Hi again!

Haha..oh well..let's just say I am in a relective mood and in the mood to thank people. haha. Yea as of last monday, I have officially stepped down as project director of MWH. Hmm..not sure whether to put a smiley face or sad face, haha..coz the past year as pd has definitely been an enriching experience! There were sure ups and downs, people came, and people went by, but it's really heartening to see familiar faces who are there when you need their help. :)

Looking back (Ha! this makes me sound so old), I am really grateful to my committee for assisting me! Thanks Liqin, Chunyuan, Yanqiu and Loyyong, for liaising with the home administrators, planning the weekly activities, conducting sessions, for offering opinions and thoughts on new initiatives, meeting and bringing new people into the project, administrative work and much much more which my limited capacity brain can't seem to recall now. You get the idea :P

Some people have asked me what keeps me going in volunteering at a destitute home, since the residents are not as "cute" as say, the children at MINDS, or that this isn't exactly a very "well-known"/prestigious home (compared to other homes that receive publicity from the media). Hmm. Personally, I think volunteering has no boundaries, it doesn't really matter whether you volunteer with the elderly, children or disabled. Once you are a volunteer, you are a volunteer, and you will be able to offer your services to other sectors, should you decide to have a change of environment in your volunteering commitment.

Back to the question, well, I guess it boils down to seeing a need to improve the quality of lives of the residents. Once you feel that you are needed at a place, it tugs at your heartstrings and it will make you want to do your part in making lives better for these people, however insignificant your presence will be. So yea. When I first came to the home, we did not have that many volunteers, and that is why I see the need to stay on. Then again, there are the wonderful friendships forged too :)

I must say juggling schoolwork and regular volunteering is not easy. There were many a times that I was like.."oh saturday again. I have to prepare for next week's activities, go down to mwh and I have a test/tutorial/project due the following week". But each time I went, I gained something. It may just be a small little form of appreciation as seen in a resident recognizing and smiling at you, or simply just asking you how you are. They may not actually thank you, but you know they do appreciate your presence. A few of the residents are also able to engage in quality conversations, and I have learnt a few values from them, them having gone through so much in life and are able to share their experiences with me. Patience is one of the things I learnt. :)

But one of the regrets that I had is the reduction in resident interaction after taking on the responsibilities as pd. Many a times, I wished I was the one helping the resident, but well, I am thankful that there is another volunteer taking care of the resident. This was one of my primary motivations for moving on to taking up Head of Division (Social Services), even though I know my interaction will definitely be further lessened. For myself, it's always been a I-want-to-volunteer-here-I-want-to-help-out-at-this-organization-I-want-to-do-this-I-want-to-do-that, but hey. I don't have enough time to do it. I alone can't change the world. So I thought taking up a role to facilitate and empower people to be effective volunteers would be a better option :) So people, I am looking forward to your support in making NVAC a leading volunteering host! :)

Oh well, I can go on and on, and be accused of being lor sor. Haha..see I told you I was in a reflective mood. But seriously, I do hope to hear from some of you, haha..if you would like to share your volunteering experiences, be it for a few months, or perhaps even just one session..do comment yea? I would love to know your thoughts on this, and it helps encourage us volunteers too :)

Ok ever the naggy me, signing off.