Singapore Boys’ Home Bronze Award Ceremony
June 28th, 2009
Contributed by: Xiao Fong
Peer pressure often lead to mistakes that one will regret, many only being aware of the trouble they have gotten themselves into after being punished by the law. Many are teens trying to gain attention and hence susceptible to such pressures. Therefore it is crucial to give these teens a second chance, another chance for them to understand that there are matters that are more worth-doing, more exciting things in life to look forward to. By providing the bigger picture to them, it helps the teens to strive for a different lifestyle as before, a life that they can be proud of. For this reason, the NYAA GAHA and the Singapore Boys’ Home launched the pilot run of the NYAA GAHA - Singapore Boys’ Home Mentoring Project in 2008.
The objective of this mentoring project is to help the participants achieve the NYAA Bronze Award, while providing participating Boys’ Home residents with a meaningful form of personal development and motivation through the NYAA programme, supporting the efforts of at-risk youth to integrate back into society. In doing so, the mentors started with preparations in December 2007, where they met up with the participating boys to get to know them. Subsequently, discussions were held to draft out the whole programme for the boys.
Initially, the boys were mischievous and playful. There were some who disrupted the discussion of the programme, while others were simply defiant. However, as they got to vote for the activities they are interested in to fulfill the criteria for the completion of the award, many soon got engrossed in the project.
On 28 March 2009, 7 boys from the Singapore Boys’ Home received their NYAA Bronze Award from Teo Ser Luck, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports & Ministry of Transport. To achieve the Bronze Award, these boys went through a ten-month long programme: to learn rock climbing; the skill of cooking; caring for the animals in SPCA; and 2 Days - 1 Night Camp at HomeTeamNS @ Bukit Batok. The activities were mentored by volunteers of GAHA, whereby the volunteers interacted with the boys and helped design the activities needed.
After ten months of hard work, the fruit of their labour were reaped. The smiles on the faces of their families during the Award Ceremony were indescribable. Laughter and chatters were heard during the refreshment session with the ceremony’s Guest-of-Honour, Teo Ser Luck where awardees were wondering if there are plans for the NYAA Silver Award. The heightened self-esteem of the boys was seen in the manner they conducted themselves and the way they interacted with others. Through mentorship, the boys were properly guided in overcoming their obstacles and thus helped them gain confidence. This award is something they will always be proud of, making a positive impact in their life and also a positive influence to their peers.
Hope filled the air of the auditorium as the boys looked forward to another goal to achieve in their lives.
Entry Filed under: At-Risk Youth, Community & Rootedness
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