3D Ryan Teo (40)

Service Learning, a time where we place our commitments aside and physically exert ourselves to serve our community. The concept of our Service Learning Project was simple, selling snacks to raise money for the less fortunate. Yet however, I never ever thought such a simple task would have such a profound effect on me.

Service Learning has been a wonderful experience for me. I used to ponder, why is there a need for Service Learning? Why is there not enough being done for the needy in Singapore?   Through Service Learning, I soon was enlightened.

Service Learning helps shape the young mind to be a sympathetic and self-sacrificial. I understand that not everyone is as fortunate as us, with so much of our needs and wants being satisfied. There are many people out there who struggle to make ends meet, facing life threatening problems like illnesses and ageing, and face great difficulty in completing simple tasks. Yet in a society like Singapore, people are just too busy with their life, they never stop to notice all the pain and sufferings of others. I know understand the great responsibility of us as human beings - to care and provide for others when they are in need. It now gives me great pleasure knowing that our simple gesture of fund-raising can help provide so many form of basic necessities to others. I feel very satisfied that our actions will go a long way in making Singapore a more pleasant place to live in.

The best thing that happened during the course of the project is meeting the people who willingly fork out money to purchase our goodie bags. It was so pleasing to know that not everyone are cold towards the disastrous plight of the less fortunate. Many teachers and students graciously bought our goodie bags even when they feel insecure about doing so, and it was such a powerful message to us that we should be doing more.

The worst thing that happened was definitely persuading people to buy our items. Many people, feeling insecure or simply ignorant of our cause would not want to purchase our items. It was very difficult to sell these goodie bags to these people as we did not want to pressure their heart against their will, after all it was charity not business. Many times we failed to convince people to purchase our items and felt demoralized, nevertheless we continued our work with high spirits and hope.

I will most definitely stay involved in the community during my college and adult years. It is important to note that service learning is never a one-time event, rather it is a lifelong process of giving back to the society and learning more about the need for helping the less fortunate in Singapore.