ESN Carnival

Before I begin the narration of this entry, I would like to exclaim on behalf of all NTU, NUS and SMU undergrads, "We're back!". Indeed, after spending close to a month in the freezing sanctuaries of libraries, stifling study rooms and droopy study desks in preparation for their exams, most if not all undergrads from these three universities, who have survived the trial and tribulation can finally heave a sigh of relief. Stepping through the gates of All Saint Home 2 weeks ago after a month long absence, the feeling comparable to that felt by a prodigal son welled up immediately. Yes, it's good to be 'home' (pun intended) and along with the familiar faces at ASH, it drew forth a plethora of emotions.

After the usual session with the elderly, Carolyn informed everyone at ASH that ESN is organizing a carnival for both volunteers and elderly at Yishun JC during the debrief (my apologies if this term brought back painful NS memories for some). Apart from providing entertainment to the elderly with performances, games, food and beverage stalls, the money raised at the carnival will go to the respective homes. Thus, when Carolyn requested for the assistance of volunteers at ASH to wheel the elderly during the carnival, the response was overwhelming. In my particular case, the unforgettable experience at a similar day event organized by ESN to bring the elderly from Econ home to Vivocity mall, won me over almost instantaneously.

As we set forth for Yishun JC with 8 elderly last saturday, the overcast skies threatened to descend upon us a downpour that has ruined most of my outdoor activities for the entirety of November. Fortunately, the meticulous volunteers from ESN had chosen to hold the carnival within the premise of the hall in Yishun JC, rain or shine, the carnival can proceed with relative ease. Hence, despite the utterly depressing weather, the mood within the catered bus that took us from ASH to Yishun JC was enlivened by the Christmas carols belted out by the volunteers. I was assigned to this reticent auntie (I shall refer to her as auntie for the remainder of this post for the convenience of narration) and was given a lucky draw ticket with $7.50 worth of coupons to spend on the stalls. Of course the coupons were not meant for me, but rather for the auntie during the length of our stay at the carnival. In addition to the coupons and lucky draw tickets, each volunteer was assisted further by 2 scouts from Catholic High. I was no exception, and after a brief introduction followed by reassuring them that the experience will be a memorable one, we wheeled the auntie around the stalls at the carnival.

Despite remaining reticent throughout the entire event, the auntie definitely enjoyed herself at the game stalls (in particular, the stall that has a makeshift pool for fishing styrofoam-made fishes). With plenty of help from the 2 scouts, the auntie won a bagful of prizes (in no particular order of values: 3 soft toys, 2 wafer biscuits, numerous candies and a messanger bag). After the bountiful harvest from the game stalls, the auntie was treated to some of the food and a cup of soya bean from the stalls, and I could tell by glancing around, the elderly invited to this event clearly enjoyed themselves tremendously. As we wheeled auntie to a corner 'thronged' with ASH volunteers and their elderly, the performances staged by ESN coincidentally commences at the same time. The performances were fabulous and stellar in the case of the songs belted out by a trio in the end (with the exception to the whistles distributed to every volunteers in the beginning, the carnival was a brilliant success). Catching everyone unaware, 2 hours have slipped past unnoticed and we had to return to ASH as it was fast approaching dinner for the elderly.

Boarding the bus back to ASH and singing more Christmas carols along the way, I noticed that although the elderly looked somewhat exhausted, they were lugging with them bagfuls of prizes each! Again, the dedicated volunteers at ESN were able to pull off an event that was a resounding success with their admirable effort and toil. As an ending note, with the holiday season drawing nearer, please allow me to wish everyone from ESN and ASH a Merry Xmas.

P.S. Dear fellow volunteers from ASH, please do upload the pictures of that faithful day at Yishun JC on the blog. Thanx!

Senior Citizen Week & Volunteer Appreciation on 10 Nov 2007

I didn't know singing is part of Cupid's job






Even the King of the Jungle is here






Some of our volunteers receiving a token of appreciation from the Guest of Honour










Benny with his lovely wife Janette


Mother and daughter team, Gerina and Eunice.


Seth is definitely making this Auntie very happy.

Flower Bottles Making on 3 Nov 07

We had a new handicraft activity on 3 Nov called Flower Bottles. Thanks to Sook Ying’s idea, flowers & plants from Eunice and Gerina and everyone that help to drink lots of orange juice to collect bottles for the handicraft.



Sook Ying guiding Uncle Wong


Meng Kwee’s shake shake dance

NVPC Volunteer Orientation on 27 Sept 2007

The NVPC Volunteer Orientation Talk took place on Sept 27. The day-long rain did not dampen the spirits of the folks who wanted to do their part for society and turned up for the talk. There were as many supporters from ASH to provide moral support to our presenter, Edmund.


Edmund started off with an introduction about volunteering and volunteering at ASH. His 3 C's concept was an interesting introduction to ASH.

1st C - Chalet: Going to ASH every Saturday is like going to a chalet

2nd C - Care: To provide care to all the old folks who are in the home

3rd C - Companionship: Not just for the old folks who eagarly await our arrival every Saturday at 2.30pm, but also companionship among the volunteers, which we see blossom with every activity held.

Edmund's passion towards the old folks, towards volunteering, was infectious and it came through during the talk. People who heard him could "feel" his sincerity and towards the end of the night, there were several potential volunteers hoovering around him trying to find out more about ASH.


Serious looking Edmund


Presentation on the activities in ASH


Animated Edmund


And finally..whoever's interested in signing up, please join us every Saturday at Tampines, St 44, at 2.30 pm at All Saints Home! :)

Mid Autumn Festival 22 Sept 2007

A big THANK YOU to all who have helped out in our Mid Autumn Festival celebration yesterday. It was a GREAT SUCCESS!! Standing ovation for the Committee Chairman, Wei Zhong, all committee members and volunteers.

Despite the fact that there were some last minute changes (Sincere apologies to our ASH director who came up with the wonderful script which we did not manage to put to use this round), we managed to meet the objectives we had earlier set for the event:

1. Bring joy and laughter to the old folks through the celebrations

2. Ensure that all who were present at the celebration left with a gift

F&B pretty women and handsome man

Miss Pomelo contestants..and the winner is ***drum roll**.....

There's a saying that goes..men are most charming when they are hard at work. Looks like we have our own bunch of charming guys in ASH ;p

Lantern man

Equal distribution of 1/8 of a mooncake with egg yolk, 1/8 of a mooncake without yoke and pomelo. It was hard work maintaining equality and quality..

The happy smile made all the work worthwhile :)

Elderly enjoying the mooncake

Sin Hwei, please don’t eat Auntie’s mooncake

All eager and ready for the matching game!!

I know the matching number!

Wow..i got it right!!

Special performance by Hong Hui.

ASH's very own Superstar!!

ASH Superstars

Zhenshen, give the mic back to Handsome uncle

Superstar - Lady's category!!

More games - Passing the lanterns

Winner

Even this cute little boy wants to play too

Another winner

Wah! what a beautiful lantern! May I keep it.

First time, our all men MCs Meng Kwee & Zhenshen

ASH volunteers

Our new kid at ASHome and PA in charge, Ah Xing

On an ending note, it is a joy in itself to be able to bring joy to the elderly and hopefully, there will be many more of such rewarding experiences to come.

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!