The NYAA GAHA - Singapore Boys Home Mentoring Project II started in July 2009. The selected NYAA GAHA members served as mentors to the boys from Singapore Boys Home. The goal is to assist the boys to achieve the NYAA Bronze Award and to re-integrate them back into the society through the NYAA Programme.The boys selected the following activities they would like to engage in to be able to fulfill their NYAA Bronze Award mainly: Community Service - Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA); Skills Development - Baking; Physical Recreation - Archery.
For the Expedition Section, the outdoor camp was held from16 to17 January 2010 at MOE Dairy Farm. The activities at the camp included hiking, tent pitching, outdoor cooking, campfire and high element rope courses. Each day ended with a daily debrief led by the mentors. During debrief, the boys reflected on the activities they had undergone and the values they had learnt. It was heartening to see the boys taking the initiative to lead the team in activities, while the mentors acted as facilitators to assist them in taking up the leadership role. The bond between the mentors and the boys was strengthened as a result of the time spent together.
The Expedition was coordinated by our mentors, Yap Jia Wei and Melissa Ho, Camp Commandants for the Camp. Jia Wei was extremely happy and proud of the boys who displayed their courage, discipline and enthusiasm throughout the camp.
Melissa Ho, a certified MOE Adventure Outdoor Specialist, was impressed with the boys for overcoming the fear to complete the challenge of the high element rope course.
To sum up the mentoring project, the boys had these to say:
“I feel very satisfied and appreciate all the hard work that the mentors did for us.”
“I was given the opportunity to lead the team and with the guidance from our mentors, I was able to perform my tasks.”
”The camp was fantastic. I really enjoyed myself. I liked the campfire most.”
“I felt very happy as the camp was very fun.”
“The most exciting part of the camp was the hiking. Overall, it was a fun learning experience.”
With the successful run of the pilot project in 2008, NYAA GAHA and the Singapore Boys’ Home decided to continue the Mentoring Project and allow more boys to benefit from it. For the 2nd run of the NYAA GAHA - Singapore Boys’ Home Mentoring Project, nine GAHA members were selected to be part of the team to mentor fourteen boys selected to participate in this programme. Kenneth Wong took over the role of the Project Coordinator role, and Choo Pui Shan will assist him.
The programme’s goal is to develop these fourteen boys over the next 8 months by guiding them to achieve the NYAA Bronze Award. The team hopes that the young participants will gain the confidence needed to develop themselves further and be inspired to achieve their aspirations and ultimately to also make a difference to others in the coming years.
On 18 July 2009, the first session of the mentoring programme was held at the Singapore Boys’ Home from 9am till 11am. Kenneth introduced to the boys the NYAA, GAHA and the programme. He also shared with them the various activities that the boys could participate in. These activities included Community Service, Skill Development, Adventurous Journey and Physical Recreation. A simple voting was conducted to allow the boys to choose the activities that they would like to embark on for the new mentoring programme.
To gel the boys and the mentors together and to get to know each other better, ice-breaking games were played.
Below are some thoughts from the mentors:
“Seeing the boys enjoying themselves and having fun with the mentors (at) just the first session makes me want to help them even more and showing them that there are people who still care for them”, said Melissa Ho.
Ng Jia Wei shared, “The NYAA Boys’ Home Project is my first assignment in GAHA and there is much anticipation and excitement in me right now. I am glad to have like-minded and enthusiastic pals with me on board this project. I hope the outcome of it is not just presenting the boys with the NYAA Bronze Award, but experiences and life lessons gained that will transform them into better citizens of our nation.”
From the enthusiastic responses received, there was no doubt that the boys looked forward to the start of the activities, as well as the next mentoring session which was scheduled in mid-August 2009.
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.
