Youth for causes

What have I learnt about myself through this project?( strength/weakness)

Through this youth for causes project, I have learnt that it takes courage for me to communicate with the public in order to get them to donate or purchase our products as a form of donation to the Lions for the elders. I also learnt that the public will not come to me to purchase or donate automatically, I need to confront them in order to get donations.

what have I learnt about lions home for the elders.

It is a home for the elders to stay in.

What are some challenges I have faced? How do I overcome them?

During the process of making the hama beads product, there were many problems we have came across for example the sorting of the beads. It was a tedious task as every time we try to sort the beads, someone from the group will by accident shake the table which makes it hard for us. We also face another problem when ironing the product as it may get overly melted if we over iron it. Hence when cannot sell our item for donations. We overcome this problem by being more careful. While selling the products in the public, we also faced many rejections and also did not have the courage to speak to the public. We overcome it by trying our best to convey our purpose of the selling the product to the public. We also faced some problems when we went too near the shopping centres as we will get chased away by the security guards. We overcome this problem by moving away from the shopping centres.

Bishan Home 16Aug

How do you find Bishan Home so far?

I find that Bishan Home is a great place to help the intellectually disabled.
What are some of the enjoyable experience?

I felt that communicating with the residences or clients is one that definitely left great memories. For example, drawing, painting, playing with the clients is definitely fun although there are times whereby they do not listen to us or do not understand what we are we are trying to say. During the planting sessions of different plants like xiao bai cai and kangkong it is also enjoyable to chat with them, getting to know their hobby and favourite food etc.

Would you want to attend similar session next year? why? if no, why?

If given the same opportunity, I would like to attend a similar session next year.  Overall its enjoyable to be spending time with the residences and communicating with them. 

My NEA quiz 2014 experience

Where did we go to participate in NEA quiz?What did we do at Nan hua high school?

-Nan Hua High school. At nan hua high school, we were diverted by the ushers to computer labs to proceed with the quiz. It was a 60minute quiz and we were supposed to complete 53 questions of which 3 of them were personal information. The questions were tested mainly on the environment, climate changes, and some geography relates. Out of 50 questions, there are quite a few questions that i do not understand / know how to do. At the end of the quiz, we than proceeded to nan hua high school's school hall. In the school hall, pupils of nan hua high school set up booths to educate us more on the environment in a fun and enjoyable way. I could clearly remember that one of the booth was making a stalk of rose flower by using 3 materials, namely, masking tape, satay stick and plastic bags. In the hall, other than the booths, there were also posters on how we can prevent dengue, use appliances that has as many energy saving ticks as possible, disadvantages of littering and many more. There were also award winning drawings of pupils from different school displayed. During my visit to nan hua high school, i also participated in a stage game. We were expected to form groups of 3. I was grouped with 2 other boys, whom were definitely much taller than me. It was really awkward. Well, the questions were not really difficult i should say, however due to the position our team was standing at, it was a bit of  a disadvantage for us as it was pretty hard to see the screen. The end result for our team was we scored 1/8. It was a good experience, despite losing. Through this NEA programme, i have learnt many things. I learnt that the most suitable temperature for air-con is 25 degree celsius. And we can save electricity by using the fan rather than the air-con or use energy saving appliances. I also learnt that even a small amount of water, it also can breed dengue. I also learnt that instead of using incandescent light bulb(non energy saving), we can use compact fluorestcent lamp(energy saving). I also realised that the main reason why people litter is either because they are too lazy or they have this mind set that the cleaners will clear it for them. I also found out an interesting fact about a plant. It is called the Japanese peppermint. It can cure indigestion, nauseous liver problems. All in all, the is a good experience despite not winning anything.

My second Visit to Bishan home

What did i learnt about hydroponic gardening.

I learnt that we have to put sponges with seedlings into the styrofoam panels and than put them into the system to allow them to absorb nutrients and water. The nutrients consists of 2 elements, calcium and potassium. They enable the plants to grow healthily.

How did i contribute today?

I put the sponges with seedlings into the styrofoam panels together with one of the residences from Bishan home. I also interacted and played some games with the interlectually disabled residence of Bishan home and kept them occupied.

How did today's experienced enhance my
understanding of ' Caring citizens, Future leaders?'

By helping and showing care and concern to the interlectually disabled residences of Bishan home, I have enhanced my understanding of being a caring citizen.

Hydroponics Gardening Publicity Experience

What is my publicity idea?

My idea on how to publicise our hydroponically grown vegetables is to make some souvenir like ballons to be distributed to people who donate or buy the vegetables.  We have also intended to make multi-language posters and flyers and distribute to residents to increase their awareness about our event on selling vegetables to raise funds for the less fortunates.

How I feel about my product?

Generally,  I am proud of the posters that we have made to increase the awareness about our upcoming event of selling hydroponically grown vegetables to raise funds for the less fortunates.

What did I considered when planning my publicity idea?

Well, firstly I considered our language. We made our posters multi-language so that for residences who dont understand certain language, they can still understand the posters as it is multi language which means that he/she can understand our intention of organising this event. Secondly we considered what extras should we give to customers who buys the hydroponically grown vegetables from us. The first option which we eliminate was giving sweets. The reason being is because some elderly has diabetes, if we were to give them sweets, its encouraging them to go on a sweet diet instead of encouraging them to cut down on sweet food. Adults are seldom attracted to sweets. So we have decided to give out balloons writing some encouragements on it, to encourage and thank them for doing a good deed and at the same time helping us raise funds for the less fortunates.

My First Visit to Bishan Home

What did i learn?

I learnt that intellectually disabled people are not as crazy as we think. They are actually normal people like us. It is just that their IQ are lower than us. We should not judge them by their appearance as it might not be their self. It is only after you get close to them and understand them better, you will see that they are actually quite friendly and not as crazy as how people judge them.

What did i do there?

At Bishan Home, we guided the intellectually disabled elderly with drawing of fruits and at the same time communicating with them. We had an enjoyable time spent with them. We even had singing session with the elderly people. The NUS students sang songs to entertain the elderly while we sang along and mixed in with the joys of laughter. Memories like these, would not be forgotten.

Did you enjoy your visit to Bishan Home?

Yes, i have totally enjoyed my visit to Bishan Home. And I also enjoyed my time spent with the intellectually disabled elderly as well as the NUS students. I would visit the Bishan Home again if I am given the opportunity, to get to know more about the intellectually disabled elderly and spread awareness to people around me to not judge them just by their appearance.