HPB Voices Reloaded

By Ryan Loh, IIM, RSP

Aloha HPBians!

The June holidays are finally over! What have you done this June? For me, I was a volunteer at Camp Sunshine which was organised by Club Rainbow Singapore from 2 to 4 June. This was a really amazing and fruitful time of my life and it left me with plenty of deeply-etched memories.

So what’s Camp Sunshine all about?

Camp Sunshine is an annual medical-supervised, stay-in adventure camp for chronically ill children between five to fifteen years old. The objectives of the camp are to show these children that they are not alone in their plight, that there are others who care for them and more importantly, that they can make a difference in other people’s lives too. The camp also aims to develop their sense of independence, self-confidence and positive group identification through various activities.

Why Camp Sunshine?

I wanted to do volunteer work since my secondary school days and I think that it is a blessing to be able to volunteer oneself. The reason why I decided to participate in Camp Sunshine was my passion for kids and I think that this is the right time for me to do something for society.

Up and away…

The theme for Camp Sunshine this year was “Around the World in 3 days”. We were to bring all the children around the world in the three days in 8 different airlines including Ice-Cream Express, Choo-Choo Air, Penguin Express and of course my airline, which was called Flying Turtles. We chose the name Flying Turtles because we hope that all the kids in our group can be resilient like turtles which can survive both on land and in the sea as they grow up.

Who’s who?

Each of the eight airlines was in charge of eight children or youths. The volunteers in each airline were made up a leader and co-leader, befrienders and the medical team. Each befriender including myself was assigned to either a child or a youth and was responsible for them throughout the camp. My group took care of children aged nine to ten years old.

The journey…

On the first day of camp, we visited Chinatown and Little India while the groups with younger children went for the Hi-5 performance at the Singapore Expo. The highlight for the day was definitely the Chinatown tour, where we took a trishaw ride. Picture this - a single file of about 30 trishaws travelling on the roads of Chinatown, High Street, Bugis and back with three Cisco policemen on motorbikes escorting us, plus 3 ambulances trailing behind each packet of 10 trishaws. What a scene! Some tourists even took pictures of our procession!

We started our second day of camp with our "Sunshine Dance", a mass-dance choreographed by the vibrant Youth Committee volunteers. The rest of the day was filled with various fun indoor and outdoor tele-matches and games.

Day three was more of a “Rest and Relax” day which began with a special yoga session tailored for kids early in the morning. The kids also had fun making their own costumes and rehearsing for a skit for a performance during the closing ceremony of Camp Sunshine.

The flight home…

At the close of Camp Sunshine we proceeded to Goodwood Park Hotel for the closing ceremony. We had a sumptuous dinner and an enjoyable time watching the kids from various groups perform their items. Time flew by really quickly while we were having fun and before we knew it, we had come to the end of Camp Sunshine.

The moment that I feared most came. Tears dropping, hands-shaking and hugging of one another were seen at every table as we said our goodbyes and made our way home. Most of us managed to control our emotions by consoling ourselves that we will definitely be seeing one another again soon.

Reflections… 

After reaching home and unpacking, I laid on my bed reflecting on my experiences during Camp Sunshine. Lots of memories and thoughts flashed through my mind. There were times of frustration when I was not able to control the kids, others when I had to challenge myself to find ways to get them to listen and cooperate and also times which really saddened me. But in the end, it was the happy memories of seeing the kids cooperating in the various games and their innocent and sincere smiles that had accompanied me through my dreams.

For HPBians who like children and wish to volunteer for Club Rainbow Singapore, please visit their website at www.clubrainbow.org to explore volunteering opportunities and lend your helping hand to make a difference now! Hope to see you guys next year!