Day 4: Teaching & Hygiene Day @ Dumpsite

Finally, the day has come for the students to carry out their well-prepared mission at the dumpsite. There were two sessions for the children, the morning and the afternoon session. In each session, the students were split up into two groups, one group was in charge of Hygiene, the other group was in charge of Teaching.  

The students helped to wash, dry and comb the hair of the children. It is the students' first time experience and it is certainly humbling and unforgettable. All these are what we do every day without giving much thought, but it is a luxury for the children at the dumpsite. From the smiles on their faces, we can see how eager and happy they are to get themselves clean up.

Besides hair service, the students also offered nail-cutting service to the children. The students were very careful so as not to hurt the children. The children took turns orderly to get their nails cut by the students. While cutting the nails, the students also took the chance to interact with the children.

At the same time, the other group was conducting lessons with the other children. They have prepared much for the lessons, with thorough planning, well-designed teaching aids and worksheets, engaging games, repeated rehearsals... all these helped them to run the lessons smooth. But certainly all these happened with the active participation from the children and timely help from the local teachers.

 The children were very much engaged in the activities planned by the students. Although we have limited space, the children had great fun. Their laughter literally echoed in the T-house and continue to echo in the hearts of the students. From their tears and their truthful reflections, it is evident that the children have left a great impact on the students and the life-lessons they have learnt today will bring them far in their lives.

It is always hard to say goodbye, but we know we have to keep the fond memories deep in our hearts and move on. The students teared when the children sang them farewell songs and waved goodbye to them. Although it is just a few hours, it had certainly left a great impact on the students. The students must admit that it is the children who are the teachers at the end of the day, as they have taught the students many valuable lessons, such as the school value of propriety, righteousness and self-respect. The children's passion for learning also touched the students' hearts and truly made their day. May all these lessons deeply etch in their hearts and continue to transform their thinking and attitude towards life.

Quotes of the day:

"I finally realized the truth of once in a life opportunity. We have been living a
 very comfortable life, with advanced technology, but we have not seen the
 meaning of being thankful for everything we have.When the Cambodian 
children have a chance, they will immediately take it, because they took it as
their once in a lifetime opportunity. It’s really an eye-opener for me. At first, 
I was wondering how could they really live in such a bad living condition. 
Now I realized that there are so many people suffering, while we are neglecting 

things we have, like our parents’ love and the things we have back at home."              
 - Natasha, 3C

"The kids are proactive and takes initiative. the kids helped each other to
understand the instructions, so that everyone is on the same page.They are 
not influenced by Singapore society, they are not afraid to approach us, in 
Singapore it is very hard to say hi to strangers.The children's hands are hard 
and rough, they might already been doing rough chores. In comparison, we 
are not as hard working."       
 - Khai, 3N2

"No matter how bad the conditions are, the children are still learning and studying 
well. The children are intelligent, although they don’t know English, they still 
tried to understand and pronounce the words. It’s fun teaching them as all of 
them are very understanding and able to catch up very fast.They appreciate what 
we gave them. Even though it's just bread and condensed milk, they still appreciate it."        
 - Ida, 3T1

"I have learnt a lot from the children, they participated actively and listened 
attentively. They did not answer because of the prize, but because they are proud 
of themselves knowing the answers. They also questioned the teacher when they 
don't understand, instead of talking among themselves. We must change our 
attitude in class, such as stop using handphones and sleeping in class. Also in 
CCAs, we have competitions and in which we treat opponent as rivals, but here 
when the children lost, they were still very happy. Our lessons were successful 
because we have gone through a lot of preparation, preparing the materials 
properly, going through all the rehearsals. The children were also very attentive 
and the teachers in the T house helped us to translate. Suggestions from other 
groups also helped us how to react and what to improve."  
 -Rebacca, 3B