Judy Koh and Celestine Seow
Judy Koh:
In 1976, my then mentor, Lawrence Choong, Bukit Merah CC Youth Chairman (YEC) went house-to-house visit and invited both my sister and me to join their YEC and we do not have any knowledge of what the YEC does for the community. From this stepping out, we served, learnt to organise programmes, and bond among peers.
In the mid-80s our Leaders already think and worked ahead on how to resolve our water issue and strengthen our defence. They went to the community to explain and find aspirations and suggestions. I felt very amazed that as youth we were able to contribute in the country’s important affairs.
Given the opportunities were trained in Civil Defence - Evacuation, First-Aid and Fire Fighting. Residents; formed Neighbourhood watch groups to keep their precinct safe. The kampong spirit and bonding were strong, especially among all races.
In the 90s, I was involved in our HDB main upgrading programme (MUP) as I was the Resident’s Committee Chairman. With the many contributions, I was awarded the Public Service Medal (PBM - Pingat Bakti Masyarakat) in 1993 by the late President Ong Teng Cheong. In 2010, I received the Public Service Star (BBM - Bintang Bakti Masyarakat) from President Nathan. “Everyone has an equal opportunity”.
In the 2020 Pandemic, we panic, tackle, fight and learn… together we fall, stand up and fall and stand up… March on Singaporeans. 1 Singapore spirit. Rain or shine, we make it. Together, Our Singapore Spirit. Teach our seniors how to prevent being scammed, use of handphone apps, video talk to other seniors in the group (cell system).
I hope future generations will follow what our forefathers did and carry on the good work from generation to generation. The will to learn, innovate and dare to dream and we are here to do something impossible. Excel!!
Quote Shannon L Alder “Carve your name on hearts, not tombstones. A legacy is etched into the minds of others and the stories they share about you.”
Celestine Seow:
I began to volunteer actively during the time when I was studying at Anglo-Chinese Junior College. I was a member of the Interact club. As a volunteer at LIFE-Beyond social services, I taught students who were brought up in harsh environments. I also organised excursions where we brought the children to the Singapore Science Centre.
Having the heart to help those in need, I applied to be involved in the planning of the Overseas Community Involvement Project (OC1P) to Fuzhou, China. Our objective was to help improve the standard of conversational English of the students in a local school through both informal interactions and formal lessons.
As the secretary of the team, I was involved in the preparation of the lesson plans based on the new teaching strategy of Singapore's education system then, in 2007. We incorporated Multiple Intelligence and “Teach less, Learn more” concepts.
Singapore hosted the inaugural Youth Olympic Games (YOG) from 14 to 26 Aug 2010. As the National Olympic Committee (NOC) Assistant for Jamaica, I worked in a team with 3 other volunteers, some of them who flew from other countries to Singapore. I also met many other volunteers with different nationalities and from different walks of life. It was an enriching experience for me, learning from people from different backgrounds and life experiences.
The level of energy from the athletes as well as the volunteers filled the Olympic Village @ Nanyang Technological University (NTU) with a lot of positivity and good vibes! The amount of determination and resilience in the athletes really inspired me to “Not give up”! It is also amazing that Judy was also part of the YOG held in Singapore! She was one of the torchbearers! Our paths cross again in 2021 as fellow staff of Cantonment Primary School.
As a student at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), I was given the opportunity to be part of the People's Association Youth Movement (PAYM) Hip Hop Dance contingent comprising of 2000 energetic youths for the grand finale of Chingay Parade 2011. The parade was special as PAYM was celebrating its 40th Anniversary and we broke the Singapore's Book of Records for the largest number of people performing Hip Hop dance at the same time. I met many youths, ages 12 to 35. I had a lot of fun interacting with people from different walks of life, with different stories to share!!
9 August - It’s Singapore’s National Day. It is a day where Singaporeans come together to celebrate the making of this Nation and to renew their commitment to Singapore. 2020 was a challenging year for Singapore as we fight (and we are still fighting) the global Covid-19 pandemic. As the national day celebrations were ‘scaled down’, each Singaporean/PR household was given a Singapore Together Pack, featuring artwork by artists with disabilities.
As Singapore continues to fight the battle against Covid-19, I believe that as long as we stand united as one, we are able to overcome the challenges ahead, just like the lyrics of this year’s National Day Theme Song says:
“See this island, every grain of sand
Hear this anthem, it's the voices of our friends
Come whatever on the road ahead
We did it before, and we’ll do it again”
