Description of project:
We have 3 activities for our SL project in partnership with the Lions Befrienders Senior Activity Centre. For the first activity, it was titled “Photos of Iconic Singapore Culture”, where we showed pictures to the elderly and let them guess. We chose pictures of cultural significance as we felt that they are the most familiar with such items of their lives.
For the second activity, we had a workout with the elderly which can be done while they were seated. This is so that we could prevent any injuries from happening. For the workout video, we decided on the 2021 GetActive! Workout, as we felt it was very much suited with Singapore’s birthday right around the corner. Throughout the workout, we guided the elderly along. In between the workout, we provided a 1 to 2 minute break for all to hydrate.
For the last activity, we decided to end it off with a bang with a Sing-A-Long, playing 3 National Day Parade (NDP) songs: Home, We Are Singapore and Where I Belong (Chinese). We sang with the elderly and enthusiastically encouraged them to sing. We ensure that we familiarised ourselves with both the English and Chinese songs so that we could sing along effectively.
Class Reflections:
Arshad:
This service learning day has truly been one of the most meaningful and enriching days of my life. My friends and I were enjoying every single bit of it. The elderly were very cheerful and friendly which allowed our time there to be simply fantastic. The elderly were also very active and engaged during the activities we planned out. Smiles and laughter were shown on the faces of the elderly. I was really glad and proud for making a difference in their lives.
Alex:
I learnt that small acts can make people happy and that we should do it out of the kindness of our hearts instead of obligation.
Annabelle:
I felt that we really did a good job for the service learning. The given circumstances were tough yet I feel that the elderly had a lot of fun. Thus, it was a heartwarming activity and I enjoyed seeing all of us participating actively together.
Chelsea:
Through this service learning session, I have learnt that we are able to bring smiles to people’s faces through simple acts. Furthermore, I also learnt that we can render support to our peers even when it is not part of our responsibilities.
Nasira:
Before the activity, I felt nervous about whether the elderly would even sing along with us to the NDP songs but little did I know, they were very patriotic and were participating very actively in the sing-a-long. It was such a pleasing view to see everyone singing together as a class too!