5 GAHA members represented Singapore at the recent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Voices of the Future 2010 conference in Yokohama, Japan in Dec 2010.
You are invited to a GAHA sharing session of their APEC experiences and key discussions made at APEC 2010:
The IAVE World Youth Volunteer Conference will be held in Singapore from 21-23 Jan 2011 and applications are now open!
If you sign up as a group, the organisers may be able to arrange for some special rates and privileges!
Confirmed speakers and facilitators include Minister Vivian Balakrishnan (Minister, MCYS), A/P Fatimah Lateef (World Young person of the year), Daniel Burtica (RECOJO), Mr Martin Tan (Halogen Foundation), Bernise Ang (SyInc), Lluc Marti (IAVE Youth Office), Samuel Chen (Mentor, Citibank-YMCA Youth for causes) as well as many more.
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.”
This year, the Switzerland- Singapore Bi-lateral Youth Exchange Programme has successfully came back to Singapore again! 11 Switzerland Youth delegates, led by a group of NYAA Gold Award holders, were involved in a full 12day programme from 9to 20 October 2009with the theme,”Around Singapore and Cultural Exchange Experiences.”
‘A picture is worth a thousand words’, how about a video? Uploaded in the Singapore - Switzerland Exchange Programme 2009Facebook account is a video that describes the journey that all of us have been through together. Our friendship further strengthened and at the end of each day, we all lamented that it meant another day less for us to interact. Every moment was treasured; interacting and exchanging individual cultural knowledge to let our Swiss friends learn more about Singapore by touring and experiencing activities related to a Singaporean lifestyle.
The Swiss youth visited various interesting places in Singapore, For instance, they did a home visit which helped them understand our ‘pigeon hole’ HDB living. They also visited different heritage centres to learn more about our local history and how Singapore was developed. They have also been to Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve to understand our local flora and fauna.They had the chance to attend a Meet-the-People Session with a Member of Parliament and they were also able to visit different religious buildings and experience many other exciting adventures.
Enriching, engaging, educational and memorable are the few words to end off this Switzerland- Singapore Bi-lateral Youth Exchange Programme 2009. Three cheers! Many thanks to the organizing team; sponsoring and supporting companies and institutes; and last but not least; the delegates (Switzerland and Singapore) involved in this exchange programme. Friends parted with a Beautiful Big Smile! Hip Hip Hurray!!!
On 3 September 2009, I, together with about 100 other ladies from various institutions were privileged to be part of LEAF@NYAA – Visit to the Army Open House 2009.
This event was specially launched for promising young women to broaden their knowledge and experiences through a series of dialogues and activities on female leadership.
The Army Open House 2009, organised by the Army Engineers, brought us through a series of 7 Worlds as part of the 3rd Generation Army.
Our World (Physical Training and Exhibits):
An insight of Standard Obstacle Course (SOC), Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT) and tour of the Army Museum. As our schedule was tight, we did not manage to tour this station. We will look out for it during the next round of Army Open House!
Mission World (The History):
A time-tunnel showcasing the long list of successful operations conducted by the SAF. These included missionaries’ trips and various peacekeeping exercises that our defence force has been part of. If I were in the Armed Forces, I would definitely love to be part of the Humanitarian Team.
Combat World (For the Adrenaline Pumping!):
Features simulated battlefield experiences consisting 4 sectors - War Zone, Battle Cry, Capability Display and Virtual Fighter. We got the chance to grab hold of the machines and try them out for ourselves!
Battle World (For the Lucky Ones!):
Fill up the quiz, win it and get the chance to ride through Pasir Laba rugged terrain on one of the army vehicle. This time round there was something NEW – Combat Ride Safari. The LEAF@NYAA participants got a chance to walk in the shoes of a Field Commander – receive battle briefs, ride in a tunnel and go through a mission! At the end of the ride, we were each given a polaroid picture which we took with our group as a souvenir. How fantastic!
Action World (Army Performances)
This time round, a number of performances ranging from heart-pumping tactical shows to light-hearted shows were put up for the public. We caught the urban operation show where the various defence forces came together to counter a terrorist attack. What was most engaging was that the prestigious K9 dogs were also part of the operation. At the end of the show, the public were welcome to take pictures with the various defence teams.
Future World (Exhibits)
Three broad categories, firstly, People – showed the latest developments in medical science, culminating in a gaming corner where the public could enjoy realistic and sophisticated battle simulations and a knock-out tournament between the top 16 invitational teams. Irene Ng, Member of Parliament for Tampines GRC and Ellen, Jeanice and I from GAHA had our tries on the simulated game which has a similar concept to Counter-Strike. Next, Concept – a display of Command Post of the Future (CPOF) showed how SAF enhances its C2 Concept and combat doctrine with enhanced connectivity as the 3rd Generation Army. Finally, Technology – models and prototypes from SAF’s strategic partners, such as DSO, DSTA etc. were displayed to the public. What was most exciting was the showcase of SAF’s modern military robots.
Fun World (For the Fun-Loving and Shoppers)
Want to take a break? This world features a carnival filled with food, drinks, games and performances. A SAF E-mart was also available for us to purchase SAF items which are used by soldiers. Aside from this, the public had the chance to sample and savour the best that Singapore Food Industries provides for the soldiers.
And so it begins…
The day started with us touring the various sites and then proceeded back to the auditorium for a briefing on 3G Army and close-up dialogue session with Associate Professor Koo Tsai Kee – Minister of State for Defence, Ms Irene Ng and various army personnel. It was a very engaging session which brought greater insights to each participant. After the session, we proceeded to watch the urban operation show before heeding for our Combat Ride.
The day ended with us being treated to a sumptuous buffet lunch at the Rocky Hill Mess – solely for the regulars, but we were really fortunate to be hosted there.
It was a fun-filled and experimental tour. Jeanice and I look forward to the next Army Open House! Or .. perhaps we might be the regulars by then!
