"Joy is beholding the exposed heart of a student and seeing that it is good and golden." Duke
What a week I have had! I will write about my reflections after a Personal Retreat at Changi a little later on but today, I am brimming with pride and joy.
Today, the B Div Soccer Boys (and 2 C Div boys) worked with Habitat for Humanity to clean up the dinghy small homes of old folks in Toa Payoh as part of their CIP involvement. I accompanied them, took many pictures (some of which I hope to upload later on), helped out here and there, but best of all, witnessed the unbelievable big-heartedness and warmth of the students.
To be totally honest, and this is something I did apologise to the boys for after the activity, I had reservations and doubts about how the boys would carry out the cleaning. As I told them, many of them are from very privileged backgrounds and I feared that they would not have the stomach or experience for this most unglamorous of tasks. Of course, I had complete faith in some of the more mature boys such as Hairi, Nazri, Clarence, Paul and Han Jie, to name but five, but I was seriously worried about a number of the others.
In the end, adult cynicism and unfounded anxiety were dispelled by how completely the boys went about helping the old folks and how committed they were as they undertook their various tasks, such as cleaning up the houses, painting, building racks and moving clutter out of homes, with gusto.
The warmth, genuine concern and love that poured forth from the boys' giving hearts really enabled me to see their true faces and stripped away the veneer of bravado, emotionalism and detachment that are the hallmarks of so many youths these days. I had the privilege and joy of seeing them for who they really are - people of heart, of promise, of positive energy, of the unbridled ability to give back and care for others - and I cannot describe just how proud I was (and still am) of all of them.
This experience has certainly strengthened my belief that Service Learning/CIP is a worthwhile and meaningful enterprise and reaffirmed my view that our teenagers are worth investing in.
Kudos to the team today - Clarence, Nazri, Hairi, Derrick, Kin Hoe, Qi Xiang, Daniel, Zuo Fu, Zhi Xian, Han Jie, Brandon, Adrian, Keith, Shafiq, Shijudeen, Parvesh, Desmond, Paul, Wilson and Simranjeet! You guys really helped the old folks out and you have really outdone yourselves! I hope you enjoyed the KFC treat just as much!
What a week I have had! I will write about my reflections after a Personal Retreat at Changi a little later on but today, I am brimming with pride and joy.
Today, the B Div Soccer Boys (and 2 C Div boys) worked with Habitat for Humanity to clean up the dinghy small homes of old folks in Toa Payoh as part of their CIP involvement. I accompanied them, took many pictures (some of which I hope to upload later on), helped out here and there, but best of all, witnessed the unbelievable big-heartedness and warmth of the students.
To be totally honest, and this is something I did apologise to the boys for after the activity, I had reservations and doubts about how the boys would carry out the cleaning. As I told them, many of them are from very privileged backgrounds and I feared that they would not have the stomach or experience for this most unglamorous of tasks. Of course, I had complete faith in some of the more mature boys such as Hairi, Nazri, Clarence, Paul and Han Jie, to name but five, but I was seriously worried about a number of the others.
In the end, adult cynicism and unfounded anxiety were dispelled by how completely the boys went about helping the old folks and how committed they were as they undertook their various tasks, such as cleaning up the houses, painting, building racks and moving clutter out of homes, with gusto.
The warmth, genuine concern and love that poured forth from the boys' giving hearts really enabled me to see their true faces and stripped away the veneer of bravado, emotionalism and detachment that are the hallmarks of so many youths these days. I had the privilege and joy of seeing them for who they really are - people of heart, of promise, of positive energy, of the unbridled ability to give back and care for others - and I cannot describe just how proud I was (and still am) of all of them.
This experience has certainly strengthened my belief that Service Learning/CIP is a worthwhile and meaningful enterprise and reaffirmed my view that our teenagers are worth investing in.
Kudos to the team today - Clarence, Nazri, Hairi, Derrick, Kin Hoe, Qi Xiang, Daniel, Zuo Fu, Zhi Xian, Han Jie, Brandon, Adrian, Keith, Shafiq, Shijudeen, Parvesh, Desmond, Paul, Wilson and Simranjeet! You guys really helped the old folks out and you have really outdone yourselves! I hope you enjoyed the KFC treat just as much!
