iProject - Commitment of Hearts




Thursday, 19 April 2007

The journey that never ends…




Life has never been the same for me since I stepped off the plane and back home onto Singapore. Ta van was a total life experience. I never knew what I sign up for when I joined iproject but I am glad that I had a chance to go, to make a difference and in return learn something.

Pre- trip
This was never the easiest part of the whole trip. Many people do not think of the effort that is needed to plan such a massively big trip, for that we have to thank the teachers; they put in great effort and time. Funds was raised in different ways, for e.g, through Ronald we manage to gets lots of cheese sausages which we sold like mad and also we did stuff like catering service on teacher’s day to provide classes with food. That was indeed tiring and we did stink but I am sure through raising funds together as a whole, we manage to understand and bond together as a group. Yeah sure at first, we were unsure whether any of the classes would order with us a not but in the end our fears were unfounded.

Construction
Volunteering was never meant to be an easy job. Volunteer: to offer to do something that you do not have to do, often without having been asked to do it and/or without expecting payment. That is what all of us in iproject want to achieve, we go there with dreams, goals and high hopes of helping others. However construction there is not as simple as it seems. For one, they have no machinery and we do have to rely on manual labour, for example we have concrete mixers in Singapore but over there we have to add all the ingredients and use the shovel to mix it well with water before we can get cement. Our mornings there are basically spent for construction work. We were all split into groups and each group were given task to complete. My group was in charge of digging the path to make it level as it had lots of big rocks logged within the ground. We use tools like shovels to loose the ground around the big rocks and then the guys would use sticks with sharp end to try and split the rocks. It may sound easy but in fact it was truly hard work. Most of the times, the older kids would give us a hand and it never fails to amaze us how much strength they got. It may take us 4-5 hits to dig a certain pile of soil but they can do it easily without even breaking into sweat.

In Singapore, we have wheelbarrows to help us transport stuff here and there but in Ta van we made use of gunny sacks to transport soil, rock and boy were they useful. The weather there was helpful too, though we had the sun shinning on our back, we still were quite cool. Towards the last few days, we did jobs like painting and of course repairing and washing the doors,

Arts and craft/ Games

In the afternoons, we were basically split into two groups. One for teaching arts and craft and games and the other English. I was in the arts and craft group and we did things with them like painting to the extent of even face painting. We also asked the kids there to draw a picture if their school and it really showed how creative and innocent they are, they would try and copy our actions. The drawings they drew really represented what they would try and copy our actions. The drawings they drew really represented what the really felt. One problem we faced during this segment was that, I t was hard to converse with the kids there as we could only use our hands to bring across our message and we really need to thank our translator for making our life easier. We managed to bond with the kids a lot during these few days as we interact with them by teaching them how to play games like captain ball’s and of course soccer. Of course things are not always plain sailing, there a few times during the games that some of the kids the not want to play and we had to then accompany them while they do their stuff.

At the end of the days we spent with the kids, helping them to have a better environment for learning, we managed to truly bond with the kids, tears were flowing freely when it was time to say goodbye, till now I can still remember the teary scene.

People in Hanoi were a friendly bunch too like the students from HelloHanoi who voluntarily brought us around and showed us the sights and the food, I can still remember the day Linh gave me a bracelet, she truly touch my heart, she was with us less than a day and she has truly been a inspirational person. The kids in Ta van also were a sight, you can never imagine it till you are there to see it, though they are living at a lower standard, they are still happier and they do not take things for granted.


Overall, the trip to Vietnam was fun and we truly bonded together as a team. I can never thank the teachers enough and all iproject people for celebrating my birthday with me. This small little gesture has warmth my heart.Days filled with memories of the kids in ta van, bus rides with japalang mummy and kids will always be in my mind. This trip has certainly gave me more than I sign up for.

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「 12:29 am 」
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Wednesday, 4 April 2007

Memoirs of iProject 2006


iProject 2006 outside the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi

I had spent the better part of my youth traveling and involving myself in many youth expedition projects and outdoor adventure trips. This trip was special as I was going back to Vietnam for the second time and this time, I am a man on a mission.

Bringing 30 noisy and excited Singaporean kids together with 3 other teachers, I embarked on a specific objective in mind. I wanted my students to come back feeling enriched, stronger, more independent, empathetic and passionate about helping others and the community. On the other hand, I had hoped that the students in Vietnam will benefit greatly from the resources we are providing not forgetting the cultural and social interaction that will happen in the next 10 days.

Rather than talk about the activities or scenery like all other entries did, I am going to tell you what I learnt about these kids and teachers I hung out with.
Disclaimer - There are too many of you who did a fantastic job and I can’t really write about everyone. (Read: lazy) so some of you will be mentioned but not in great detail. Anyway if you feel aggrieved, come and let me know and I will write a one page special for you.



(from left: Ginger, Da Wei)
Ginger was always enthusiastic and hardworking but she had often lacked that soft touch not only to the Vietnam students but also to her friends. She had shown so much maturity and compassion during this trip. I think she has grown tremendously and had become more aware of other people’s feelings making herself more in touch of her own. Da Wei was often quiet and withdrawn. He was the silent worker who mostly conversed with his circle of friends. The last day was a breakthrough for him. His shouts of “In my soul!” reverberated through the alley as the kids bid him a tearful farewell stripping this cold wall of aloofness, revealing his compassion and humanity.



(from left: Yeow Sheng, Winston, Wen Chong, You Ying)
Yeow Sheng was a figure of calmness and stability. Always ready to lend a helping hand, his confidence grew stronger during the trip and his potential as a true leader was revealed. Winston was a strong and hard worker who earned the praises and respect of his peers. He grew day by day and finally understood that with self confidence and strong empathy, good relationships with his peers naturally occurred. You Ying seemed shy and reserved during the first few days. Soon, we got to know that he had a hardworking and serious side to him. He silently toiled while showing care and concern for his fellow peers and shared a special bond with many of the kids there causing much tears to be shed when it was time to leave. Wencong showed that one will always be stronger when learning from mistakes. He “stumbled” a few times during the trip but he never gave up. He showed me what determination and maturity he had garnered from the experience of this trip.



(from left: Marsha, Raidah, Yee Ling)
Marsha showed an inner strength when put through her tasks and her cheerful and sunny nature brightened up the lives of the kids till the day we left.
Raidah works her socks off and never gives up in whatever task she was set. Her chirpy spirit and never ceasing smile warmed the hearts of every single Vietnamese kid there.
Yeeling was always making kids smiling and laughing. The students were seen often surrounding her, peppering her with gifts and request for games. She showed a sense of maturity beyond her age.



(from left: Jazimin, Faris)
Jazimin is the perfect model of the OCIP student. He brought the term of Service Learning to a new height. He provided a high level of service to the school and the students and yet at the same time remains humble and polite. He was always reflecting and doing things in different manners to adapt to his new environment. A very strong personality indeed he is.
Faris was the cool and collected joker of the pack. He is constantly communicating and playing with the children. His perseverance at picking up the Vietnamese language so that he could communicate better with the kids was commendable.



(from left: Me, Daniel, Wan Yin, Pearlene , Jeffery)
Jeffery was always on the look out for our students. Being the caring teacher, he forged strong rapport not only with our students but also with the local kids there. Often leading the way when work needed to be done, Jeffery was truly a role model for students to follow.

Daniel and I led the charge as we old horses rode into Sapa with the two spirited young guns Jeffery and Wan Yin in tow. Daniel worked tirelessly and had the talented gift of noting, taking down and tackling every administrative issue or challenge that came our way. He was the perfect complement for me as I busied myself with the Learning aspect of the students while he got his hands dirty taking care of the Service component. Wan Yin was a newbie to OCIP but it did not show at all throughout the trip. Strong and resilient, she was always there when there was hard work to be done. She often counseled and advised our students when they encountered difficulty or challenges in their tasks. She indeed paid tribute to the phrase “Some leaders are born and not made."



Too many names to fit into this short entry and I will try to mention all. All these faces in this photograph contributed to the success of iProject 2006. Ronald, our strong and dedicated project leader who grew from strength to strength brought out the best in his deputy Jing Wei. Jing Wei showed strong resilience and dedication in the planning and execution of the project. We also had Hui Min who was a pillar of strength and laughter, Yu Si was the joker and kept the spirits of everyone up, Jie Ying was our local Lin Daiyu who worked herself ill. There were Nisa, Arshad and Hafiz who worked tirelessly despite the difficulties faced in terms of culture and food. We also had You Ying, Wei Jean, Jac, Peggy who were proactive, friendly and reflective in their tasks and interaction. The tears shed by their Vietnamese counterparts were proof of the strong bonds which were forged by them. Uma learnt a valuable lesson and left Vietnam with not only new relationships but with a new found confidence. Last but not least, we had the "garang" ladies Abigail, Vivien, Shieh Fang and Cindy who showed that women were definitely not the weaker sex during this trip. They worked their socks off without a single word of complaint and Shieh Fang even braved tears through a Vietnamese remedy for her sprained ankle. Bravo!

iProject was a huge success. No doubt IJC will have many more OCIP projects in the coming years but I doubt they will ever match up to the standard of service and the level of learning these enthusiastic and dedicated people in the photo above. Therefore, I want to express my deepest admiration and respect for all the Innovians and teachers of iProject2006. Kudos to all!

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「 6:51 pm 」
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Sunday, 1 April 2007

Experience

This was my first OCIP trip in Innova Junior College. I seriously wonder if we were making mess out of their life (Vietnamese) or helping them. Too much of formality involved in this trip. But I am glad that I made a difference to them through the students (Innovians). At least we brought fun and laughter to them. But I really hope the students will not stop after the trip but rather bring back what they have learnt in Vietnam to their home. Thanks to everyone (both the teachers and students, Singaporeans & Vietnamese) for the experience.

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「 2:47 pm 」
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