40 children from low-income families were blessed this Christmas.
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| CN PHOTO: Kenneth Tan |
On Dec. 11, 2010, a Christmas party for about 40 children was jointly organized by Hong Kah North Community Centre and members of City Harvest Church’s W509, a cell group under the pastoral care of district pastor, Wu Yuzhuang.
The children who participated in the party, aged from 6 to 10, are under the care of the Hong Kah North PAP Community Foundation’s Kidsread program. They are predominantly from lower-income families living in the Hong Kah North area of Singapore. This is the first time that HKNCC has organized such an event for needy children. Elissa Chan, a committee club member and joint organizer for the event, realized that the event would spread the joy of the festive season to the needy children.
The afternoon was filled with fervent cheers while the children themselves were abuzz with excitement as the first session of games began. They were naturally drawn to the interesting and engaging nature of the games and were quickly formed into groups. The different innovative games for the children included “Pin The Horns On The Reindeer,” “Design A Snowman” and “Treasure Hunt”—all of which focused on teamwork. The children collaborated and bonded together in camaraderie to achieve a common objective. The challenge involved passing through several hurdles to reach the finishing line, which proved to be an immensely thrilling experience. The parents who accompanied the children were equally enthusiastic, encouraging their children to participate actively in each segment. The winners of each game segment were presented with prizes and chocolates.
There were various booths set up during the event where the children could engage in activities such as face painting, airbrush tattoos and makeover-cum-photo taking. From creating tattoos on their hands and faces to playing dress-up as their favorite fairy tale characters, the children were seen with wide smiles on their faces throughout the day.
The highlight of the event was when Guest-Of-Honor, Dr. Amy Khor, Minister of State and Mayor of the South West Community Development Council, arrived to grace the event. She interacted with the children and even participated in the various games together with them, before handing out gifts and hampers to the children and their families. The event ended off with a round of Christmas carols as the children and volunteers sang and clapped to familiar Christmas tunes.
Volunteers for the event, Sharon Chan, 28, a researcher and Serena Chan, 33, a sales associate, agreed that the main objective of the event was achieved—to put a smile on the faces of the children and bring joy to them through the meaningful and fun-filled activities. They said, “We would definitely plan and organize this event next year, on a larger scale, to integrate and bring joy and laughter to more needy children.” Another volunteer, Stella Chan, 21, a client relations officer also said, “We are all very happy to see the kids enjoying themselves; it makes all our efforts worthwhile! It is truly a blessing to be able to bring joy and love to these children in this season of giving.”
Overall, it was an enriching and well-organized event despite the short time frame in planning and putting the details of the event together. By spreading the festive cheer, the volunteers were themselves enriched emotionally. The wide grins on the faces of the children was a clear indicator of the success of the event. Many of them, in fact, were still gushing about the experience to their parents even as the event drew to a close.
