TH Camp 2009 -- Take me higher

The end of the academic year has come around again, and it's time to reflect on the events of the past semester (not to mention, attempt to redeem oneself for severely delayed blogging *cough*).

One of the major events of the past semester was the Terra Hope Camp, which took place from 28 February to 1 March (a duration of two days, recalling that February has only 28 days in a non-leap year).

The theme this year was "Take me higher", and the camp committee outlined a set of clear objectives for the residents and volunteers, namely (as cited from the camp booklet):

• Allow residents to realise greater potential (self-confidence, self-reliance, team spirit and leadership).
• Forge stronger resident-volunteer and resident-resident relationships.
• Create an opportunity for residents to play a meaningful role in the community via the Terra Hope Food Drive.
• Create opportunities for public awareness of PWIDs.

Camp began with the customary briefing at MINDSville, followed by the packing session for the Food Drive. The objective of this initiative was to provide the residents with the opportunity to give back to the community, namely, 70 disadvantaged families living in Hougang Block 24, via donation of food items. The food items were obtained through volunteer donations, while the residents played a role in packing the items. Moreover, four residents were selected (along with their attached volunteers) to help distribute the items to the families after the packing session.

It was a noble initiative, in my humble opinion, as it not only benefited the aforementioned disadvantaged families, but also (hopefully) created greater awareness in the community, as well as among the residents themselves, about the potential and capabilities of the residents in contributing to society if given the chance. Kudos to the committee for bringing the residents one step closer to self-empowerment.

Shady dealings -- depositing completed food packages at the shady main entrance of the home.

Mug shots of residents are disallowed *sobs*, so I'll make do with shots like these -- a resident holding a can of sardines during the packing session.

We were divided into six groups, each bearing the name of an animal: Yellow Bird, Pink Panther, Blue Whale, White Rabbit, Red Rooster, and Black Bear.

No prizes for guessing which group I was in, heh.

The packing session was followed by a shopping session for the barbeque that was to take place later that evening. The residents and their attached volunteers were given pictures and descriptions of the items they were assigned to buy, before setting out in their respective groups to hunt for the said items in a nearby mall. This activity gave the residents the opportunity to learn about making purchases in everyday life.

Upon returning to MV, we had a food preparation session, in which we, erm, prepared food, for the barbeque.

Okay, I know I'm probably the club's equivalent of the paparazzi, and my blog entries tend to be kind of corny, but erm... you don't have to go to that extent to hide from the (relentless) snapping of my camera! (Darn, I'll get you next time, you can't hide forever! Muahahaha...)

Hygiene was taken very seriously, of course, and all the residents and volunteers involved in the food preparation donned...

... the latest accessory this season: disposable gloves! (Sigh. Okay, I acknowledge that THAT was pretty lame, even by my standards, but I'm trying... *sobs*)

Kebab-making (yes folks, that's all I can think of for this caption). Well, there does appear to be a disembodied arm in there -- I forget who was standing there, but yea, whoever you are, your arm is in the shot.

After that, we grabbed our things, boarded the chartered buses with the residents, and headed to Pasir Ris Park, where we would set up camp.

"We come in peace, take us to your leader."
(A random shot taken in Pasir Ris Park.)

We played team-based games at various locations in the park, which aimed to inculcate team spirit, competitive spirit and confidence among the residents.

The picture above was taken at one of the station games, where two opposing teams were each supposed to "capture" the other team's "flag" (in the form of a towel tied to a low-hanging tree branch).

Hmm. I remember this game in particular because, firstly, our team won (woots! wakaka...), but more importantly, the smile on my resident's face after the win -- a genuine smile that lit up her face, and gave me the warm fuzzies inside -- reminded me why I participated in the camp. Admittedly, the volunteer experience isn't all roses, there are times (for all of us, I guess) when our patience is tried, or when we get jaded or tired, so I think it's good to take a step back now and then, and remember what we do it for (in my humble opinion, anyway).

Speaking of trying times, in the midst of the barbeque, it started to rain. The volunteers brought their respective residents to shelter, along with some of the cooked food.

Taking shelter.

The weather deteriorated, and soon, a storm was raging around us. Kudos to the committee for keeping things together despite the unfortunate turn of events. We eventually evacuated the park via last-minute chartered buses.

However, the rain failed to dampen the spirit of the camp, and the next day, albeit with some tweaking to the original plan, volunteers and residents headed to Marina Bay for a fun session of kite-flying on the rooftop field of erm... a building (sorry, I forget its name, if ever I knew... *cough*).

The residents were taught how to assemble their own kites, and were allowed to decorate their kites with marker pens.

My resident, stamping her individuality on her kite. (I drew the bunny, though...)

Overall, the camp was a success. Residents and volunteers had fun, while learning a thing or two along the way. I reckon the committee (well, everyone, but especially the committee) should pat themselves on the back for putting together an enjoyable and meaningful camp.

Take me higher!

~lm