HarmonyWorks! – Trust Home
On 22nd October 2011, twenty students from the Global Indian International School attended the HarmonyWorks! Workshop followed by a home visit to learn about the custom and traditions of a local Chinese family here.
Patrick and Rachel Neo, both passionate volunteers with OnePeople.sg graciously opened their home for this joint collaboration with Central Singapore Community Development Council's TRUST Home programme.
The students, who are all Permanent Residents (PRs) between 11 and 14 years old, were excited to have a glimpse of the Singaporean culture.
The Neos, who are Catholic and third-generation descendants of Southern Chinese migrants, shared their religious beliefs and traditional Chinese practices with their young visitors over a vegetarian meal.
"This is as authentic as it gets because the students get to taste our local food, they get to listen to us from our perspective - how we grew up, our culture," said Patrick Neo.
"It was a real eye opener. I enjoyed my visit a lot and we got to try a lot of different stuff. For example, the different food we tried was awesome. We got to learn a lot about their customs and it was pretty fascinating," said Rasika Kale, a Global Indian International School student.
TRUST Home HarmonyWorks! Programme
14 participants attended the special TRUST Home HarmonyWorks! Programme at Central Community Development Council (CDC) on 2th July 2011.Participants comprise of students from Siglap Secondary School as well as interns from Central CDC.
These interns consist of not only local interns but also foreign interns from Hong Kong and United States of America as part of People’s Association (PA) Internship programme.
After the HarmonyWorks! Workshop, the participants were given a short tour of Central CDC’s heritage gallery.
Participants then enjoyed a delicious local meal of Nasi Lemak before heading out to visit the home of Mr Selvam Satanam a Malaysian and Mdm Navvab Ramirez a Filipino who are both from the Baha’i Faith. The married couple who are both new citizens of Singapore interacted with the youths and shared with them stories about their Faith and Youth empowerment programmes.
It was indeed inspiring to see the youths so eager to learn from other people about their culture.
OneKidz-Trust Home Programme on 21 May
16 student leaders from Hong Wen School participated in the OneKids-Trust Home Programme on 21 May as part of their national education learning journey in this semester.
This collaboration with Central Singapore was initiated to provide children with an opportunity to understand and appreciate the daily customs and practices of different ethnic communities through workshops, home visits and sharing sessions.
The students went through a one-day OneKidz workshop which provided a platform for them to appreciate the cultural diversity in Singapore and encourage bonding within each race.
The workshop prepared the youths for their visit to a Catholic-Indian family who were gracious hosts. Coming from different cultural and religious backgrounds, they shared with our students how they created a common space in their household. Sharing their wedding photographs and stories of different cultural celebrations, the students got glimpse of how a common space between cultures can be realised.
Please refer to the OneKidz Brochure and click to find out more details on the programme. If you would like to make a reservation for your students, please download OneKidz Booking Form and fax the form to us to make a reservation. For enquiries, please contact Programme Manager, Arjuna Raj at 6253 3290 or email: arjuna@onepeople.sg.
Download booking form here
HarmonyWorks!-Trust Home Programme
15 youths from OnePeople.sg Youth Wing participated in HarmonyWorks!-Trust Home programme on 22 December 2010. OnePeople.sg’s collaborative effort with Central Singapore CDC was initiated to provide these youths with a unique opportunity to not only learn and understand about our multicultural society but also experience the tradition of Christmas in this month of love and giving.
The participants were able to appreciate and embrace diversity with a better understanding of the different ethnic communities through the HarmonyWorks! Workshop. After which, the participants were hosted at the home of Michelle Dominique (an Indian) and Sean Reutens (a Eurasian). This mixed marriage couple treated the youths to a unique mix of Christmas delicacies including their popular Devil’s Curry and the traditional log cake. They also shared on the Nativity of Jesus which tells the story of Jesus’ birth and the origins of the customary gift exchange, the Advent wreath as well as the significance of the Four Candles. The youths also enjoyed the wedding video of this bubbly couple which involved rituals from both the Eurasian and Indian cultures.
The programme ended off with the participants bidding farewell to the couple and each of them were presented with a small gift as a remembrance to this home visit.
'I felt that the HarmonyWorks! Workshop opened my eyes to the different races and their culture and the home visit was interesting as I managed to see how a mixed marriage couple celebrates Christmas' - Alyssa Shahira Bte Sariman (OPSG Youth Wing)
'With trust, love and respect, we can preserve harmony. And trust home taught me that' - Junie Zafira Bte Juwandah (OPSG Youth Wing)
For schools who wish to conduct these workshops for students, please contact Programme Manager, Pravina Narayanan at 6253 3290 or Email: pravina@onepeople.sg.
