A New Way Forward…..

Changi Simei, Singapore, 12 June 2010

                                   

Changi Simei was awarded the Silver award at the Community LEAD Champion Awards 2010 by Mr Lim Boon Heng, Minister in Prime Minister Office  and Deputy Chairman of the Peoples’ Association. The ceremony took place on 12 June 2010.  Overall, there were 10 Gold awards, 43 Silvers award, 11 Bronze awards, 10 Certificate Award and 5 merits award. 

I attended the ceremony to support Jason Ong (photo on the left) receiving the award from Minister on behalf of Changi Simei. Jason, our Community LEAD Champion is the equivalent of  a HR manager in the grassroots organisations and since appointed to the role, he has been taking his role seriously and working hands in gloves with grassroots leaders and our staff from our community club to fulfil his role to recruit, develop and sustain current and new grassroots leaders. I have given him an additional  mission to glue new and current grassroots leaders as a team working in unison with one spirit and of couse to have fun together.   

Overall, we recruited more than 50 new grassroots leaders through tea sessions (photo on left) and the majority signed up after the tea sessions as they were more aware of our grassroots works and our vision for the community. In this aspect, our LEAD Champion has scored some successes to recruit new grassroots leaders to being the gradual process of our leadership renewal.   

It is not an easy task to start with especially trying to sell the idea of passion and volunteerism to step forward to make a difference in the community. Even current grassroots leaders need to be encouraged by our LEAD Champion to sustain their journey through continuous upgrading of skills. To do this, instead of attending training at NACLI, we bring the training to our door step. We have also conducted our own induction session (photo on left) with newly recruited grassroots leaders. Senior grassroots leaders were appointed to share their thoughts and facilitating discussions.

In our course of recruitment, when approaching residents to volunteer, many are expected to decline the invitation to serve the community and their standard answer is “no time”. It is not the individual’s fault for giving the negative answer. I am more inclined to think that it is our fast societal changes that have changed the concept of community living through helping each other. The influence of individualism through “I” has also diluted our personal values of coming forward to serve the community as long as there is no “gain” to reap. One of the favourite lines is whether there is any “grassroots” allowances and perks which go against the grain and spirit of volunteerism. 

Minister had also alluded in his address that the advent of interests, new means of communication through new media might also be one reason youths shy away from their involvements in grassroots activities. No doubt the power of new media does pull people away, but the truth of the fact is that face to face meeting is inevitable which I agreed with minister. Face to face with eyes contact is still the way to go as we are able to see the expressions and emotions of each other which facilitates conflict resolutions. Nonetheless, our grassroots movement too needs to change to keep in line with technology and interests of people.

In Changi Simei, we understand that the current peace and stability do not happen overnight but through years of relationship building among residents. We are also aware that one miscalculation may result in undesired consequences like neighbours’ disputes of any nature.  We also do have our fair share of neighbours’ disputes ranging from illegal car parking at private estates, noises pollution, killer litters, personal conflicts to cluttering of common corridors etc. The grassroots leaders are at the front line helping to mitigate within the framework of neighbourliness as much as we can. Therefore,  I see value in volunteerism to build social capital to strengthen our social fabrics. Volunteers also helped in our “skip for rice” 12 hours continuous challenge in 2009 to raise the number of skips to exchange for a bowl of rice for the needy families in Changi Simei (photo on the left).

The actual award ceremony commenced with a performance from The Arts Sphere Chamber Ensemble performing in Chinese musical instrument.  The three young musicians from NAFA were champions in their own right. They played the ruanqin (阮琴). The instrument is a moon shaped lute in five sizes, gaoyin, xiao, zhong, da and diyin. This is how a ruanqin looks like in the photo on the left.  You may like to know that there are eight categories of Chinese instruments with eight sounds (八音). They  are: silk (絲)  , bamboo (竹),  wood (木) , stone (石) , metal (金) , clay (土)  , gourd (匏) and hide (革)  . There are other instruments which may not fit these classifications. No wonder, the combination of these instruments make good and soothing music to the ears with each playing their parts synchronishing with each other, otherwise it will be just noises.

To add variety to the ceremony, a talk on ‘Sun Tzu: The Art of Leadership” was arranged. The talk aimed to provide an insights on leadership which is one of the 5 fundamentals of Sun Tzu. If anything that I took away from this talk is Sun Tzu’s Art of War in strategic creativity which states, “When I have won a victory I do not repeat my tactics but respond to circumstances in an infinite variety of ways.” This strategy aptly points out the need to be creative when developing strategies and tactics. Like our grassroots events, we need to innovate and create new social platforms for people to bond with each other. It is through creativity that our probability of success to engage the younger generation and to draw them out to volunteer in the grassroots organisations will be higher. (photo source on ruan and sun Tzu were from  google.com) 

Finally, at Changi Simei, we aim to make the difference by recruiting more residents into the grassroots organisations in order to create a network of touch points to serve the community. That is our mission for 2010.

One Idea…..many approaches

 Changi Simei, Singapore, 20 June 2010

 

We have been living in peace and harmony (photo left, source from google.com) as a result of the political stability since 21 Jul 1964. What was historically significant was on that day, a racial riot erupted in Singapore during a Malay procession that marked Prophet Muhammad’s birthday. Then I was a young boy and thought that it was fun as school was out due to an extended curfew. I never knew about the implications. It was after many years (after school) that I realised that we are like a melting pot waiting for thing to happen. Beside the Jul 1964 riot, there was another two riots, in Sep 1964 and another riot which was a spill over from post election Malaysia on 13 May 1969.     

 

In any riots or bloody clashes, there is unnecessary loss of lives and we are no different then and in the 3 riots, many lives were lost. There was more to the eyes as these riots erupted along communal line. It exposed the seriousness of a general lack of understanding and trust among the diverse population and people of different faiths. The government of the day then sat to set its agenda to diffuse communal tensions through the setting up of goodwill committees (photo of one goodwill committee visiting residents, source from google.com) with members drawn from grassroots leaders of various racial groups and faiths. Their mission was to help to restore peace and harmony by addressing local needs through dialogues. Their hard work of these pioneer grassroots leaders transformed post independent Singapore into a politically and socially stable system. Since then, there were few social upheavals though recently, there were talks on religious polarisation and the  intolerance of some Singaporeans who posted or uttered unkind remarks.      

 

We don’t need rocket science to come to a logical conclusion that a stable political and social environment serve to attract long term investments. Who will invest if there is a high probability of no returns on investment? I dare to say that it is a vicious cycle where poor political climate will lead to social upheavals and the latter will lead to withdrawal or no new investments which will drag the economy down. The down spiral  economy will result in economic uncertainties, lost of jobs and will lead to people clamouring for change on the street. This change of event will further alienate investors. Ultimately, the previously established socio-political contract will breakdown. Thailand is one recent example (photo on left on red shirts demonstration, source from google.com). It was one of the most stable country but its system fragmented after the military coup d’état in 2006. Today, it is the red shirts, yellow shirts, pink shirts and whatever coloured shirts etc dominate the political and social scene with mayhem on the streets. I have no doubt that the Thais will come together and work together again, but the costs of the turmoil if it happens will set us back many years to heal the wounds although we are a resilience lot of people.  

 

The Thais’ scenario is not far-fetched as it can also happen to us though may not be in my generation but there is a probability. The divide between the “haves” and the “haves not” can sideline the core issues confronting us. In additon to the income divide, as our society progress it makes changes through  modernisation. There will be rising expectations and more demands from the more educated and globalised population. This will result in the “I” mentality. Can the old socio and political contract still works  for us?  That is for my children generation to ponder when they grow up.       

 

Nonetheless, the works of our pioneer grassroots leaders continue with the passing of the baton to the new generation of grassroots leaders. Like what our Prime Minister, Mr Lee Hsien Long said “Each generation must aim to build a better Singapore” (Straits Times, 2 June 2010). In the last couple years, at the helm of the Citizenships’ Consultative Committee, together with the new generation of grassroots leaders at the Residents’ Committee (RC), we have been experimenting with new engagement strategy to connect to the residents in our own ways. It is important that we engage residents through formal and informal activities,  provide listening ears to relieve the stress and pressure in a modern society, raise their concerns to the authorities, feedback their views on government policies to our Member of Parliament, Ms Jessica Tan and to remain close and contactable to the ground in order to help the community to progress. Our mission does not change since the 60s but the approach has evolved to meet the new challenges in the new millenium    

 

This morning, RC Zone 2 led by Mr Douglas Ng, Mr Joseph Seat, Ms Susan Ang, Mr Williamica and uncle Lee Huay Thien etc organised a “half block” gathering for residents of Blk 130 to meet. It was half the block as residents from the other half had gathered on 6 Jun 2010. The RC’s objective was to develop a more cohesive and a strong Blk 130’s identity where residents from different races, different religions and different languages come together to interact with each other. One resident who turned up remarked that “this is my first time attending a block party”, another wanted more co-ordination in public works especially the digging of roads by different agencies, yet another spoke on the long wait for bus to bring her son to the nearby Temasek Polytechnic. Another wanted to withdraw all his CPF when he reaches 55 years old, the perennial peak hours traffic congestion at Simei was surfaced etc. We provided the listening ears and help to explain some of their queries.  

 

It was a good gathering although the turnout was not fantastic as many are rushing to leave their home to run errands.    

 

 

Connecting People….through fun and games

Changi Simei, Singapore, 19 June 2010

 

Paddling a boat in the middle of a HDB estate? Yes it was reality this evening. Unlike part of Orchard Road near Liat Tower which was flooded two days ago caused by usually heavy rain, the weather was fine with a clear sky this evening at Blk 244. To create a water pool, Zone 4 Residents’ Committee (RC) filled water into the rubberised pool.    

 

The water pool was part of the family carnival organised by the RC as part of its engagement strategy of bringing people together. For the last 22 years, the RC under the stewardship of Mr Woo Kin and now Mr Steven Lam have continued to play the key role of catalysts to create opportunities for residents to meet and bond through activities. Both of them have the support of other members of their respective committees to promote peace and harmony in their zone. Together with other RCs in Changi Simei, each contributing a small part  sums up to a bigger closely knitted and community in Changi Simei in the formula of 1 + 1 = 3 and more.  The result is we have a more vibrant and inclusive community.     

 

In a pluralistic society like ours, where there is no societal homogeneity due to different races, different beliefs and faiths the need to understand each other is of paramount importance. Just look at the recent episodes of a posting by a student on Wikipedia where an uncalled for remarks was made on others and the two evangelical christian churches pastors for making jokes to mock Buddhism and Taoism. These episodes should not have happened in the first place but it did. These irresponsible remarks show the lack of fundamental value of humanity and respect for others. It not only scars the precious relationship built over the years between diverse communities and faiths, it is also another indication of our vulnerability despite a stable political system and a globalised economy.  Things can change overnight for the worse. 

 

Just look at the countries around us, differentiations and differences developed into open conflicts which result in irreparable consequences. The latest ethnic conflict is in Kyrgyzstan between the majority Kyrgyz and the minority Uzbeks battling each other with heavy loss of lives. Nearer home, a former Malaysian Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad had insinuated that our Malay Singaporeans have to “terbongkok-bongkok” (Malay language) or in “Kow Tow” (in Chinese, to prostrate one in front of another in order to receive favours) to others was both ridiculous and scandalous calculating to hurt feelings and to create an uneasy relationship between races. Whatever his agenda (may be intended for his people) he knows it best and so are we. Nonetheless, Dr M’s rhetoric may have gained some protagonists but he is no progenitor in our Singaporean society which promotes meritocracy and to each his best over the Malaysian’s bumiputra policy.  I will not be where I am today if not for the meritocratic system. Similarly many of my friends of different races and faiths will not be where they are today if we have adopted the “kow towing’ system.    

 

Learning from others who are embroiled in domestic conflicts, one key lesson learnt is to strengthen our social fabric by getting our community to gel and bond to maintain the political and social stability. To gel and bond, we need to understand each other and one of the mission of the RC is to bring people together under the umbrella of the Peoples’ Association. Bringing people out is a tall order especially when many residents prefer the new media to meet and talk.  New media is good and artificial intelligence through high computing power is good but they can’t replace human intelligence and emotional needs.  This evening event organised by RC Zone 4 is just one event to get people out of their home to meet each others and have fun with their families. There were carnival games, riding on panda, boat paddling and public education conducted by our Neighbourhood Police Centre on security, Singapore Civil Defence Force on fire prevention and NEA on dengue prevention.  There were varieties to meet the needs of everyone.

 

An event without mass participation cannot be deemed as successful. The block party drew many participants young and old. Many enjoyed the carnival. Our Member of Parliament also met and interacted with residents. A couple of residents took the opportunity to seek her assistance on municipal issues which will be highlighted to the relevant agencies.   We need to create more of such interactive events to create opportunities for interaction. It is true understanding that a diverse society like ours will live in co-existent and compete on equal footing instead of seeking favours through “kow-towing”.

 

To the Organising Chairperson, Ms Chua Siok Ling and her team comprising of Ms Sally Lee, Mr Thomas Loh, Mr Chew Si Hai, and Mr Seet Keng Hwee, thank you for leading the event and bringing the fun to Zone 4.  Excellent job folks.

 

 

 

 

Patriotism…Qu Yuan 屈原

Changi Simei, Singapore, 16 Jun 2010

 

Today is the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar. This is also the day where a Chinese patriot Qu Yuan (屈原) drowned himself by jumping into the Miluo River (汨罗江) to protest against corruption and the demise of his country, the ancient state of Chu (楚)  during the era of the Warring States (战国时代).  

 

The warring states era was a transitional period between Zhou Dynasty (周朝) and the Qin Dynasty(秦朝). Many may not remember about the Zhou Dynasty but I am sure many are familiar with 秦始皇, Shih Huang Ti, the King who conquest ultimately gained the control of China for the first time. Many will also remembered him for burning books as knowledge was a major threat to his power.   

 

Back to the warring states era. There were 7 regional powers each ruled by the Dukes (公) or Marquis (侯) and they eventually made themselves as Kings or 王 once they had developed their own armies and broke off from the Kingdom of Zhou Dynasty. The 7 states were Qi (齐), Chu (楚), Yan (燕), Han (韩), Zhao (赵), Wei (魏) and Qin (秦). 

 

It happened that Qin was the strongest and it began exerting power on its neighbouring states. Qu Yuan then was serving the court as a minister and he advocated a strategic allegiance among the six states to counter the expansion of the powerful Qin. However, in view of mutual suspicions among these states, the allegiance was not successful. Even the kingdom of Chu was not spared from corruption and internal political fighting among the officials. Qu Yuan himself was also caught in the in-fighting and lost the trusts of the king of Chu. In olden days, if the king dislike you, the king could either order an execution by cutting the head off or to be exile to a country with hostile and inhospitality environment. Qu Yuan was however sent to exile. 

 

In the years of his exile, the kingdom of Chu was in the state of danger. Though being exiled, Qu Yuan’s heart was still with ruler of Chu. In 278 BC, the capital of Chu fell to the mighty Qin army and Qu Yuan was devastated by the turn of the events. With the fall of the Chu capital, it was a big blow for his patriotic hope of building a stong Chu. Feeling sad that he was unable to save his country decided to end his life by leaping in the Milo River 汨罗江. According to historical record, Qu Yuan carried a big rock to ensure that he would sink to the river bed and his body never to be recovered. It was thought that he died on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar. 

 

Upon hearing that Qu Yuan had drowned, many race their boats to where he thrown himself into the river hoping to save him. There was no sight of Qu Yuan. One smart resident then suggested that since  Qu Yuan was not covered, there was a probability of his corpse being eaten by fish and they reckoned that if these fishes are full, they would not eat up Qu Yuan. They raced home quickly and started putting rice into bamboo leaves and scattered them into the river hoping the fish would eat them.                      

 

Qu Yuan’s sufferings quickly gained much sympathy of the people of Chu. Therefore, in memory of him, dragon boat races (龙舟) were held to symbol the race to search for him and the rice dumplings (粽子) or Zong  Zi which was originally thrown into the rice became a symbol of remembering this great patriot, poet, thinker through food. (Both photographs were through yahoo.com)

 

More than two thousand and three hundreds have passed by, seldom in history that an individual was much revered but the legend of Qu Yuan is still being closed to the heart of many thus on the fifth day of the fifth month, many still celebrate his patriotism and love for his country. How many of us can emulate Qu Yuan? I leave this to you to decide.

 

Our Team Cohesion in “Taste” Test…food testing

Changi Simei, Singapore, 11 Jun 2010

                        

At about 7 pm on 11 Jun 2010, the Changi Simei Team (above photo) converged at Ang Mo Kio Ave 10 to savour a 9 course dinner. It is part of the team’s mission in the context of a big family to work, play and eat together. We are friends, confidantes and the relationships are built over years of cultivation.  Anais Nin in his quote said “”Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born” which I found to be true. Well, I should also add that the different personalities of each of us adds a new dimension in enriching our lives otherwise alone, our lives may not be as colourful as it should be.

In Singapore, “restaurant” is simply a place where food are prepared and served. It may not be posh with a grandeur exterior to attract attention unlike those overseas where restaurants come alive with colourful lighting complete with a valet service, greeting of “Welcome Sir or Madam… at the entrance”.  Nonetheless, the restaurant (Kian Seng) we ate at yesterday evening had none of those “attractive” paraphernalia. In fact, it is located at Ang Mo Kio Industrial Parks with an  ambience  equivalent to the 1st generation food court ie no air conditioning but with many huge “hurricane” fans to cool its interior. What matters to us was not the ambience but the quality of food and whether the food is value for money.  If the food meets the tastes and desire of the 11 of us, we will make a note and who know, we may come back to patronise again.

Upon our arrival, we were directed to the reserved table as we had called earlier to make the arrangement. The son of the restaurateur came over to our table and we started the conversations. He seemed to have struck a cord with us. 

We get our food orders in place and while waiting for the food to be served, we started our own “happy hour” over a couple of beers. We spoke freely and there was no subject considered taboo. While waiting for the food to be served, we used this window of opportunity to make a couple of decisions relating to grassroots works.  That saved us some time as there was no longer to broach on the same subject again in the next meeting.    

                

We ate our 1st dish which was a cold dish. It definitely did not look cold but its ganishing and a “little plant” placed on the plate certainly made the food look more palatable. By then, our stomachs were calling for replenishment of food. We cleared the plate comprising of prawns, jelly, smoke duck etc  in quick time.  Next we have shark fin, prompret, tendons, mango prawns, vegetable, dongpo pork, fried rice and dessert. 

                  

As we ate, we marked the food and some of us who are informal food critics provided value inputs on the quality of food and how it should be handled to the daughter of the restaurateur who had by then took over from her brother hosting us. Our comments on the food may not be unaminous as our taste vary. What we collectively agreed upon was the fried rice was too saltish for health while the tendons, mango prawns, vegetable, dongpo pork was rated from good to very good. The dessert of yam paste was just the right taste not being too sweet which we collectively agreed.

At the end of the day, as the Chairman of the Team Changi Simei, I sponsored the food while Phillip Kong insisted to foot for the beers. This is another testimony of spirit of partnership and a fine example of the team spirit in Changi Simei. 

It was time well spent and our assessment was the food was definitely valued for money.

Against All Odds….Training on life skills

Changi Simei, Singapore, 10 June 2010

In my blog on Sunday, 6 June 2010, besides joining the METTA Charity Walk cum Family Carnival, I had also the opportunity to visit METTA School, a special needs school for children with mild intellectual disability and autism and with an IQ range of 50 to 70.  Since its founding by Venerable Shi Fa Zhao, the school admits children of age 6 to 18 years old without distinguishing colours or religious orientation to prepare for their future. There are now 450 students in METTA School and like any other children of their ages, they too have their dreams and aspirations, they too aspire to turn dreams into reality and  they too hope to join the ranks of success and contribute to the society.   

To prepare these students to realise their dreams and aspirations, many organisations, secular or non secular have answered the higher calling by coming forward to be part of  this “heart’  industry focusing on bettering lives and helping people.  METTA School is one of the many being established to fulfil this mission.  Nonetheless, recently these noble organisations were embroiled in financial scandals one after another from National Kidney Foundation to Ren Chi to Youth Challenge to City Harvest Church which is now under investigation for financial irregularities. These scandals followed one after another do affect the  confidence level of many Singaporeans in donating to charities which these organisations depend on as their life line.

Nonetheless, I have confident with these voluntary welfare organisations as with each irregularity observed, our system will become more transparent in view of  the need to self regulate and be held accountable to the general public who have donated for a good cause.

Coming back to METTA Charity Walk cum Family Day. After the charity walk, we were ushered to a classroom converted into a reception room to savour the breakfast set prepared by METTA students who are undergoing vocational training to be chefs. There were a spread of food like  fried noodles, croissant, brownie, egg sandwich, mini chicken pie, hot dog and a pastry and a dessert.  The layout of the table was like in a posh restaurant breakfast setting. The cutlery, glasses, cups, forks and spoons, napkin and table decoration were all arranged by the students under the instructions of their instructors. The table arrangement was done very well, I would give full marks to these students.

Once we were seated, the students served us coffee and tea under the watchful eyes of their instructors. These students were meticulous in serving coffee and tea ensuring that they would not spill the coffee or tea while serving. The students knew their tasks well and were confident in going about their job. 

                                        

I am not a food critics but I can differentiate the quality of food prepared by the students  at the school commercial equipped kitchen. I thought the croissants prepared by the students were excellent. It was  flaky wrapped with a piece of ham. The brownie was fudgy and moist and taste magnificent. The fried noodle was tasty and delicious and what I particularly liked was the noodle was not covered with a  layer of oil like the fried “kway teow”.  The egg salad sandwich was soft and salad was just right. I also eat the mini chicken pie. Mind you, the smaller the pie, the challenge it is to make but the students did it. I also at a small piece of hot dog, a pastry and a dessert. I savoured all the food laid on the table, each a piece less the fried noodle and at the end of the breakfast, I was fed and it was time to go for some exercise around the school.

                 

Besides training the students to be chef, METTA School also has partnered the hotel industry to customise a training package on housekeeping. We visited the training room which is equipped to simulate a hotel room environment. The room provides a real training scenario for these students to pick up the housekeeping skills. Housekeeping may seem easy but if there is a need to conform with the industry’s standard, it is likely to be a challenge as there are many specifications and standards to achieve.  Therefore, it is about training and training to make perfect as the saying goes.

In view of the challenges of individuals, not every students can be trained as chef or in housekeeping. For those who have flairs and talents in other areas are being developed in their interest areas like painting, batik painting, pottery, music  etc. The works of these students reflect their aspirations and I have come to appreciate their works which are displayed around the school compound.

METTA School is doing a wonderful job in providing education, training and coaching these individuals who need special attention to succeed or at least to take care of themselves. I wish METTA School many more meaningful and fruitful years of service. To the many volunteers, your passion and strong support for the less fortunate serve as an inspiration to us all.

Three loud Cheers to METTA Welfare Association and METTA School for their works on humanity.

Gathering of Kindred Spirits….one community spirit

                                        

Changi Simei, Singapore, 6 June 2010

 

Sunday is a time to laze on the bed but I woke up as normal at about 5.45 am. Within a couple of minutes, I was off together with my wife for the weekend marketing at Bedok. Why the rush? I intended to do with the marketing in the quickest time so that I need not rush to participate in the annual charity walk organised by METTA (you may like to know what METTA means? In Pali it means loving kindness) Welfare Association. I have been walking in the charity walk since 2006 and perhaps will continue to do so as long as I can.   

 

The METTA Charity Walk cum Family Carnival is one of METTA Welfare Association’s main outreach events that aims to build family resiliency and community bonds and through this event help to raise funds for METTA’s welfare services to provide care to the more than 1000 beneficiaries regardless of race and religions. METTA Welfare Association was registered in 1994 and endorsed by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education. It now has 9 centres and a social enterprise working hard to complement the works of the government to care for the less fortunate in the community through the many hands approach.  

 

•     Disability care for individuals with intellectual impairment and multiple disabilities
•     Medical care in the form of rehabilitative and home hospice care
•     Early intervention programmes and special education for pre-schoolers and children with mild intellectual disability and or autism
•     Vocational training programmes for underprivileged adolescents with special needs
•     Student care for school going children

Today, 6 June 2010 is the 13th METTA Charity Walk cum Family Carnival (第十三届慈光义走与嘉年华会). The 12th was held exactly a year ago on 7 June 2009. Time flies and 365 days had gone past. As I was standing at METTA School, I saw many familiar faces of volunteers who came to help last year. Ms Jessica Tan, Member of Parliament for East Coast GRC and Adviser to East Coast GRC GROs was also there since 2006 officiating the event.

 

 

There were also many grassroots leaders from Changi Simei RC Zone 2 and 3 volunteering their times to help like manning stalls selling coupons, some helped to co-ordinate some aspect of logistical works, the brisk walkers group from Changi Simei Zone 3 stood as road marshalls for the charity walk. Many more other residents and Singaporeans also helped by running the more than 100 food stalls, trade stalls, games stalls at the bazaar with buzzing sales to raise fund for those who are less fortunate.  These are the people who truly believed in helping others and I took my hat for them.

 

These volunteers (meeting Ms Jessica Tan in the photo on the left) contributed their time from 8 am to 5 pm because they believed in what they are doing with the heart to serve and help the needy. Fellow Singaporeans who have the potentials to help should step forward in this noble cause in any charitable organisations. There may be personal inconveniences and discomfort at the beginning, but ultimately you will feel connected to move on as you will feel your personal involvement create an impact on another lives in community. You will also meet others to expand your skills, knowledge and experiences. 

 

Ms Jessica Tan flagged off the charity walk. We walked the same route as last year, a route carefully planned to minimise logistical support and avoiding crossing major road in view of safety considerations. We started from METTA School, proceeded along Simei St 1 towards the neighbourhood town centre at Blk 248, connected to the Park Connector to walk toward ITE College, turned right onto Old Upper Changi Road, Simei Road and walked back to METTA School. Unlike the sunny and humid walk last year, this morning walk was a cooling walk as the sky was overcast. The overcast sky held for us and it rained when the last walker had made her way back to METTA School.  

 

On our return from the walk, Ms Jessica Tan and Venerable Shi Pu En proceeded to declare the opening of the carnival by striking the gong.     

 

  

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

The photo on the far left was a group of former students who had graduated from METTA School but returned to perform this morning under “METTA Percussion Group”. Their 6 months effort in practising for this morning paid off. They did their best with even a choregraph their percussion beats. In the centre photograph was pottery class in progress. Students after completing their works can use the kiln at METTA to fire off their pottery works and to bring their proud pottery works home. Children at the carnival were also treated to a couple of actitivies. One of which was to have an enriching and fun DIY session with batik painting as shown in the photograph on the above right.

 

In addition, there was a new item in this year carnival, the karaoke competition which many aspiring stars took to the stage. Although I did not know which contestant had won the competition, nonetheless, I thought every contestant sang and presented their best. That was the spirits of participation with winning and losing being secondary. What is important is the experience one’s gains in the course of participation.       

 

 

The day was a gathering of kindred spirit and there was community spirit in the air. It was a day of those who are blessed and fortunate extending their care to those who are less fortunate through this charity event.

 

 

 

I am glad that Linda and I were participants doing a small part in the fund-raising event while Felicia also volunteered to help out.   

 

Sundown Marathon…beating the sunrise

Changi Simei, Singapore, 30 May 2010

This is the second time I participated in the Sundown Marathon 42 km. The first was in 2009 . Besides the Sundown, I also ran the Standard Chartered Marathon in Dec 2009, the Army Half Marathon, the 10 km Yellow Ribbon Run and the 15 km PAssion Run last year.  Strangely, in my younger days when I was much fitter in my physique, I did not run any of these. I have no answer what made me change my mind to participate in such long distant runs when I grow older and may not be at the top of physical condition. Nonetheless, I have completed in every of the race that I had participated and proud to have won the finisher medals. These medals sit visibility in my living room.

For every marathon or the run that I have completed, the aim is to complete and not to give up mid way thus timings become secondary. To complete is already a winner in my own right as I am no longer a dashing and raring to go young man. In reality, I am within the striking range of an “officially” defined senior citizen soon.

Does age matter? I met a 75 yrs old gentleman who have completed at least 100 marathons. At his advanced age, he still travels overseas to complete his marathons. I met him this morning at the 24 km mark during my return trip as he was running towards the 21 km mark. He was still going strong and I thought, I better be in front of him being younger than him. This keep me wondering whether I will be there sweating it out at his age. I don’t have the answer now. Perhaps, I may still run but at a very much slower pace and shorter distance. I am sure my mind will still be willing but the body may not. 

I enjoyed the new experience running in each marathon. In the Standard Chartered Marathon, despite the intense heat nearing the last leg of the run, I still felt good. Though I may not return with a fantastic timing but under 6 hrs 30 mins, I was satisfied as the timing was a proxy of my physical fitness in comparison to my age.

For the Sundown, I started preparation a couple of months back. In fact I was at the peak. Being physically and mentally fit may not be equivalent to internal body systems’ fitness. Like previous years, before I ran the gruelling marathon, I went  for a  medical examination to determine the condition of my heart as I desired to live my best. 

I did three tests, treadmill and ultra sound on the heart.  Unfortunately, there was a spike during the treadmill test. Although I cleared the Stage 5, as a precaution, the specialist put me on an invasive angiogram. I passed as there was no blockage on my heart. Well and good to start training. Unfortunately, a couple of weeks before the marathon, I was down with flu.  Being safety conscious, I decided not to train till after 3 weeks later. That left me 2 weeks or so to catch up. I did not trained in the last two weeks in view of work commitments returning home very late in the night almost every day. As some one who will not  give up easily, I decided to have a shot at Sundown Marathon. The decision proved to be unwise.

The first 10 km was completed slightly above an hour about 9 km per hour. Not too bad. Afterwhich it was all down hill for me.

When I reached the East Coast Parkway, a small blister started to form on my right foot. Perhaps the sock that I was wearing might not the right type but it costed me $20 but I wore a nylon sock in Standard Chartered and had no blisters. I used a plaster at the first aid point but I began to limp as I inched towards my “pit stop” which was manned by my wife just outside McDonald. I could feel that the blister was getting bigger.

After eating a banana and down a can of 100 Plus, Siddiqui and I continued our journey towards the 22 km mark at Fort Road. At the 24 km mark, another condition developed. This time, I felt my thigh and calf muscles were tightening. My experience told me that continuing to run would result in muscular cramps. I had to stop and started walking hoping the cramp would go away. At the 30 km mark, I asked that my running partner, Siddiqui to run his own race as I would meet him at the finishing line. 

Negative thoughts ran through my mind. Why was I doing this for and punishing my self?  My mental fitness was tested as every step taken was taken with excruciating pain, the joints at the thigh and torso were aching, the muscular cramps, both my hand and fingers were numb, the worst were the blisters development on both my left and right foot. It was mental torture. But with determination, to win the finisher medal, I completed the marathon with a combination of walked and jogged. In the hare and tortoise race, the tortoise did get to the end point but at a slower speed. That the objective, start and complete and not start and abandon mid way.

When I eventually reached the 40 km mark, a young girl ran past me still with much energy in her. I noticed that whenever she ran past any marathoner, she would gesticulate with her hand and said 2 km to go and let’s go. Yes, it was just 2 km to go and I would have completed the 2 km perhaps within 14 mins in normal time but for this final 2 km was a very long journey for me to limp back. I did manage the final 2 km at my speed.

I was relieved when I crossed the finishing line with photographer clicking away. At the finisher collection medal, a young girl placed the finisher medal around  my neck. That was my defining moment that I completed the marathon. In previous marathon, finisher medal was given still wrap in the plastic wrapper.  After collecting my medal and the T-shirt, I found Siddiqui waiting for me patiently.

After collecting the finisher medal, I needed to rest both my legs. It was a challenge to sit on the floor and I took some time just to sit. It was supposedly a simple routine to sit but it became a chore. I took out the finisher medal, glanced at it and felt great that I had made it despite the adversity and injury. It was great that I survived.

When I reached home, after washing up, I went for breakfast with my wife. My neighbour saw me and wondered what on earth was happening as I walked very very slowly as though  I was in pain. When he knew about my attempt in marathon, “Oh, you were brave to run the marathon”. Usually, my wife complained about I am walking too fast, that morning was the reverse. I had to remind my wife to please slow down otherwise, I could not catch up with her pace. 

Fortunately, my wife obliged and we both strolled leisurely albeit slowly.

Though the run was difficult but it also strengthen my mental fitness and my determination to overcome. I will run another full marathon again. This time, I will make it a point to ensure that I am physically fit. I think, I still have many more years to live my life to the fullest and do the things that I want to do. For my wife who went to support me, a thank you to her.