Finding herself in the service of others
The 29-year-old Sales and Marketing Executive continues to volunteer mainly due to a particular incident involving a seven-year-old girl from an abused family.
During a clay-making session organised by volunteers, the little girl coloured a heart-shaped mould black. “It’s because there is no love in this world,” she said.
She is a member of Voluntarius, an organisation which aims to get more youths involved in volunteering by providing them with opportunities.
Incidents like this motivate her to help as much as she can to the less fortunate.
Giving out smiles for every holiday
During Christmas in 2014, she formed a team of 18 volunteers to organise Christmas-related activities for the children of Yayasan Radmila Children’s Home in Batam, Indonesia. The home houses 80 orphans and children whose parents are unable to care for them.
For a year after that, she continued to organise trips to the home every fortnight to teach the kids English. About 20 volunteers participate each time, including members of the public recruited through Voluntarius’ Facebook page.
During the team’s most recent trip late last month, the volunteers taught the children about Chinese New Year traditions and how to construct lanterns.
A girl at the home, Sevtiran Laia, 12, said: “I’m glad to have met the brothers and sisters from Singapore. Through their group activities, I have learnt to work as a team with my friends.”
A wholesome learning journey
Ms Chia taught the children English language with teaching materials used in Singapore schools but realised that their proficiency in English was too low for the classes to be sustainable.
To create a more wholesome learning experience, Ms Chia and her team focused instead on equipping the children with practical skills and knowledge that will help them find jobs in the future.
“Most children in Batam will work in the tourism and service sector in the future,” she said.
“But without easy access to the Internet, they know very little about the world. So we teach them general knowledge on different topics such as the cultures of different countries.”
Ms Chia said her motivation stems from seeing the children grow and learn.
“My ultimate goal is to see a child graduate from the home and start an independent life using the skills and knowledge we have taught.”
News Source: The New Paper
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