on to Chun Yuan station, "jumping jack", we cannot shout out the number "2" as we do the counting, we finish it after the third try. The second part of it was not to shout out "2&3"; we tend to slip off quite easily and redo it for a few times, it ended as we all followed Paul by jumping slowly as we all count. After all ten counts are done; Chun Yuan presented us with a log for burning.
At the same place we meet the station IC for our 4th station, Aloysius. The task was simple, to read out the BB vesper, everyone just need to remember one line of it. Because the last line is just "Amen", all wanted to have that line, we play a simple game of "number one, two and three" to resolve it, Xinni got it and after all of us read for a while, we finish it at the first attempt.
Our 5th station was to stand on a piece of old open up newspaper; all of us need to stand on it without any leg stepping out. And after we were done, Citra further test us by giving us only half of the newspaper to stand on. Ten people, stepping on each other legs, tip toe, hugging, holding to each other and some instruction from each and everyone we mange to stand on the newspaper for 10 counts. Once done Citra gave us a small bottle of shampoo.
Finally all of us proceed on to the last station game, by Liang Ming (station IC). The game was to pass down the message from the first person to the last. Starting from Jian Ming to Jeffrey, we pass the message down, in between we miss out a few line. However it does not matter as the time for the activities were coming to an end.
When we return back to the starting point, we have a mass game, the game we play in Shi Hui station, definitely it on a larger scale as all primers were involved. We didn't really complete the game but surely we have quite a lot of fun doing it. After it's done, we are broke up back into our village and have a time of reflection with Lionel on the game we played. We find out the each game taught us some characteristic of a good team player.
Shortly after the reflection, we are being interrupted by the arrival of the terrorists, as spooky as it seem to be, we all were robbed of the rewards that we have earned during the activities. Those rewards are example of necessities to survive; we are left with three clues to get help. Well we have a great laughs at the terrorist before we set off for aid.
The first clue "help! Alternate no. 999" led us to think of the police station, thus we take the long walk back to the jetty where the police station are located near to it. Along the way, we were supposed to find some materials for our necessities to replace the items we lost like food, water, shelter. Once we have informed the police, we open up the second clue, and its destination was a cemetery, due to lack of time, we proceed on to the third clue which led us to a shelter at the top of a hill. We were given the task to make a short clip asking for the aid of UN. We film the clip with an innovation idea of adding humor to it, starting with serious attitude, two persons were killed but it ended with a comical close in on Wei Jie. (Catch the clip from primer youtube).
Back to our campsite, we are shrouded by fatigue, however it did not damper our lame and creative juice of producing idea, as seem in the final task of making an advertisement asking people to join primers. The camp committees open up the "Village gala night" by presenting soft drinks to us, while we sat back and enjoy the various group of performance. It ended on an emotion note, when all the senior and officers sang a song for us, and we all joining in. We also took a few pictures as a group and after it, it free time for all.
Day Two
The day started at 7am with everyone gather, as Danny gave us our certificates of survive and Kenny gave us our cup noodle. Once all of us have received, the time was nearing 9.40, which signify the closing of our 24 hours fast. 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 and beep….we went off to have our food taken, the cup noodle seem like the most delicious food taken in age.
After done with our meal, it started to rain, but it does not matter as we have a gathering to appreciate each other for their effort and Wei Jie took quite a lot for his humor. We also played the game of "animal game", Jian Ming lost and the forfeit was to propose to Terry and he must say yes. He tries a few time before Terry said yes and we some great laughing moment during the process.
At long last, the camp has ended when all of us took the van back to the jetty. We took the boat back to the mainland and after a security check we waited for the rest of primers to come back. But before it all ended, we took a few photos of the entire primers. We just can't forget the moment we share, it a trip to remember.
RIO [China Hip-Hop]
Day 1
Ok, first things first. Breakfast. Simple concept. Stupidity on my part to not read between the lines of the sms sent to me by our Village Head, Diana, the day before. I was COUNTING on having a heavy lunch on Ubin, so, I had two slices of bread washed down with some
Milo. Ha-ha. I should have known better. All seemed normally strange to me as usual, except for the fast that all the seniors were keeping especially mum about our agenda on Ubin. Darn. I should have just gone along with a hunch of stuffing my face in the morning. Ha-ha. Upon reaching our beloved campsite after a short walk from the Ubin jetty, after a fairly smooth ride on the bumboats to the island, most of us were shelled by the news that we were going to have a 24 hour fast till the next morning. Normally, the news would have shocked most normal people, but being me, I just accepted it. Maybe having gone through the torture of cramming for the math exam just 17 hours before the camp having drowned all other feelings at the moment. Maybe.
Going through the afternoon’s activities seemed like Standard Operation Procedure for Camps to me at times, having come from a BB Background. Which means mini-torture. Just kidding. I enjoyed the activities as a whole, as I realized then that I missed the feeling of being at camps, as it was a long time since I had seen any camp, let alone be in it. So the afternoon just basically breezed along for me, partially because I was too mentally drained, i.e. zombie like, and also the fact that I was too lazy to think or lead. But hey, eventually I realized something. I realized, through games and other activities the primers painstakingly organized for us, that everyone should be given the chance to lead, and at times where no one would be willing, there would be one who would take up the chance to do so out of the blue. And when tired, never, ever do something important! I screwed up a couple of times when I shouldn’t have in any normal situation. But I did hope and wish that the others would forgive me, and they did. Perhaps my screwing up did lead to others doing well, in overall terms, as I could see was the case with my beloved team, who were very helpful, shacked, and philosophical! I hope this was already written as fate!
Come the night, and EVERYONE was awake doing stuff except me. Ha-ha. I woke up at 4 different times to do something, except for the third time when it rained because we opened out our shelters to enable everyone in camp to share our tent, as did they. But hey, I did have fun. Hope to do more in Pakistan, but I do know I learnt NOT to play soccer late the night before an event! I think on the whole, I confused most everybody with what crap I was blabbering, and the way I carried myself like a zombie! Ha-ha. I promised myself that I would do better tomorrow, and function like a normal being, and on that note, I slept blissfully for an hour.
Day 2
0920 a.m. Hurrah! The fast was over! Nissin Noodles were in store for us. Heaven was the word to describe that simple meal. Ha-ha. We packed up after, said our goodbyes, had a short but fun debrief, and hopped on a van to the jetty. I was heart-broken. The kind aunty that sheltered us didn’t hear me when I shouted goodbye! Ha-ha. Just kidding around again. Basically, after this, we went back home, where I finally got some pig-like sleep. But not before a sumptuous meal at
Changi Village! Ha-ha.
Oh Well. That’s all for now folks! See you soon!
Ok, first things first. Breakfast. Simple concept. Stupidity on my part to not read between the lines of the sms sent to me by our Village Head, Diana, the day before. I was COUNTING on having a heavy lunch on Ubin, so, I had two slices of bread washed down with some
Milo. Ha-ha. I should have known better. All seemed normally strange to me as usual, except for the fast that all the seniors were keeping especially mum about our agenda on Ubin. Darn. I should have just gone along with a hunch of stuffing my face in the morning. Ha-ha. Upon reaching our beloved campsite after a short walk from the Ubin jetty, after a fairly smooth ride on the bumboats to the island, most of us were shelled by the news that we were going to have a 24 hour fast till the next morning. Normally, the news would have shocked most normal people, but being me, I just accepted it. Maybe having gone through the torture of cramming for the math exam just 17 hours before the camp having drowned all other feelings at the moment. Maybe.
Going through the afternoon’s activities seemed like Standard Operation Procedure for Camps to me at times, having come from a BB Background. Which means mini-torture. Just kidding. I enjoyed the activities as a whole, as I realized then that I missed the feeling of being at camps, as it was a long time since I had seen any camp, let alone be in it. So the afternoon just basically breezed along for me, partially because I was too mentally drained, i.e. zombie like, and also the fact that I was too lazy to think or lead. But hey, eventually I realized something. I realized, through games and other activities the primers painstakingly organized for us, that everyone should be given the chance to lead, and at times where no one would be willing, there would be one who would take up the chance to do so out of the blue. And when tired, never, ever do something important! I screwed up a couple of times when I shouldn’t have in any normal situation. But I did hope and wish that the others would forgive me, and they did. Perhaps my screwing up did lead to others doing well, in overall terms, as I could see was the case with my beloved team, who were very helpful, shacked, and philosophical! I hope this was already written as fate!
Come the night, and EVERYONE was awake doing stuff except me. Ha-ha. I woke up at 4 different times to do something, except for the third time when it rained because we opened out our shelters to enable everyone in camp to share our tent, as did they. But hey, I did have fun. Hope to do more in Pakistan, but I do know I learnt NOT to play soccer late the night before an event! I think on the whole, I confused most everybody with what crap I was blabbering, and the way I carried myself like a zombie! Ha-ha. I promised myself that I would do better tomorrow, and function like a normal being, and on that note, I slept blissfully for an hour.
Day 2
0920 a.m. Hurrah! The fast was over! Nissin Noodles were in store for us. Heaven was the word to describe that simple meal. Ha-ha. We packed up after, said our goodbyes, had a short but fun debrief, and hopped on a van to the jetty. I was heart-broken. The kind aunty that sheltered us didn’t hear me when I shouted goodbye! Ha-ha. Just kidding around again. Basically, after this, we went back home, where I finally got some pig-like sleep. But not before a sumptuous meal at
Changi Village! Ha-ha.
Oh Well. That’s all for now folks! See you soon!
RIO [Jeremy's Group]
Juli Chee
I had fun during RIO camp. All the activities and team mates are great. Even though it is just a two days one night camp but I still managed to learn quite a number of things through this camp and it make me wanna go for the pakistan trip even more. I really enjoyed this camp. (:
Yi Jin
The Camp wasn’t fun but it was valuable. As it is RIO, one should not feel enjoyable. However, it is for one to learn things. In this camp, I learn that involvement is the essence. Only then, it is purposeful.
Jeremy
Before the RIO Camp,I was not very ready for leading a team. However, I looked forward to the experience especailly when,together with the other leaders, I knew that it would be a rough camp.
Still, it was a good chance to finally hook up with the year ones, whom I have not seen for a very long time.The camp was very much different from last year. There was more people
and the activities required more movement. The activities also allowed the participants to experience first hand a small section of what life in a third world country is like.
We also had a 24 hour fasting (though i would be very inclined to call it starvation) which, personally, was a great challenge to me. Generally I would be unable to last for long without one
meal but for some reason, I was not only able to survive, I was able to go through the activities with gusto!
I had a few lessons to learn from the camp.
1: As a leader, it is important to have a higher level of involvement
and enthusiasm that the rest. That way it would be possible to kick start the mood of the group. Involving them is a good way too.
2: Attitude is an important factor when it comes to learning.That said,
it is actually a deciding factor when we do activities. If our attitude is one of indiferrence in the
RIO camp, we would not have the interest to take part in the activities and learn from them.
3: Appreciation is something I have always taken for granted. However, I now learn that such an expression is more than saying thank you to anyone anywhere. It's about looking at a person's character through his or her actions and appreciating them for it. Not that saying things like "Thanks for coming" is no good, but it is certainly a higher level for me.
Overall the RIO camp was a learning experience for me. I hope to be
able to join the Primers in another activity soon!
I had fun during RIO camp. All the activities and team mates are great. Even though it is just a two days one night camp but I still managed to learn quite a number of things through this camp and it make me wanna go for the pakistan trip even more. I really enjoyed this camp. (:
Yi Jin
The Camp wasn’t fun but it was valuable. As it is RIO, one should not feel enjoyable. However, it is for one to learn things. In this camp, I learn that involvement is the essence. Only then, it is purposeful.
Jeremy
Before the RIO Camp,I was not very ready for leading a team. However, I looked forward to the experience especailly when,together with the other leaders, I knew that it would be a rough camp.
Still, it was a good chance to finally hook up with the year ones, whom I have not seen for a very long time.The camp was very much different from last year. There was more people
and the activities required more movement. The activities also allowed the participants to experience first hand a small section of what life in a third world country is like.
We also had a 24 hour fasting (though i would be very inclined to call it starvation) which, personally, was a great challenge to me. Generally I would be unable to last for long without one
meal but for some reason, I was not only able to survive, I was able to go through the activities with gusto!
I had a few lessons to learn from the camp.
1: As a leader, it is important to have a higher level of involvement
and enthusiasm that the rest. That way it would be possible to kick start the mood of the group. Involving them is a good way too.
2: Attitude is an important factor when it comes to learning.That said,
it is actually a deciding factor when we do activities. If our attitude is one of indiferrence in the
RIO camp, we would not have the interest to take part in the activities and learn from them.
3: Appreciation is something I have always taken for granted. However, I now learn that such an expression is more than saying thank you to anyone anywhere. It's about looking at a person's character through his or her actions and appreciating them for it. Not that saying things like "Thanks for coming" is no good, but it is certainly a higher level for me.
Overall the RIO camp was a learning experience for me. I hope to be
able to join the Primers in another activity soon!
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