Reflection by Ronald: The OCIP Experience

When I first signed up for this trip in 2015, I originally thought that it would just be us helping some illiterate people (to put it crudely), but I guess I was wrong. This trip has allowed me to realise that it is wrong to judge from just our own perspective. Instead, the locals there has taught us so much more; that just having very little is not always a bad thing, as it allows us to appreciate every single thing we have. The value of sharing and caring as well; because they have so little, it means that everyone cannot have everything, so the only way is to share with one another, and this spirit is not exceptionally common in Singapore.

We went there with mindset to help construct a dormitory for the boys in the orphanage, but when we were doing the actual construction work, we realised that we all lack simple mechanical skills like hammering a nail, which was like the basics for them. However, the locals were very patient with us, and kept correcting our mistakes, and taught us the correct way to do. Even though the locals could do it much faster than us, and could probably complete the task in a much faster time, they still allowed us to try out. However, we could still do the jobs that do not require any skills such as transporting, and I felt that this would have greatly saved them a lot of time in constructing the dormitory. Even if they were less literate than us, they possess the essential basic skills that we lack, and that has definitely benefitted them in growing up in the orphanage environment.

The children there were also very eager to learn, and one fact that we all agreed on was that they were all very bright and intelligent, but given their circumstances, they are unable to maximise their potential. This is unlike Singaporeans, where the government has provided quality education for a very affordable price, but everyone takes it for granted. The children in the orphanage are all very eager to learn, and pick up stuff very quickly. They were also extremely caring towards one another and us, and know the value of sharing. As we brought insufficient balls for everyone, the children could not have just a ball to themselves. As a result, they shared the balls with one another, playing in groups and kicking to one another, and playing with everyone who just went up and played. One incident that was very impactful to me was the children moving the umbrellas to the groups that were cleaning the gloves and boots, with the purpose of providing shade for them. Nobody asked them to do it, and it was through their own minds that prompted them to do this simple action, and this shows how much they care for the people around them. Furthermore, from what I had noticed, they originally had only one ball to share among everyone before we donated more to them, but through their proficiency in soccer, it is not very hard to tell that all of them had more or less equal chances of playing with the ball, as all of them are quite good at soccer, and this furthers reinforce the sharing mindset that they have. They may be less privileged than us in material standards, but they are definitely not worse off than us, and are even better than us, in terms of spirit. The lack of tangible items has inculcated values and morals within them that can never be replicated in a textbook, and this is something that we, living in Singapore, have lost throughout the years.

Through this OCIP, I learnt much more than what I have bargained for. Originally taught to be similar to previous CIPs I have undertaken, going overseas to an extremely different environment have really changed my mindset on various issues. Learning that some people go hungry really made me changed my attitude on food wastage, while the invaluable lessons that I have gained from experiencing and observing the locals will be firmly etched within me. While we had intended to teach the villagers, we ourselves have gained and learnt much more from them, and there is truly nothing that could make me regret from signing up for this OCIP.