Contributed by Debbie Ong
“Together Everyone Achieves More (TEAM)” was the theme of City Harvest Community Services Association’s (CHCSA) STEP-UP camp. It was held on 27 and 28 May 2009 at Mayflower Secondary School, with a total participation of 66 students from its Secondary 2 cohort.
Through this camp, the students learned about the importance of teamwork, good communication with peers and respect for one another. This was achieved upon completing a series of fun-filled activities.
The students began the day with an adventure race through Singapore’s city centre, from Marina Square to *SCAPE Youth Park along Orchard Boulevard. Racing against time, they worked as a team to complete each station’s challenges. After all the rough-and-tumble activities, they had to return to school to learn ice-cream making and played a game show — further reinforcing the theme of the camp.
Each day concluded with a game show and an appreciation session. During the session, the students sketched their journey of learning. After which, the team leaders took the effort to recognize and remember every student’s contribution. The students beamed when special mentions of their individual efforts were mentioned.
When asked what they liked best about the camp, student Nadzirah replied, “Getting to know my wonderful and best trainers, Alvin and Pearly! I also like the adventure race and of course, all the activities that helped me build a closer relationship with my classmates!”
  |
| PHOTOS: Victoria Yee |
The STEP-UP Program was started by CHCSA in 2007 to help youths-at-risk, in conjunction with the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) and the National Council of Social Services (NCSS). In 2008, CHCSA reached 1,022 students.
The two-day camp left a deep impression on these students. As co-organizer Valerie Lim, 21, put it: “The camp was a fulfilling and fun-filled experience. It was evident from the way the students responded to the trainers that the camp touched many of them. The trainers were very swift to encourage, and I believe that was what made a difference!”
