ce01 special edition

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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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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