ISLE team members come together to form a chain of unity!

On the 8th of May, both ISLE team Thailand and team China came together for ISLE Camp 2009! Being a member of ISLE China, I was part of an amazing learning journey and took away much more than was expected in the short 3D2N camp.

ISLE Team China getting ready to draw their palm prints!

The goal of Service-learning is to carry out thoughtfully organized services that are sensitive to the needs of a community. With this in mind, service-learners foster civic responsibility and engage in reflection sessions. At the end of the year, ISLE teams would head overseas to conduct their service-learning expeditions, but the service-learning journey really begins from the instant they decide to join ISLE.

One of the 3 flats the ISLE teams visited to conduct the community survey.

Service-learning begins at home. During the camp, the teams conducted a door-to-door community survey to understand the needs of these residents. During the survey, team members had their eyes opened to a side of Singapore that they rarely see or have never seen. The low income, the in debt, the elderly, the physically disabled, the unemployed, the lonely, the ISLE teams saw it all. It came as a shock to many of the team members, especially as quite a number had never seen one room flats before. That night, members of the China team gathered for a particularly emotional and thought-provoking reflection session. It was a heavyhearted moment for the team as we realized how fortunate we were and how we should really count our blessings and cherish what we have.

The blindfolded members wait for the activity to begin.

Many fun-filled teambuilding activities were conducted, with strategy and teamwork being the main objectives. In a game of ‘Dumb and Blind’, members of the China team had to remain silent while guiding their other blindfolded team members in forming an eight-point star using satay sticks. Confusion ran amok among the team, but finally, they worked together, producing a not too shabby eight-point star. Coincidentally, the eight-point star is believed to be the universal symbol for unity.

The ISLE China team engaged in a facilitation activity.

The ISLE Camp was a success for the China team! It had achieved its purpose of growth, understanding, learning and team-bonding. And it was all possible because we had worked hand in hand to achieve a common goal of serving and learning. Everything we achieved, we achieved as a team.

For me, the camp was a life-changing experience. The bond between ISLE team China has been strengthened and I really look forward to taking this ISLE journey with my fellow ISLEans! I joined ISLE shortly before the Camp, but the experience so far has been an inspiring one. A journey of a thousand miles begins with one single step, and I have no regrets, having taken my first step. ISLE China welcomes new participants. Anyone interested may contact Miss Darrell at the staffroom. (:

Photos by Mr. Mark Lim
Written by Eunice