As part of our collaboration with our local service partner Buddha Tzu Chi, 0WES takes part in the annual Chinese New Year Festival and help out by sorting out recyclables, washing crockeries as well as helping to maintain the location clean.
A lot of what we experienced in this event really helps in planning out our services in the Family Festival, so it is highly recommended to come to participate!
2019-2020
Pictures from 2020’s Chinese New Year Fair at Khatib MRT station!
Quick reflection:
Positives:
- Very well organised and set up
- Interesting to see how materials are used
- Many people volunteered (more than previous years) (over 1000)
- Location was more suitable for volunteers to access
- Produced so little rubbish (only 2 bins on Sat, out of so many stalls) with >2000 people a day
- They wash the recyclables to reduce waste
- Apart from a few stalls, all food stall vendors were volunteers
Possible Improvements:
- We could connect ourselves more with them since we have a relatively small impact
- Extend invitations to join the events to UWC community (E-briefs)
- We can use some points from their model
- Try to keep ourselves as part of what their mission is (eg. having more people show up next time)
Learning:
- Buddha Tzu Chi is more than a recycling NGO – Youth centre, massive international presence (more than 30 countries)
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