Service, which is part of CAS, involves interaction, such as the building of links with individuals or groups in the community. The community can be the school, the local district, or it may be at the national or international level. ISS is committed to giving students the opportunity to get out of their comfort zone and become seriously involved in serving the less fortunate in Singapore and other places in the world.
Service activities do not only involve doing things for others, but also doing things with others and developing a real commitment with them. The relationship should show respect for the dignity and self-respect of others. There should be prior communication and full consultation with the community or individual concerned. The service provided should be appropriate and you should be able to understand the consequences of what you are doing.
A service activity must provide you with the opportunity to learn. It must be voluntary and unpaid.
ISS CAS Handbook 2009-2010
Community and Service activities students of ISS are currently involved in
Blue Dragon - Charity organization in Vietnam to help street kids get off the street.
DSA (Down Syndrome Association)
- Kidsread - Students read stories to children and do activities to assist in reading comprehension.
- Math Computer tuition - Students assist in computer based games to help develop math and computer skills
Habitats for Humanity - Students are working on fundraising in order to build houses in Bangladesh.
RDA - Students assist in therapeutic horseriding to the disabled in Singapore
Roots and Shoots- The Roots & Shoots program is about making positive change happen—for our communities, for animals and for the environment.
Community and Service being done by the students and Teachers over summer and holidays
Mr. and Mrs. Walker’s First Visit to Cambodia
Instead of handing out money or candy, the Walker’s had a backpack full of school supplies to give out. The Walker's children, Maria and Julia filled small ziploc bags with coloured markers, pencils, erasers and sharpeners prior to leaving for Cambodia. As the Cambodian children ran up to The Walker's to sell their wares, they handed them the little bags of treasure. The smiles and appreciation can be seen on the faces of these young children. The Walker’s trip to Phnom Phenh included a trip to the Tabitha Foundation to help support the great work that this organization
Mr. Boeyink visits Sihanoukville, Cambodia
Mr. Boeyink visited the Friendship Centre, which provides assistance to less fortunate kids. The facility is crowded and in need of upgrades to serve the 250 underprivileged women and children who are in danger of becoming victims of abuse and/or trafficking. The children suffer from lack of care, poor hygiene and malnutrition resulting in poor general health, stunted growth and tooth decay. Mr. Boeyink’s family is trying to raise money to build a new center. The new centre will provide shelter, daycare for the little ones and lessons, such as English and self defense. For more information, contact Mr. Boeyink.
Panchaya teaches students at the Bangkok School for the Blind
My first intention was to teach English to the students. Unfortunately, I didn’t know that they were in the middle of exam time this week. So when I went to the place there were hardly any students to teach. I ended up being put to take care of the kindergarten kids instead. Five of them were gathering around me. Some wanted to draw pictures or even color some drawings (although they couldn’t see). You might wonder how they did it and you’ve got to come and see for yourself. They didn’t actually ‘draw’ anything in particular. What they did was just holding the color pencils and began to randomly drag it around all over the paper. It felt pretty good to spend my time doing something meaningful to others. Those kids were pretty happy to have people coming to play with them. They called out my name and asked if I was going to come and back visit them again.
Jacob Stunz visits a Primary school and builds a school library in Kenya
This summer I went to Nanyuki, Kenya to a village school called Endana Primary School. This is found way out in the depths of the Kenya plains where Mt. Kenya is also visible. There, a group of many talents from the U.S. teamed up to build a library where the children could go and read books with their own pleasure. In doing this, we created long lasting relationships with the people of Kenya and also with each other. All the work it took to raise the money to fly thousands of miles away was absolutely paid off. I came with a lot of materialism, but I left with an even bigger since of wholeness... almost as if I had been given more than I could ever possibly give. Kenyans, on average, may not have a lot of physical things such as money or expensive objects, but they are so rich in mind. This taught me how I should think and live and how much I actually take for granted each day; such as food and water and clothing and even a simple roof over my head. Information about the organization that sponsored his trip can be found at 410bridge.com
Vic Chen
I went back to Taiwan for two months in the summer vacation. My father brought me to the Home for the Aged where my grandmother lives, asking me to service the aged people. I took great pleasure in helping them, I had a great time with them, some of them are mentally deficient and inactive. I was inspired that if they can keep living their own lives so well, so can I. I was inspired to treasure my life and make hay while the sun shines.
Nazia Prosha
During this summer I stayed in Singapore because my mom was not feeling well to travel. So I stayed home and helped her with the chores. Because I was rather bored, I decided to practice some of my soccer skills as I had signed up for the girls soccer team for G-11. I also searched for some CAS programs that I could do for next year such as theatre productions outside of school. However most of them had an age limit consisting of mostly 18-25, so I had to give up on that idea, for now. During my time at home I took care of my mom as her health was deteriorating. While nursing her to health, I had realized how difficult it must be for a single person to take care of the families needs when they have poor health conditions. This gave me an idea for what I wanted to do for CAS; perhaps help an old person clean up their house or help them with chores that they have difficulty doing. I planned to carry out this activity when school reopens sometime during the year.
Asuka SHIRAKI
In my previous school, every year the grade 10s had to do some sort of community service within the country. In the beginning of June, my homeroom class focused on helping orphanages. Therefore we visited an orphanage and brought rations such as food, clothes, and stationery. As the orphans were very young, we were able to entertain them with musical instruments and small games.
KidsRead Awards
Melinnie Angela, Zen Dang, Kenneth Lim, Melvin Ng and Cinta Nuanza received the KidsRead Star Award at the KidsREAD Volunteer Appreciation Day on August 1st. They received special recognition for their service to children at the Down’s Syndrome Association. Their positive attitudes and consistent commitment were highly commended by the people they worked with. Thanks for representing ISS well.
