Young people have the ability to change mindsets and break down barriers when they participate in overseas community development projects. We see this in our work at the Singapore Red Cross, when we help the more rural areas of a country.
The projects range from building a library to offering disaster relief. Because Singapore is so developed, people in the communities sometimes think we lack an understanding of the issues they face.
It is our young volunteers who correct that perspective. By the time they finish an overseas project, they would have succeeded in converting sceptics into friends. Beneficiaries often come to realise that Singaporeans are not that different from them, and a connection is formed.
Young people can be great ambassadors for the country. We find that if they have been involved in community service at home, they grow into the role of a global humanitarian more easily.
"Young people have the ability to change mindsets and break down barriers when they participate in overseas community development projects," Benjamin William, secretary general and CEO of Singapore Red Cross.
The Singapore Red Cross helps Singaporean youth to develop expertise and skills that can help influence positive change in society. We implement a comprehensive three-stage programme to achieve this. In schools, we build awareness about the work we do, such as teaching them the importance of blood donation.
The second stage is to help the youth internalise what they have learnt. We have exchange programmes with our counterparts in countries like Malaysia and Japan. This helps to build friendships across borders and provide a platform for the sharing of ideas and experiences. We also make our young people blood donation ambassadors to educate others about the importance of giving blood.
Under the Overseas Humanitarian Programme, we send youth to do follow--up work in countries where we have already made inroads. For instance, after we rebuild a school, they will be in charge of building a library or equipping it with books. This gives them a chance to learn from the communities they are serving and gain a better understanding of challenges on the ground.
The third stage involves application. Here, they put into practice all they have learnt. For instance, they organise and collect provisions for Project RICE+, an annual community-wide initiative to distribute food items to disadvantaged families in Singapore.
This article was first published in SINGAPORE, Issue 1 2017.
