OCIP 2018

Post date: Jun 26, 2018 11:45:50 AM

by Jon Lau

We thank God for an awesome Father-Son Overseas Community Involvement Programme (OCIP) 2018 - Bless Myanmar. This is our third year back to Andrew Youth Development Centre (AYDC) in Yangon. A total of 65 fathers and sons made the trip, with one father bringing two of his sons along.  

The objective of the OCIP is for fathers and sons to bond by participating in the various community activities planned over the five days at Yangon.  These activities included various projects at AYDC, time of interaction with the children at the centre, recreational activities on the last day, and also a Father-Son dinner where fathers can spend a meaningful time having a meal with their sons.

We met at Changi Airport on early Thursday morning and were encouraged to have Principal Loo Ming Yaw there to send us off with a word of encouragement and prayer. We arrived at Yangon late morning, had a satisfying lunch at a local restaurant, and then headed immediately to AYDC. We were warmly welcomed by the management staff and children of AYDC. From the joyful faces of the children, we could tell that they were looking forward to our arrival and to spending time with us over the next few days.  As in previous years, we had a time of brief introduction followed by an awesome praise session where we experienced the angelic voices of the children. This is something which every visitor to AYDC will experience and remember deep in their heart and spirit.

This year, we had several ad-hoc projects assigned to us. They included the leveling of the sand of the soccer field, digging the trench for the drains around the field, laying of laminate flooring for the children's dormitories, fixing of water piping in the fields, fixing of floodlights for the soccer field, and fencing up the laundry area so that their clothing will not be blown away by the strong winds during the monsoon period.  The more important aspect of these activities is the exposure that these projects offer to our sons and the opportunity for them to see their dads in action as a role model. Dads discussed and planned the tasks, worked hard to complete them and displayed teamwork.

We had wonderful meals, where we tasted the delicacies of Myanmese food.  We took the Circle train to experience the ride and to see the life of Yangon, while another group visited the Shwedagon Pagoda. We visited the Bogyoke market to see the paintings and precious stones that were on sale.  We thank Pastor Patrick for delivering the message on Sunday, and for the sporting Dads and Boys who presented song items to the boys. We enjoyed them all.

We are thankful for the cooperation of fathers and sons to make this trip a smooth and fruitful one. I also thank my organising team who had put in their time and effort to plan this trip so thoroughly to ensure all gaps are plugged. We also acknowledge the support of Principal Loo and Vice Principal Mrs. Aw Meng Yin.

This OCIP could not have made it without all of you, and indeed we could Bless Myanmar because of you.