Features

Compilations, Features, Go Where?, Humans of RI, Nature Features, Special Editions, Student Features 5 June 20265 June 2026

Wading Through the Wetlands with Project Naturalia (CE01 Spotlight Special Edition 2026)

Reading Time: 6 minutes

By Cherie Khoo (26S03B) and Tara Sim (26A01C)

$3.50 might only be able to get you one meat + two veg at the Caifan stall in the RI canteen, but for 50 cents less, you could spend your Saturday morning on an insightful guided tour to Sungei Buloh led by our very own Rafflesians from Project Naturalia.

After discovering his newfound love for nature walks and cataloguing wildlife from attending an international course on ecological research in Malaysia during GAP Semester in Year 4, this VIA project was founded last year by Koshik Basak (26S03J) and heartily supported by many of his friends from Y14.

*Some of the Project Naturalia members with their tour’s attendees*

Since then, their love for animal discovery and nature has shone through the development of Project Naturalia and its team’s dedication to providing guided tours to the community. This project sets itself apart from typical nature walks by teaching participants how to truly appreciate the world around them—going beyond a jog through your neighbourhood park or the obligatory school learning journey to the Botanic Gardens to learn about sustainability that most of us would rather sleep through.

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Compilations, Features, Humans of RI, Special Editions, Student Features 5 June 20265 June 2026

Project Horizon: Helping Children Widen Their Horizons (CE01 Spotlight Special Edition 2026)

Reading Time: 6 minutes

By Gladys Koh Wei Le (26A01B) and Irene Eva Thomas (26A01B)

When the term ‘disadvantaged children’ is mentioned, we would often focus on the tangible resources they are unable to access.

Yet, barriers to social mobility extend far beyond food or shelter. Family struggles and limited foundational support frequently result in a lack of cultural capital — the non-financial assets such as skills and knowledge that help individuals succeed in society.

One important type of cultural capital is embodied cultural capital, which refers to the internalised habits and dispositions that shape how individuals behave. For example, confidence in public speaking is a form of such cultural capital, as it influences how individuals express themselves in social settings.

Recognising this, Project Horizon—a CE01 initiative in RI led by Cecilia Wong (26S03K) Rosaline See (26S06A), Bryan Sim (26S03D), Syabil Muhammad (26S03D), Rino Hossain (26S03L) and Angelina Chang (26A01D))—seeks to strengthen disadvantaged children’s confidence in public speaking in Singapore. By equipping these children with the skills to communicate and think effectively, they are empowered to express themselves more confidently.

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Compilations, Features, Humans of RI, Special Editions, Student Features 5 June 20268 June 2026

Project Oopsie Daisy: More Than Just an “Oopsie” (CE01 Spotlight Special Edition 2026)

Reading Time: 5 minutes

By Tan Yan Qi (26S06M)

If you asked me two years ago about where my CE01 project would go, I never would have been able to guess that we’d be doing what we are now.

Project Oopsie Daisy started out as a simple VIA which aimed to promote horticulture as a method of improving mental health. Fast forward to Year 5, downsizes in the core team left only 5 members: Alice Chen Anhan (26S03L), Cecilia Wong (26S03K), Jyoti Adithi Narayanan (26S06M), Looi Ee Xin (26S06M) and me.

I vividly remember how the search for a partner organisation went back then. We sent emails to community organisations (the usual targets), hoping to expand our range of beneficiaries beyond children, and somehow landed up on the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) volunteering website.

“Why not?” was the general consensus when we reached out to IMH. To be honest, it seemed rather laughable that we were even trying, but it was a last-ditch attempt after failing to hear back from our other prospective partner organisations, and there was no harm in trying, right?

Less than a week later, we received a reply. And thus, we started our volunteering journey at IMH.

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Compilations, Features, Humans of RI, Special Editions, Student Features 5 June 20265 June 2026

Project Enjo, Where Learning Meets Enjo-yment (CE01 Spotlight Special Edition 2026)

Reading Time: 4 minutes

By Ariann Khoo (26S06B), Jaden Lum (26S05A) and Nithilan Balachander (26A01C)

Project Enjo (Japanese for “aid”) is not your average tutoring VIA. From building terrariums, to music video production using GarageBand, to web design and product innovation using Canva, it is focused on fostering holistic growth in their hard-to-please stakeholders: cheeky 11 to 12-year-olds.

*The team (clockwise from left): Chloe Heng Ya Xuan (26S03H), Yeap Jia Yun (26S06L), Namrutha Senthil Kumar (26S03O), Hasini Senthilnathan (26S06T), Karen Benita A (26S06B)*

Founded by its five main members, they transform mundane tutoring sessions into Enjo-yable activities aimed at broadening the students’ worldviews, going far beyond worksheets and classroom-style teaching. By exploring usually unventured VIA territories like career guidance, STEAM (with the often-neglected “A” for arts) appreciation, character building, and social awareness, Project Enjo redefines what community service can look like.

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Compilations, Features, Humans of RI, Special Editions, Student Features 5 June 20265 June 2026

Project Hongzhong: Red At Its Centre (CE01 Spotlight Special Edition 2026)

Reading Time: 5 minutes

By Michelle Lee (26S07A) and Tara Teo (26A01D)

If you asked any of the members in a formal setting why their project’s called Hongzhong, they would’ve told you it means red centre–the beating heart of a community, symbolising the importance of having people come together. But if you asked them anywhere else, they would’ve told you it’s because the “Hongzhong” tile is the only Mahjong tile that has an emoji for it. And that’s exactly how a project centred around Mahjong got approved by the CE committee.

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