The Hearts & Hands

As a volunteer initiative, a large part of our work at Project Éclat comes from the hearts💜 and hands of those willing to contribute to our cause. This month, we sent out a form asking our fellow volunteers for their reasons for joining this project, despite all other commitments that they might have. We also asked them why they are passionate about our cause and what makes them step out to help others.

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Q: Why did you join The Project Éclat?

 

Lilian (Publicity): I joined because it seemed really fun 🤠 and I was very interested in the cause! The Project Éclat will also allow me to meet like-minded people and make new friends whilst helping the people at Rainbow Centre :-)

 

Valencia (Admin): I read up about the project on Instagram and I thought that the cause was very meaningful. I felt that through this project, I would be able to do my part and give back to the community by helping the disabled.

 

Anonymous: I joined to diversify my worldview 🌎, find out more about the experiences people from all walks of life bring with them and be a more empathetic person who can effect positive change in the world :-)

 

Xiaotong (Design): I want to do something for children with disabilities and at the same time get to know more people that share the same interest in designing :) 

 

Anne (Publicity): I joined because I wanted to bring awareness of how different life is with a disability as compared to without. I feel that many people without (including me!) tend to forget and take for granted things that someone with a disability might find very hard to do.

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Q: Why are you passionate about this cause?

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Kay Lynn (Admin): Before hearing about this project, I was woefully unaware of any issues surrounding neurodiverse people in Singapore. Knowing that many people around us are also ignorant of such issues motivated 🌟 me to spread awareness about them. 

 

Sahana (Publicity): One of my close family members is part of the community and I have seen their daily life struggles. 

 

Anonymous: I believe that every child deserves to grow up feeling safe and loved❣️, despite all of our imperfections. We should be accepted for who we are, including children and youths with disabilities.

 

Samantha (Admin): Persons with disabilities face many difficulties because of their physical or mental limitations, making daily life very inconvenient. Moreover, they are often discriminated against as many people do not take the time to empathize with them. I believe that they deserve equal opportunities from a young age, and education is an important part of their childhood that I believe they should enjoy and learn to the fullest. 🥰

 

Anonymous: I feel that there are a lot of misconceptions and judgements about people with disabilities that should be corrected because people with disabilities are still human beings like us and they too deserve to be treated with love and kindness. 💌

 

Q: Have you had any experiences with disabilities/persons with disabilities that made you passionate about this cause? 

 

Anonymous: I went over to Rainbow Centre to facilitate holiday camps, where they learned how to rollerblade. It was really heartwarming 💓 to see them playing around with smiles on their faces like any kid would and I would like to see Rainbow Centre expand and help more persons with disabilities.

 

Baihe (Publicity): When I was in P5, my school organized a values-in-action project with the children of Chaoyang School and it led me to understand that people with disabilities aren't all that different from us, and I want to help the people around me understand that too.

 

Chere (Publicity): Previously I volunteered at a children's orphanage that helped a few disabled children, and even within the small group of youths, those with disabilities were a little more segregated from the others. This made me feel like I could do more to help improve the situation which can also be seen in our society. 

 

Joshua (Admin): I have a friend with autism that talked to me about how I could impact others if I chose to volunteer. He told me that even if my role was not a big one, every little effort counts📈. At the time I was in a dilemma on whether I should volunteer or not, and his advice helped me get over that mental barrier of "What if I don't do enough?"

 

Yujie (Publicity): In Primary 3 and 4, there was a girl in class who had autism. Unfortunately, her seemingly "odd" and "annoying" behavior made her the "enemy" of the class, and a lot of our classmates disliked her for it, excluding her in our day-to-day interactions. Even though it is understandable that children at the age of 9 or 10 would act this way, I felt that we could have been much more accepting and demonstrate more empathy 🙂 in retrospect. I would say this boils down to the stereotypes and lack of education of the general public towards children with disabilities, which is one we have to address. Therefore, I believe it is necessary to act on this cause.

 

Q: Share a memorable volunteer experience that you have had in the past!

 

Li Ann (Publicity): I once read storybooks to children at Chaoyang School, a school for children with autism. I found it endearing how they listened to what I was saying and asked questions 🧐 about the stories. This made me passionate about helping little children like them. 

 

Jacklyn (Publicity): I helped out with lessons at Rainbow Centre so I got to know some of the kids. After volunteering there for a while, some kids actually recognized me and 1 kid remembered my name and the kids would want to talk with me and play with me and I found that to be the most fulfilling thing ever. 

 

Anonymous: I volunteered to raise awareness for people with Parkinson’s disease, and interacting with the elderly was a very heartening 💖 experience! Unfortunately due to Covid-19 I have not had many opportunities to volunteer so I hope that this year I will be able to give back to society more. 

 

Anne (Publicity): I helped to clean an uncle's house. Even though it seems like such a small thing, this uncle could not bend his knees and waist properly, and he has been living in a pile of cockroach poop and dead insects for about 5 years. I didn’t even know the floor was white tiles because there was a thick layer of black cockroach poop on the floors, and as the tap in his house didn’t work, his pans were coated in oil and dead insects. I was so shocked as it was my first time realising how different life was for some people as compared to me, and I wanted to really just help the uncle and make him feel better, happier, and more hopeful 😊. We scrubbed the floor down about 3 times! It was really meaningful to me and I still remember it to this day. 

 

Chloe (Welfare): I tutored underprivileged children before and it was really meaningful because I watched them improve throughout the year! :D

 

Q: Share a good experience that you’ve had in Project Éclat so far!

 

Anonymous: I designed the tote bag for Project Éclat and I love the process of thinking through what I want to show in my design.

 

Chere (Publicity): One good experience I had was making the Valentine's Day post! I was allowed creative freedom 🧑‍🎨 and I felt that holiday posts kind of lightened up the content that we were putting out to our followers so creating it made me feel really happy!

 

Sahana (Publicity): It has been a fun experience so far and my favorite memory was when we played Kahoot to get to know other volunteers! 

 

Faith (Publicity): I really enjoy working with my fellow sub-committee members and everyone is very nice! I am encouraged by the level of enthusiasm and creativity of the members of Project Éclat :)

 

Li Ann (Publicity): Calling to discuss initiatives in my sub-committee, Newsletter Committee, was a blast! I managed to make new friends and learn more about the things that Rainbow Centre does. 

 

Overall, most of our volunteers have a strong compassion for people with special needs, especially children. This is gained through the various experiences and interactions that they’ve had. Some were inspired by documentaries or external volunteering experiences, for others it was their loved ones or classmates whom they’ve personally seen shunned by society. Either way, these experiences have drawn them towards a burning commitment to giving a voice 📣 and building a safe space for those with special needs. A passion which they hope to pour into this project wholeheartedly. 

 

Despite our project still being a nascent enterprise, many of our volunteers feel excited and revved up to kickstart future initiatives, give a new ray of hope and a bright ☀️ future to precious young lives and help construct a more inclusive society for them to grow up in. 

 

At the end of the survey, one thing we’ve discovered through this venture is: although each one of us comes from various walks of life, at heart, we are all united by our common passion to use our position to bring light💡 and joy🥳  to those less privileged and to create a better future for all.