Tuesday, December 6, 2011


It's International Volunteer Day on 26 November! It's a day when you get to experience life of the disabled and get to connect with a cause you care about.

On this day, SP Rotaracters volunteered as 'tour guide' for the 'Experience with Me' tour, bringing visitors around the 8 stations to gain an insights to the different issues. Rotaracters also got to take part in some of the stations! And best of all, there are unlimited supply of Sweensen ice-cream for the volunteers to eat!
Well, because there are 8 station, I'll write about the top 3 stations that we had experienced and enjoyed a lot!
Here are the 3 highlights:
In Forest Trail, we got to know more about protecting the nature and how we can contribute with conserving the nature we had in Singapore. The station was decorated with leaves and plants to create the atmosphere of a real forest. So when we are inside, the staffs from NPark told us interesting facts and it really felt like we are in a real forest.

Another highly popular station was the 'Dialouge in the Dark'! Visitors had to queue for an average of around 10 minutes before they can enter the station to experience life being visually impaired. This station was in charged by NgeeAnn Poly students and they brief us on the things to take note before we enter the station.
What is interesting at this station is that when you are inside, everything is completely dark and you will be guided by people who are really visually impaired! There is a mini living room, kitchen and even a mini garden. Being visually impaired in the station, maneuvering in these rooms was really difficult without the help of the guide inside. So, in 'Dialogue in the Dark', you really get to understand the diificulties the visually impaired faced everyday and how they cope with it.
We were given white cane before we went inside!
Next interesting station is the 'Life on Wheels'. As the name said, it allow you to experience life being on wheelchair. As you sit in the wheelchair (which you can maneuver using a small 'remote' at the handle), the staff will guide you through the different obstacles such as slope and soil. You also get to try parking the wheel chair at detinated parking lot for the wheelchairs.
Yup, so after the event, we went to have our dinner (Macdonalds sponsored just for the volunters!). There was also a mini concert by various artistes, such as Hossan Leong and Gurmit Singh. Rotaracters also got to take home with them goody bags filled with tees, keychains and brochure!
So, in concolusion,
this was a meaningful and funfilled event where volunteers from different places and organization gathered together, create awareness to the public, acknowledge the contribution that the volunteers had for the needy and at the same time, emphatise with the needy in Singapore. After all, you'll never know how the disabled live their everyday life without being in their shoes!
Photos are taken from SgCares.
*~GuiFang~*