Project week for this year was unfortunately cancelled. Project week is a 5 day trip to visit a country most likely within SEA where we can do any form of CAS. To I and my team members Sara, Rehaan, Kevin, Margaud and Jina we knew we wanted to prioritise doing service and in that we wanted to help people.
Investigation- Initial sign-up and investigation of the activity
The first step to us was to find and pick a service that we felt comfortable working with. For one, we knew that we could either focus on the environment or perhaps help children as these are some of the options that were available to us. Kevin as it turned out actually was an active member (and perhaps vice chair) for the global concern group called Try4Cambodia, and it was through his suggestion that we decided to properly research and focus our energy in planning a trip to visit them in Cambodia.
LO 6 Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance:
The investigation stage I realise now is actually one of the most important stages in conducting any form of service/travel project. It is in this stage that we begin to learn more about the context of where we are going and why we are going there. To me this was the first time I had actually gained much exposure and knowledge about the intricacies of Try4Cambodia and the NGO Kampuchea Balopp in Phnom Penh.
- Try 4 Cambodia GC works with Kampuchea Balopp in Phnom Penh, an NGO that uses the sport of rugby as a means to educate children about social inclusion, respect, teamwork, gender equality and a healthy lifestyle. They work with more than 600 children each week, both disabled and able-bodied, and empower them through structured activities. The GC raises awareness for Kampuchea Balopp and helps connect them with rugby clubs in Singapore. They aim to provide support through social enterprise initiatives, rugby ball upcycling and coach training programmes. Try 4 Cambodia also collects sports equipment for the children to provide them with proper playing equipment and kit. The GC runs an annual World Cup of Touch event to promote gender equality, wellness and fun.
2.Try 4 Cambodia is important and necessary as the Cambodian education system doesn’t provide physical education to Cambodian children. This is a crucial part of education as experienced by us, allowing students to live a balanced and healthy lifestyle. Beyond this, Kampuchea Balopp also promotes key issues within Cambodia such as gender equality, and inclusion for children with disabilities.
- From a call to Anna Maria Nugent from Kampuchea Balopp:
How might we be of use when we come?
Is there anything we could bring?
They have new staff, so teaching them computer skills would be very helpful.
Any sports clothes, shoes, mouthguards, water bottles to donate
For all group members to be aware of the tough rugby rules, and some drills perhaps
From the summarised research, we as a group not only had a better understanding of why what we were doing is important, but a specific target on how we could be beneficial and contribute to fitting their specific needs. Kampuchea’s goal emcopasses one aspect of the Cambodian educational system, and this challenge of providing quality education applies to children all over the world.
Preparation- Planning the experiences
LO 5 Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively
When we began to start working on the planning stage, to create itineraries, do research on best flights, logistics and fun activities to do, one aspect that worked nicely was the ability to divy tasks up and therefore meet our internal deadlines at a more efficient pace. We had elected our pseudo leader to be Sara as at the time she was the chair of service, and had the most voice and experience with communicating with the service department. While on the other hand, I and other members were assigned various other tasks….
On one hand I felt that this was a great opportunity to segregate work and assignments, but at the same time because we relied so heavily on the role given by the school they all felt rather arbitrary and not necessarily that useful. Furthemore, by having such a large group, it meant some people had to get paired up for tasks etc. simply because we didn’t actually have that much to do… Though it did mean that we finished everything to its completion as soon as we could. For the most part, me and Rehaan worked as the hotel finder, I would quickly open over ten different hotels/accommodations near the location we needed it to be and try to filter through my own personal checklist and match it to the requirements of the budget, and safety standards.
LO 3 Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience
I think that this aspect of the planning process was taken on by everybody. Each person had their own defined role, and therefore we all took initiatives in our own ways. For me, what I knew I was good at was to research things online – I think that one of my strengths so far has been the ability to research and look for the information that we needed efficiently. Another aspect that I think I did very well was researching about our food options and accommodations I was kind of delegated this role within the group and being committed to this kind of experience and wanting to make it out very valuable experience for all of us I definitely try to find options that suited us and fit the requirements for everybody
LO 4 Show commitment to and perseverance in your CAS experiences
Our group showed commitment to creating this CAS experience when we as a group commited to being on top of the assignments/tasks to the point where we’d even meet up outside as to discuss our plans and actually get to know each other before our trip!
0 comments on “Project Week Planning Reflection” Add yours →