February 2013 - CITY Community Services
Transcription
February 2013 - CITY Community Services
February 2013 MICA (P) 049/06/2012 pas t p r e se nt futur e R TE I N TH E U N G R CH Y O A C COMMUNITY C Ty A N AT IT Y W ʼS W MU RE V ICE OF S T AND COM N Y C N IP IT RT U SH N M M PA CO IN ER 1 H A E SE DRA L RV ICE S SERVICES SER ITH SING APORE ANGLI ER I N CA TH Foreword City Community Services 5 T H A NNIVER S A RY IM P A C TIN G L IVE S CITY Community Services celebrated its 5th Anniversary in 2012 with a series of events to commemorate this occasion, by raising greater awareness and funds for the work. In keeping with our vision and mission, our tagline for last year’s 5th Anniversary was: Impacting Lives. It is CITY’s wish to have a positive impact on young lives through various ways, e.g. befriending, sports activities, outings, camps and providing them with another channel of having other adults to talk to. lives CITY COMMUNITY SERVICES Why celebrate 5 years of existence Five years is a good time to pause, review and plan improvements for the next 5 years. Most of all, CITY would like to use this opportunity to show our grateful thanks to all our partners in the work; all the school principals, teachers, counsellors, volunteers and all other staff who have helped us in small and big ways through the years, without whom, CITY would not be where we are today. We want to thank the students who have made our work very meaningful through our relationships with them. In as much as we have given of ourselves and our time, we have also learnt much from them. This issue of Heartprints is a special edition commemorating our 5th anniversary celebration by documenting our beginnings, our present and our future. We feel it would be a meaningful experience to share our thoughts. Mrs Patricia Aw General Manager 2 R TE I N TH E R A U N G CH Y O COMMUNITY C Ty A C N AT IT Y W ʼS W MU RE V ICE OF S T AND COM N Y N IP C U SH IT RT ER N M M PA CO IN H A E SE DRA L RV ICE S SERVICES SER ITH SING APORE ANGLI R TE I N CA TH This is our story … E N G COMMUNITY A U CH Y O R C Ty A C C IT N 3 S ICE RV SE M ER UN ʼS U SH IT Y EW M IP DR OM W S E RV ITH ICE OF S T AN N C SING CA APORE ANGLI Y AT P M CO RTN A HE IN A DR AL SERVICES Our beginnings … It all began with a desire to help needy children from underprivileged homes. This connection helped the small team of people open doors into primary schools, such as Gan Eng Seng Primary School and MacPherson Primary School. These were pioneer schools for CITY’s first Befrienders Clubs. A small team of people, who were passionate about helping the community and especially children, got together to explore how and where they could help practically. It was only after the first meeting with Gan Eng Seng Primary School (GESPS), a pioneer school for CITY’s first Befrienders Club that things took off for CITY. One of the pioneer staff was already working with latch-key children and children at-risk in a primary school informally. Pioneer Schools for CITY’s Befrienders Clubs Gan Eng Seng Primary School ry session to ensure students did not go absent without valid reasons. She worked tirelessly with the team on practical action steps to help individual needy students who did not have any home support. Ms Pauline Soh, who has 40 years of teaching experience and has been a teacher at GESPS for 10 years since the school started, shared: Ms Pauline Soh, then Subject Head of the Pupils Management Welfare Committee of GESPS, was at that meeting when the idea of starting a Befrienders programme began. Thereafter, Ms Soh went from class to class to get students to join in the Befrienders Club which then ran twice a week. She was there at the start of eve- 4 “I thought it would be good for someone to help them with homework but the CITY team did better than that, they organised games, arts and craft and provided food. The children really enjoyed it very much! Befrienders Club really raised their self-esteem through the activities and broadened their outlook when the team communicated what is right and wrong, and other moral values in a fun way.” There were many challenges, but also a lot of joy working with the students in our first Befrienders Club. Till today, we are still in contact with some of the students who were from the first Befrienders Clubs in GESPS. Ms Soh remembered one particular student, Lin Wei, to be a very angry boy then. He is now a Befrienders Alumni who is 18 years old and did his ‘A’ level exams in 2012. He said: “I joined Befrienders Club when I was in P4 at GESPS. Befrienders Club made a great difference in my life. The teachers at the Club taught me good manners and values. Today, he is indeed a well-mannered, fine young man! This was encouraging because the time spent with the students at Befrienders was more than just conducting a programme, it was ‘Impacting Lives’. See Lin Wei’s testimony in the Befrienders Alumni BFA) on page 27 5 Pioneer Schools for CITY’s Befrienders Clubs MacPherson Primary School Then principal of MacPherson Primary School (MPS) (20012007), Mr Phua Kia Wang, started talking to some of the pioneer staff even before CITY was formed. At that time, he heard about the simple Befrienders Club that the team was running in Gan Eng Seng Primary School (GESPS) in 2005. team in wanting to reach out to students in need, it was something that was very cause-worthy. At that time we had quite a number of immigrants coming into Singapore and we had to integrate them quickly into our society. Your work in GESPS caught my eye. The dedication of the CITY team working in GESPS moved me. I was very touched by your commitment and calling to help the poor and those who had just moved into our country. One of his teachers, Mr Tony Lim, was very keen to help the needy students in MPS, especially the international students who had nowhere to go after school and needed help with their English. Secondly, after you came in, it was the selfless dedication of the team comprising Qiuyue, Patricia, Phillip and Van, that won me over. The kindness, compassion and love showed to the children were obvious. When you came in, you didn’t ask for anything in return, you just wanted to help the children So when the team wanted to befriend these students, he thought it was a very excellent idea. Mr Phua, who is now the principal of North Vista Primary School, shared how the pioneer team convinced him about letting them run Befrienders Club: “I was won over by three things. Firstly, the deep concern and calling of the individuals in the 6 One of the very positive results of working with the pioneer team was that some volunteers from St Andrew’s Cathedral decided to link up further with the pupils and contribute more deeply into moulding the lives of young girls. They decided to start the Girls’ Brigade and that helped to cement another connection in the community. It helped many girls grow up to be very wonderful women. get a new start in this country. To me, it was very heartwarming. Another was reaching out to the community beyond the students to their families, and to certain international parents in the group. The outreach helped them to integrate better and link up with others in the community. At least the parents have other parents to talk to. Thirdly, the testimony of your work speaks volumes. The testimonies of the pupils who found a friend to confide in and having someone to talk to and help them make decisions in their lives and guiding them on the right path were ‘KPIs’ or ‘Key Performance Indicators’ that marked out the quality of the work. Your work with their parents was also commendable and they were able to have a friendly face in a new country. I want to thank CITY and Dean Kuan Kim Seng for extending this help to the community and the schools. I believe, many years from now, when the children grow up, they will remember the work, love and compassion of the team.” Although I was not there at some of the events CITY organised, I have received glowing reports from the children and my staff. I was touched by the sacrifices that the team made and was delighted by the joy that you gave to the children. I remember the time when the children came back from their first Family Day party held at the lawns of St Andrew’s Cathedral, they were excited and told me of their many happy experiences. The staff, especially Mr Tony Lim, was very touched because he was a witness of the event and felt the deep enjoyment of the children. 7 One of the first students from its first Befrienders Clubs in MPS, Lin Yao, who is now studying in Dunman High School, and part of our Befrienders Alumni (BFA) network, had this to share: “When I first came to Singapore, I faced the challenge of every international student – the unfamiliarity of the environment. Everything seemed so foreign to me. However, I met some very passionate and helpful teachers in MacPherson Primary School. These people, whom I call teachers, are in fact not teachers working in the school. They were volunteers from a Befrienders Club. They had brought much change to my life in primary school. My grades were not very good and my weakest subject was the English Language. The failure to grasp the language not only affected my other subjects, but also interaction with my classmates. Through my involvement with the Befrienders Club, I not only made many friends from other countries, I also got free English Language tuition. Most importantly, I started to understand the reason these “teachers” were willing to help us, a group of strangers from another land. The reason is simple – they wanted to show love. When I was younger then, I only knew that these “teachers” would play games and organize some activities for us every Wednesday. Thinking back, I realized that without them I would not be where I am today. One of the fondest memories I had was when these volunteers brought me to Sentosa to experience the sky ride and the luge! It was my first time to Sentosa. Then, they also took some pictures as a memento. Honestly, as I looked at my silly expression on the picture, I understood the meaning behind these activities. Someone had paved the way by showing me such kindness. When I have the ability to help others in future, I will step out and show similar kindness to others as well.” 8 R TE I N TH E R COMMUNITY C Ty A Y O CITY Logo C N A N AT IT Y W ʼS W MU RE V IC E OF S T AND COM N Y N IP C U SH IT RT ER N M M PA CO IN H A E SE DRA L RV ICE S G CH U The CITY logo was SERVICES designed by Ms Joyce Ho, another pioneer staff of CITY Community Services. It was officially unveiled as CITY’s logo on 28 July E R I N T H E T C Y A of the Diocese 2007 by our then Bishop of Singapore, Revd Dr John Chew at the official opening of CITY’s office at SERVICES Capitol and launching of the CITY video and website. The initial efforts with Gan Eng Seng School and MacPherson Primary School were encouraging and showed that we could serve the community by meeting the needs of disadvantaged primary school children including international students who live and study in Singapore away from their families. It was a way of extending ourselves in Christian love by providing practical assistance to children in need. SER ITH SING APORE ANGLI CA N C IT N “C, T, and Y stands for Children, Teens and Youth. The ‘I’ points straight up (to GOD) - the source of our values - yet it is also rooted and grounded in community. The round circle represents the community that we serve. It is also bounded - that we are relational, not fragmented, and we are building values, learning mutual commitment and accountability in our community, where the future generations are being developed and shaped in the young now.” CITY’s mission, to build “Character in the Young”, was formally established on 24 April 2007 with terms of reference, a management committee and 6 staff. CITY stands for “Character in the Young”. Our mission is to build good character in school children, and to show Christian love in practical ways to those in need. And so CITY Community Services was born. 9 SE HE ER UN ʼS U SH IT Y EW M IP DR OM W S E RV ITH ICE OF S T AN N C A SING C I L APORE ANG Here is his explanation on the logo which reflects CITY’s ethos and mission. Y M AT P M CO RTN A IN D A R RV AL ICE S G COMMUNITY R A U CH O C Ty The decision was made to partner with the Singapore Anglican Community Services, (SACS), a registered society and a voluntary welfare organisation registered with National Council of Social Services in Singapore, which has also been granted an Institute of Public Character (IPC) under the Charities Act. With this, CITY would immediately have the governance framework and process already established in the SACS and could draw on the assistance and expertise of SACS, the community service arm of the Anglican Diocese. befrienders clubs Befrienders Club (BC) is a core programme for CITY. BC provide a friendly environment for children to learn good values, have fun and benefit from mentoring. This is held weekly for two hours in the school premises after school dismissal. During the session, students are given a short teaching on good values, such as respect, commitment and integrity, and activities or games are organised to reinforce these values. CITY also helps them with their homework during the session. The schools we work with: Today, we serve in 17 primary schools with a total of 18 Befrienders Clubs and run three student care centres in three primary schools. We currently have 17 Befrienders Clubs and 1 Sports Befrienders Club. 1. Bukit View Primary School 2. East Coast Primary School 3. Eunos Primary School 4. Fengshan Primary School 5. Fuhua Primary School 6. Gan Eng Seng Primary School 7. Horizon Primary School 8. Hougang Primary School 9. Jurong West Primary School 10. MacPherson Primary School CITY shares a close working relationship with school principals, teachers, school counsellors and even their office staff with the schools we work with. It helps the team to be effective in reaching out to the students. 11. Naval Base Primary School 12. North View Primary School 13. North Vista Primary School 14. Opera Estate Primary School 15. Seng Kang Primary School 16. Townsville Primary School 17. White Sands Primary School 18. Xishan Primary School 10 programmes Career Fair 1 ST OP One of the first things that CITY was initially involved in was a 4-day career fair in 2008 at Suntec City Convention Hall called Careers 2008. The Ministry of Education (MOE) invited CITY to partner in this exhibition to expose P6 students from primary schools in Singapore to a variety of careers and be aware of job opportunities in the market. The theme was: Dreaming of Possibilities – An Exploratory Journey of Careers. About 5000 P6 students attended this interactive exhibition which involved experiential, hands-on activities involving the five senses, i.e. touch, taste, smell, sight, aural. Students were given ample opportunities to interact and ask questions to presenters of specific occupations such as videographer, social worker, private investigator and pilot. It was not the first time that CITY organized a Career Fair. The first one was organized for Gan Eng Seng Primary School (GESPS) on 29 March 2005. Thereafter, annual Career Trails (instead of Career Fairs now because it involves moving from one station to another like in a trail) was organized for GESPS and MacPherson Primary School. CITY’s philosophy was to encourage students to believe in themselves that no matter how small or basic a talent, it can lead to a career that they are interested or passionate about in the future. 11 Camps, Outings, Workshops CITY has been organising camps, outings and workshops in collaboration with the schools since 2006. These were organised to reinforce school values and leadership skills. Camps and outings help to build rapport amongst students and encourage the cultivation of values such as teamwork, respect and commitment in a friendly and informal environment outside of the classroom into real life. CITY Youth Hub HUG Programme CITY pioneer staff attended a facilitators’ course on the “Handling Underaged Gambling” (HUG) programme. It is a preventive school-based workshop across all levels and aims to develop resilience and right values in youngsters to resist the temptations of gambling and provide them with alternatives to gambling. • Follow-up with students who have “graduated” from CITY’s Befrienders Clubs. In our first year as CITY, the team realized that opportunities for reaching students were far more extensive than what was being done at Befrienders Clubs. Although Befrienders Club was the core programme but the time to befriend the students was limited to once a week. Although CITY Youth Hub was eventually closed on 8 January 2010, it was a precursor to the development of student care work for CITY, which allowed more time with the students. On 24 March, 2008, CITY opened CITY Youth Hub at Bukit Merah Central. Its aim was: • To have a hang-out for latchkey or at-risk youths to spend their time in a positive environment that helps them to discover more about themselves and grow as individuals. 12 voices from our partners “As a teacher, I saw the difference the Befrienders volunteers have made in the lives of these children. The influence and impact have changed the outlook of the students. Because you have given your time, your love, your attention to these latch-key, ‘at-risk’, somewhat difficult pupils, they look up to you as their role models. You are like One of my Befrienders students always comes up to tell me that Friday is the BEST DAY in the week because there is Befrienders Club. their father, mother, uncle, aunty, brother and sister because you took the time to listen to them, talk to them, play with them and eat with them. volunteers are around. The pupils behaved differently during Befrienders session and exercised more self-control. There was also a positive change in the Befrienders students every time after they returned from a camp. One of my Befrienders students always comes up to tell me that Friday is the BEST DAY in the week because there is Befrienders Club. For most of the Befrienders students, you may not be able to imagine what kind of home they go back to or how terrible they feel when they are unable to achieve academically. Many of them have nothing to look forward to at home or in school. But, because of Befrienders Club, they now have something to look forward to.” Pupils look forward to the weekly Befrienders sessions. I remember a student in my school. He was ‘sick’ every other day. He would frequently complain about having some pain just to escape school. One morning, I think he really had tummy pain and it was quite serious. He was sent to the sickbay by his form teacher and my new Vice-Principal (VP) was there to attend to him. The VP wanted to send him home but he insisted that he could not go home that day as he had to attend Befrienders Club that afternoon. Eventually, we sent the boy home but that afternoon, he came back to school just to attend the Befrienders Club. Mrs Claire Yeoh Teacher Fengshan Primary School Mrs Claire Yeoh started working with CITY when she was a full-time school counsellor at White Sands Primary School (WSPS). CITY started a Befrienders Club in WSPS in 2009. Thereafter she moved to Fengshan Primary School (FSPS) as a teacher in March 2010. CITY started a Befrienders Club in FSPS in 2011. One of my colleagues, who is also in-charge of the group of pupils, commented that she could sense a change in the climate and atmosphere when the Befrienders 13 “I came to know about the CITY’s Befrienders Club when I first joined Fuhua Primary School in 2010. At that time, there were about 20 pupils attending the club and eventually it grew to over 40 pupils in 2012. The staff from CITY are very professional in dealing with the pupils. They are quick in learning the pupil’s name and take a personal interest in each of them. They have taught good values and social skills to our pupils so that these pupils could make friends easily and are open to accept others into their circle of friends. The staff have also organised camps during the school holidays to allow the pupils opportunities to get to know pupils from other schools as well. Most of our pupils have shared their The pupils have benefitted from the personal and family problems with Befrienders prothe staff as they trusted and looked gramme. This ranged up to them as mentors from getting help in their homework to team-building through games and sports. As they have enjoyed being with CITY see beyond what they can do in school, to staff, some have also spoken to their feel loved and to be confident in themselves friends about the Club and many have and in relating to others.” approached me to find out if they could Mr Yin Kum Tat join Befrienders Club. Most of our School Counsellor pupils have shared their personal and Fuhua Primary School family problems with the staff as they CITY started a Befriendtrusted and looked up to them as mentors ers Club in Fuhua Primary and sought their guidance and affirmation School in 2009. in how they handle their problems. Staff from CITY have helped our pupils to 14 “GESPS has embarked on a collaboration with City Community since 2005. Much as teachers play an important role in developing pupils’ character development, our school understand the important philosophy of engaging a whole village to raise a child. It is with the same belief and understanding that we worked with City to raise our pupils. This year, volunteers from Befrienders Club worked with latch-key children from families who may not have constant adult figures in their lives. These children receive care and concern from the volunteers who visit us weekly. Even during the PSLE results release day, I was truly appreciative that Tony, one of the volunteers, came to school to support our pupils. These children receive care and concern from the volunteers who visit us weekly. I hope that our collaboration in the future would involve a more diverse group of pupils who may need support in a different way but yet benefit from having constant good role models in their lives. Mr Jackson Seow HOD/Pupil Engagement & Discipline Gan Eng Seng Primary School (GESPS) CITY has been working with GESPS, a pioneer school, since before CITY Community Services was officially formed. In fact, CITY’s roots could be traced to this school. This long-standing relationship has been very fruitful. Since 2005, CITY has been organising Career Fair which are now termed Career Trails for GESPS for its graduating P6 students. Since 2011, CITY has been working very closely with the school on a ‘No Limits’ programme that helps select students realise their potential by understanding there are ‘no limits’ to what they can achieve if they proactively apply themselves in real life. I wish City a very blessed 5th year Anniversary! Congratulations, on behalf of our GESPS family.” 15 only crucial support the child may have to cling on to. “It seemed just like yesterday that the programme was initiated by City Community Services at SKPS but at least 4 years has passed by since. The commitment and passion that the volunteers put into the programme has not diminished – in fact it has increased. Disadvantaged pupils are supported through monthly birthday celebrations, heavily subsidized camps, free meals during outings, heavily subsidized learning journeys (2011) - pupils only paid $2 to visit Pastamania kitchen. Besides touring the kitchen, they had hands-on experience to bake their own pizzas. The programme served to form a bond with latch-key pupils, pupils with behavioural or emotional problems and the underprivileged. It has since grown to cover more than that – it has significantly impacted the lives of the pupils! It is noteworthy that City has embarked and sustained such an ambitious project through its commitment to provide the children with a brighter future.” Pupils learnt practical skills to cope with For pupils under counselling it provided another platform for these at-risk pupils to practise the social skills that were taught being home alone. Over the years, the practical skills they have learnt ranged from making sandwiches, simple cold dessert and sewing buttons. Mr Devandra Sapai Indrasapai Dean Character and Citizenship Education Seng Kang Primary School (SKPS) For pupils under counselling it provided another platform for these at-risk pupils to practise the social skills that were taught in the counselling session. During games, the counsellor is able to observe and scaffold the pupils’ social interaction with the other members. The CITY staff and volunteers are aware of the challenges that some of the at-risk pupils are facing and they help to support the child. This bond is at times the CITY started a Befrienders Club in SKPS in 2008. 16 Hey Big Bro! I frown. I don’t want to go home. Us lonely kids From empty homes And missing Caregivers With nothing to do Exciting streets Crowded malls Secret corners At void decks This was what I saw when the CITY Community Services started a Befrienders Club to meet the needs of latchkey children. They involved the children in meaningful and fun activities, keeping them in a safe environment, off the streets and away from the malls. More than that, they provided them with positive role models, emotional support and social affiliation. Ah ... something to do We smoke We vandalize We steal School is there Boring homework Boring CCAs And nothing to do Did they make an impact on the lives of these kids? They made a difference. That, to me is making an impact! Then came the Befrienders Bringing fun and games We play with friends Hey Big Bro! Ms Elizabeth Poey Principal (2001 - 2008) Naval Base Primary School (NBPS) Show me how to ... Tell me why ... What is ... Now so much to do CITY started a Befrienders Club in NBPS in 2007. I smile. Tired, I make my way home. 17 working with volunteers We have a lean team of full-time staff and depend largely on volunteers to help us run the Befrienders Clubs, activities and programmes. There is a pool of volunteers who work with CITY regularly when they go to a Befrienders Club every week or on an ad hoc basis, i.e. when they help out at camps, outings and workshops as and when they are able to help. CITY is grateful to these volunteers for their dedication and commitment not just to our mission but to our students. They have built up a good relationship with them and the students treat them as ‘friends’ or mentors. 18 Mrs Yvonne Kwek was one of our volunteers (2005-2008) who went the extra mile to help MacPherson Primary School’s (MPS) international students to speak and write better English. Here is her story: “When I retired in 2005, I wondered what to do with my time. Then I found out about CITY’s Befriending programme in MPS. never been a teacher. I wondered and was anxious whether I could do it. I spent When I started the work, I a lot of time simply listening to them thought I was a great con- and showing them we cared about them. I started helping them with tributor. By the time I left, their school work, especially English. I found that I’ve gained Learning is fun when it’s a game and so much more than I’ve friendly competition helped them to push each other to greater heights. given. The children started to respond to the new method of teaching and became MPS is an unusual neighbourhood school. keen to learn. To help them further, I International students comprised some of organized English tuition classes during the school population and these are mainly their long holidays at the end of the year. children from China. Because of their poor None of them skipped any lesson. standard in English, many of them had to start at a lower level one or two years The three years I spent with CITY were a below where they should be in order to gain great joy. When I started the work, I thought entrance into the school. Therefore, they I was a great contributor. By the time I left, are often much older than their local peers, I found that I’ve gained so much more than in some cases three years older. As a result I’ve given. Touching the lives of the young of this gap, many find the contents of their and being a part of their growing up is a school curriculum “childish” and their poor privilege. The trust and friendship of these language ability made them feel stupid at youngsters enriched my life. Their sincerity times because they could not understand and purity are mirrors that helped me see the lessons and the text books. the real person that I am. Last Teacher’s Day, I received a SMS from one of the girls from As I am the oldest volunteer and am the first batch I had taught. She thanked me bilingual, Qiuyue asked me to take care for all the help that I had given to her. It was of the older children in P5. It was a a great joy to know that what we did bore challenge befriending teenagers and I had fruit after so many years.” 19 Another volunteer, Mr Lim Boon Hai, volunteers at North View Primary School’s Befrienders Club weekly since 2012. He heard about CITY through another one of our long-serving volunteers, Rita Pang when she shared about how she was volunteering in a couple of the Befrienders Clubs. “The greatest joy is to see the smiling faces on the students coming to Befrienders Club. They have the same anticipation each week that the volunteers will help them with their homework, play sports or indoor games with them, impart values and provide them with delicious snacks. Befrienders Club provides an environment for the students to complete their school work under supervision, and enjoy It is a privilege for us as themselves through fun and games. volunteers to be able to It is a privilege for us as volunteers to be able to impart our knowledge impart our knowledge and to love these students. Through and to love these stu- the process, we can help them to build their characters and discover dents. more about themselves and their potential, be it in studies, sports or arts. To be a volunteer in BC is also being a teacher, motivator and friend for the students. It is a very meaningful community work that can impact and transform lives.” 20 Ms Lee Soo Kwan volunteers once a week with the Befrienders Club at East Coast Primary School. She shares how she enjoys interacting with children. He was surprised that I knew the places as well as he did. This was the beginning of a new relationship. He realised I was interested in what he was saying. He began to open up and we were able to talk. One afternoon, I was even able to get this child to read me a story whilst waiting for the rest of the children to complete their homework. This would have been quite unthinkable when I first met him! “I became a volunteer with CITY Befrienders a little more than three years ago. I enjoy working with children even though they can be quite a challenge at times. I believe that the values learnt during this critical period of their lives will be the bases on which their character will be built – namely the kind of person they will become. Befrienders Club did a survey recently amongst some of our students. A question included in the survey was ‘What would have happened if there were no Befrienders Club?’ The answers we had were mainly, “I would be alone; I would be bored; I would have no one to talk to; there would be no one to help me with my homework and one child said ‘I would still be outside hanging out with gangsters’”. These are very telling responses and I am indeed glad and truly thankful that CITY started these Befrienders Clubs.” I had a child in my Befrienders Club whom when I first met him, I had to be very patient, counting up to 5, more often up to 10, before I spoke. He did not want to agree to anything I said; he was openly defiant; he was argumentative – in short, he was simply completely disagreeable. His parents were divorced or separated and his father was often away on business. He was a smart little kid but I could not reach out to him. He was by himself after school and this was a reason the school counsellor had put him with our Club. One afternoon I asked him if he had been to Germany (he has family ties there). He said, ‘But of course!’ and started describing the many places he had visited. I had a child in my Befrienders Club whom when I first met him, I had to be very patient, counting up to 5, more often up to 10, before I speak. 21 student care work With our experience in running Befrienders Club since 2005, we now have the resources and confidence to start school-based student care centres. We employed the services of a consultant who has an excellent track record of having started several school-based student care centres. She helped CITY get started at our current two schools, North View Primary School (NVPS) and Townsville Primary School (TVPS). Kidz Ark at NVPS started operations on 30 October 2010 and Happy Hearts at TVPS on 2 January 2011. Our centres are now operating at full capacity with two teams of staff. CITY started a new student care centre at Opera Estate Primary School in January. This is CITY’s third student care centre called Kids’ Nook. CITY has enrolled 40 students. 22 Joseph Ong Heng Yang, a volunteer at Kidz Ark, shared his experience in building character values in the children: “In the blink of an eye, seven weeks had passed. Looking back on my stint as a part-time guardian at Kidz Ark student care Centre of North View Primary School, I realized my perspective on life has changed somewhat, shaped by my interactions with the other guardI thought with my previous experience ians and most i m p o r ta n t l y, as a secondary school relief teacher the children. and an officer in the army, this would I started this be no difficult feat. Yet this proved to job wanting to be a humbling seven weeks for me, and impact children and add value on hindsight, I see that there’s so much to their lives; I have learnt from these kids. I thought with my previous experience as a secondary school relief It helped as the weeks went by and my teacher and an officer in the army, this personal relationships with the children would be no difficult feat. Yet this proved grew, and after knowing their family to be a humbling seven weeks for me, and background and childhood experiences, I on hindsight, I see that there’s so much I better understood their needs. This then have learnt from these kids. enabled me to discern the best approach in building a particular child up. No two children are the same, and therefore, I learnt that our interaction These children have so much to learn, yet approaches will differ from one child to so much to offer. They need to be rebuked another. Some require more patience, and be affirmed. Above all, they need to some require more rationalizing, some know they are loved and worthy of that require more attention, and some require love. This has been one amazing experiraised voices before they understand ence, and I do not regret a second I spent the seriousness of the matter at hand. with the community at Kidz Ark.” 23 24 To sum up, CITY’s journey through these five years and more have been very fulfilling and encouraging. As an organisation, we are still considered young and certainly have a long way to go in building character in the young and impacting lives. But the little that has been done so far, have, we hope, impacted the students’ lives in a way that would carry them in their lives long after they have graduated from Befrienders Clubs or student care centres. 25 At the end of the day, it is all about the children: building relationships with them, spending time listening and talking with them, guiding and mentoring them and allowing them many second chances to help develop their potential. CITY, who is growing as an organisation in this journey, hopes to be able to journey with the students along some parts of their lives. That is already a privilege. bfa – our future “Because of Befrienders Club, I got to know many wonderful teachers who cared for me and guided me. That was the most memorable for me.” Moving forward, having seen students graduate is not the end of the road for CITY. Our future lies in our Befrienders Alumni or BFA. BFA is a social network for our Befriender students who have graduated from primary schools. The main purpose of BFA is to continue building relationships and strengthening rapport between the graduated Befriender students and CITY staff. Chang Xin, BFA, who is in Secondary 1. “I’ve been in Befrienders Club for a year since I was in Primary 6. The teachers in Befrienders Club helped me in not only my academic work but also good values. I learnt good values like sharing, teamwork and being nice to others. Also, during the time when PSLE was coming, one of the teachers tutored me in Maths, a subject I was weak in.” Thus, activities are being organised during holidays to catch up with the graduated P6 students and find out how they are getting along in their secondary schools. Tan Yeh Cheng was one of the first batch of students from Gan Eng Seng Primary School when CITY started its first Befrienders Clubs more than five years ago. She has just completed her ‘N’ level exams and is doing well socially. Through her, the CITY team also got to know her older sister. 26 “I joined Befrienders Club when I was P4 in Gan Eng Seng Primary School. Befrienders Club has made a great difference in my life. Befrienders Club helped instil proper manners and values in us. These had not only taught me how to communicate pleasantly with others but to stay connected. Hence, even though I have already graduated from Befrienders Club at P6, I am still in contact with other Befrienders Alumni and even Befriender teachers. Before I joined Befrienders Club, I was shy and quiet, ignoring everyone around me, including the teachers. However as time passed, one month after the other, teachers from Befrienders Club not only continued to start a conversation with me, despite having failed many times, they also encouraged and helped Befrienders, especially students like me, to slowly open up to the rest of the Befrienders and teachers. Often, they would split us into groups and allow us to interact with one another and enjoy the games or activities together as a group, teaching us the importance of teamwork and team spirit. Befrienders Club has truly enriched my primary school life, providing me with a wonderful and memorable primary school life.” Lin Wei, a BFA, is now 18 years old and has just completed his ‘A’ level exams in 2012. He was studying in Jurong Junior College. “I like to play board games and group games during Befrienders Club. Most of all, Befriender teachers were friendly. I learnt about the Group Deal and how that formed the basis of everything that we do in life.” Xiao Jing, BFA, is in Secondary 2. Xiao Jing is a Chinese national who graduated from MacPherson Primary School in 2011. She is now in St Margaret’s Secondary School. 27 Plans are in the pipeline to organise different sports and teach values through these sports to the BFAs. It is CITY’s desire to see these values translate into their lives as they grow up. For example, teamwork teaches them to work as a team with others, and learning to accept losing in a game builds up resilience. are always relevant for the children. In conclusion, CITY is passionate about building relationships with people and in impacting lives. CITY is passionate about children, in stretching out a helping hand to give them a step up. CITY is passionate about giving as many second chances as is necessary to fulfil their potential as worthy individuals because we believe each one is unique and special. CITY is continually looking to improve on what has been done so far and building on our experience in all aspects of our work – our Befrienders Clubs, student care centres and BFA. A strong partnership with schools is very critical in ensuring how CITY can continue to meet needs in practical ways and ensuring that our programmes lives CITY COMMUNITY SERVICES Editor Angeline Leong [email protected] GENERAL MANAGER Patricia Aw [email protected] assistant general manager Phillip Quek [email protected] Design Joyce Ho [email protected] Heartprints is published quarterly by CITY Community Services Social Service Hub @ Tiong Bahru 298 Tiong Bahru Road #03-04 Central Plaza Singapore 168730 email: [email protected] www.citycomm.org.sg Printer: Hock Cheong Printing Pte Ltd 28