Education Awards 2022 - Rising above difficulties and differences
Recognized for their hard work and improvement, recipients of Club Rainbow’s Education Award Amelia, Sufaira, Keertana & Nazin were thoroughly surprised and elated when they were informed of their academic achievement. For many, this accomplishment was not an easy feat, and they shared that multiple challenges needed to be overcome throughout their learning journey.
For Amelia, the phrase “practice makes perfect, never give up” has motivated and pushed her to be resilient throughout her academic years. This persistence has been backed up by supportive teachers who have worked hand in hand with Mdm Joanna, Amelia’s caregiver, to identify and work on areas requiring more targeted revision. Together with therapy, Amelia’s learning development has improved exceedingly, enabling her to read, count, and, most importantly, grasp more excellent motor skills. These improvements have driven her to clinch many medals and become her school’s representative in competitive swimming.
Mdm Joanna is proud of Amelia’s growing braveness and independence and continues to be attentive to Amelia’s needs. She identified and harnessed Amelia’s love for music as a learning tool, which has played a significant role in making learning and memorization more enjoyable and fun (E.g., Multiplication Table Song). Amelia’s activeness was also expressed through her enjoyment in Club Rainbow’s horse-riding outdoor activity, where she learned to guide, clean and had the opportunity even to hug the horse. Mdm Joanna believes that such avenues of learning should be incorporated to better cater to the needs of children.
Mdm Anisa, Sufaira’s caregiver, also resonates with this and attends courses that impart skills and practices concerning multi modalities to be equipped and self-reliant when helping Sufaira in the areas she is weaker. This practice also aligns with Club Rainbow’s therapy intervention programme that Mdm Anisa praised, where children can explore various ways to express themselves, such as drawings or actions.
On top of this commitment, Mdm Anisa dedicates herself to her daughter’s academic journey. Sufaira has put in her due diligence needed by making duplicates of worksheets, practising, and trying them repeatedly until done right. She has also benefitted from the help of her schoolteachers. She is grateful for Club Rainbow’s tuition programme, which has proven helpful to both Amelia and Keertana.
Keertana has shown continuous improvement, allowing her to clinch this education award for a second time and become more confident in her day-to-day interactions. She has also picked up hands-on life skills such as cashiering at the minimart at school. Keertana believes in “just giv(ing) it a try,” and Mdm Chitra, Keertana’s caregiver, is very proud of her daughter’s mindset and progress. Yet, it can be challenging at times, and Mdm Chitra shares that attending Club Rainbow’s counselling services has proven to be beneficial, where she is able to talk through her struggles and seek advice and help.
Mdm Erni, Nazin’s caregiver, also agrees that such support systems are essential, highlighting her interactions with her parents in similar situations to hers. Where they better understand her challenges and offer more relatable and timely advice and tips on how to raise Nazin. She also mentions how Club Rainbow’s social workers have supported Nazin and herself greatly by providing encouraging and assuring words to push on and move forward whenever she felt down.
This education award recognises and acknowledges the continuous ability displayed to press on, as well as Nazin’s effort in his academic work, where his communication capabilities and range have expanded and advanced, leading him to recognise more words through his picture cards.
While we celebrate the achievement of our Education Award Winners, these milestones are only made possible with our caregivers’ sacrificial and unconditional love and support. They have also shared some words of encouragement and advice to fellow parents who might find themselves in similar scenarios.
Mdm Anisa’s advice to parents would be to “not compare children with others” but “let them learn at their own pace and method.” Mdm Chitra believes every child is “unique and (has) their strengths.”, while Mdm Joanna encourages parents to let children “explore and blend into society” with which they would eventually be part and for parents to continuously be “patient, believe and have confidence in their children, and never give up on them.”
Choose to be Happy!
“Don’t Worry, Be Happy!”
Everybody tends to say this to someone having a wrong time, but what does happy mean? Is it that easy to be satisfied?
The word happy is generally defined as a feeling of pleasure or contentment. Such feelings could arise from something as simple as eating something delicious or seeing something beautiful; and can be immediately felt by a child who just got a new toy.
So, what do we do when we are having a bad day and finding it challenging to feel happy? Although we are told that it is fine to embrace our negative feelings, we could always go a step further by embracing those bad feelings and then taking action to exchange them for more positive thoughts. A bad day is no reason to ignore all other good parts of life. Many studies have linked happiness to health as a good mood helps us smile more, sleep better, and feel more energetic.
One easy way to feel pleasure and contentment is to be thankful. I like to keep a gratitude journal to remind myself of things I am grateful for throughout the day. Small mundane things, like the bus arriving on time or remembering to bring an umbrella on a rainy day. By doing so, you will likely realise that you are luckier than you think. I also know someone who practices ‘gratitude hour’ where he spends an hour every Friday sending emails thanking people who helped him throughout the week.
Most people have also heard of the adage – It’s better to give than to receive. While rewarding ourselves, we must also remember that we are all capable of spreading happiness by building a more compassionate world and not forgetting the needy. You could start by gifting to those who need it or volunteering your time, as experiences provide a higher level of happiness than material items.
If there is one particular day each year where we should put in extra effort to purge all negative emotions from our system, that would be 20 March, also known as the International Day of Happiness. First celebrated on 20 March 2013, the United Nations General Assembly established the International Day of Happiness to make people worldwide realise the importance of happiness in their lives. Building on the idea, the United Nations also launched 17 Sustainable Development Goals aiming to eradicate poverty, reduce inequality and protect our planet to make people’s lives happier. (More information can be found here: https://www.undp.org/sustainable-development-goals)
Here at Club Rainbow, we hope that our beneficiaries can live as happily as possible despite the challenges they face in their lives. In conjunction with this year’s International Day of Happiness, we would appreciate your support for our efforts to make this world a better place for children in Singapore living with chronic illnesses. Actions matter, and you can make happiness a choice every day!
Written by: Tang Su Yen
Edited by: Club Rainbow (Singapore)
We welcome volunteers to support our beneficiaries and passionate individuals who like to kickstart creative fundraising initiatives. Email us at crscpm@clubrainbow.org to start your journey with us today! Other ways you can be part of - https://www.clubrainbow.org/take-action.