Sundac is a local service that our school has collaborated together so that we can interact and help in away with their clients who are with intellectual disability. It’s to some extent a very new experience for me. Because, I have been in this similar kind of service before, I used to work with people with Alzheimer’s, or intellectual disability or elderlies…etc where you are in a situation where both partners don’t know each other and don’t speak the same language and you have to find other ways to communicate.
However, what’s new to me is that instead of us going to their place and do the service after school about 30 minutes, they come to our school instead and do the service for almost 1 and a half hours. We actually sat down and ate lunch with them and moved on to activities that we do in the plaza. Of course, in an unusual place with strange people who you don’t know before must be really overwhelming for them and would obviously make them kinda scared and not really open to you. For example, in one activity, when we have to stand in a circle and hold someone’s hand, I asked one of the client whether he wants to hold my hand. However, he rejects me! I was pretty sad actually, however I just maintained my smile and continue the activities smoothly.
Later on in the activity, some of the clients actually came to me and ask me to hold their hands which is very nice! So, what I learn is that sometimes your good intentions might not able to get through. And you can do nothing about it, you don’t have to pout or stress about it. You just have to be you and continue to do good, and eventually they will open themselves up and accept you.
I think one magic moment is when one of the client speaking in Chinese and I actually understand what she was saying. Then, we just had a conversation together and it was beautiful. I think she suddenly feels more closer to me and vice versa even though it was not a very deep or complicated but just a very simply basic conversation.
One interesting thing as well after we’ve conducted this service twice is that although we all do the activities out in the open during lunch time where a lot of our friends were passing by, I felt like I didn’t see them at all. All we do were just staying happy in the moment and be with the clients, which is really nice!
After all, I think the service is going good so far, we’ve had couple successful sessions with the clients where all of us are seen to be laughing happily while also helping them with their motor skills. What I want to focus on next time though is to become even more close and comfortable with them more like by knowing all of their names, and not afraid to hold their hands and talk with them even more.
Below are just some of the photos and videos that is taken during our activity sessions with them!
