The Yunan Service Trip is a first ever student council service trip. In preparation of the trip, we were delegated to create lesson plans which covered Dental Hygiene, Smoking, and Simple English sentences. It was very new to all of us; what do we know about teaching primary school children, in CHINESE! We drew the human breathing system on huge posters and printed our English words that ranged from everyday words like “Good Morning” , “Thank you” , “My Name Is”. We were also sponsored by Kodomo and were given a few boxes of toothbrush and toothpaste to bring to the children there.
We held a few events in our own school to raise money to buy equipment for the trip. We also set aside money to buy new sports equipments like basketballs, soccer balls, ball pumps, and jumping ropes for the school in China. We left on the same night we organized Prom and it was pretty hectic getting home, grabbing our lugguage and heading to the airport for an unearthly timing flight!
The Service Trip was amazing! We were taken out of our comfort zones and exposed to a whole different level of comfort. We were sleeping in sleeping bags, we cooked our meals from a simple pot, and had to bear the cold that did not spare us at night. We had no showers, no proper toilet facilities, and home seemed so far away. We had to carry out lesson plans, game activities, and build a new basketball court. It might all sound very tedious to you, but I enjoyed every single bit of my time there.
The children were so precious. They were very thrilled that we were there and they never failed to make sure that we were entertained. They were very polite to us and always greeted us as teachers and were always smiling. They brought us to their homes which showed the extreme differences our own homes were like. They had little of the comforts we experience back in Singapore. They didn’t have a neighbourhood playground like most of us would. All they had were plantations, valleys, caves, streams. They had little toys; and all around they had many pigs, puppies and ducks that were wondering freely. Instead of getting a culture shock, I was very happy because I could finally see with my own eyes, how fortunate I am compared to these children. Yet, they find so much joy in the simple things that I think most Singaporean children would not.
Although our days there were a mere 4-5, I had learnt so much about their world and their culture. I felt so inspired to come back next year and try and give back even more than I could this time. Although I cannot contribute significantly in monetary value, I know that I have made a significant contribution to their happy childhood.
I have also gotten much closer to the 4th Student Council members. We had strengthen existing friendships and pulled through all obstacles that hindered our journey. I will never forget a service trip as memorable as this. (:
