February 2013 - CITY Community Services

February 2013
MICA (P) 049/06/2012
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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
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This is our story …
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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-
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“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
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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
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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.
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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.”
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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
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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.
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“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.
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Here is his explanation on the logo which
reflects CITY’s ethos and mission.
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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
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programmes
Career Fair
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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.
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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.
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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
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“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
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“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.”
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.”
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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.”
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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.
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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.
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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.”
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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.
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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.
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“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.
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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 angeline@citycomm.org.sg
GENERAL MANAGER Patricia Aw pataw@citycomm.org.sg
assistant general manager Phillip Quek phillipquek@citycomm.org.sg
Design Joyce Ho joyceho@citycomm.org.sg
Heartprints is published quarterly by CITY Community Services Social Service Hub @ Tiong Bahru
298 Tiong Bahru Road #03-04 Central Plaza Singapore 168730 email: info@citycomm.org.sg www.citycomm.org.sg
Printer: Hock Cheong Printing Pte Ltd
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