Hey, let’s talk about Community Involvement Programmes (CIPs). I started my first CIP on January. Recalling that event, it was quite a pleasant one. We just had to attend a Teenage Fiction Workshop at one of the National Library branches and we could get 2 hours of CIP. During the Workshop, we only listened to the introduction of the different types of Fiction and we (my friend and I) came up with a story about some pictures flashed on the screen. After borrowing two books, we were free to go. The first CIP made me feel happy and I thought that CIP hours were easy to get.
However, I was proven wrong when I went to second CIP event. The location was still at a Library. But, the location was quite far from my home and I had to take the train for about 1 hour before reaching the venue.
When I reached the Library, the receptionist told me my job after getting me to sign-in. She was quite friendly and I easily knew what I had to do. I got pass the first hour quite easily, as there were not many people there. But, the next hour was really tiring. My duty was to arrange and replace the books on display and more and more people are coming to the Library. As a result, I became busier and busier as I have to run up and down the stairs catering to all levels (there were three levels!). After the next hour, I finally had the chance to get back my bag and a chance to drink my water. Later, I asked the receptionist for the reason I had such a duty. She told me that there were two others that were supposed to came and share my burden, but they did not turn up. I was furious. The two other volunteers should have at least sent a notification e-mail to the person-in-charge or called the Library in advance if they were caught up with emergency matters. Their actions caused inconvenience to others and damage to their public image. If tourists know of such matters, the image of Singapore may be tarnished and think that Singapore Residents are irresponsible. I sincerely hope that they will apologise for their actions. However, I have learnt from this CIP how to work fast and efficient.
The third CIP that I have done was a Primary Four Camp at my former Primary School. It was the most tiring CIP that I have done in my whole life. We were supposed to help the teachers control the P4 kids as well as accompany them on various activities. I will not elaborate on the activities as it is not very important. After a tiring day, all the P4 kids went to sleep but we, the seniors had to be awake and look after them. We had to make sure that all of them are sleeping comfortably and give them permission to go to the toilet. After finally reaching 3 AM, we finally had a chance to sleep for barely 3 hours… We woke up around 5.40 am and went to clean some of the equipments used. After doing Area Cleaning with the students, we were finally dismissed. Later we and the teachers sat down at the hall. They gave us some comments and we were also, finally dismissed. I was quite excited as I was given 24-hours of CIP participation, however some regulation states that Primary School Camps can only allow up to 8 hours of CIP per day… Never mind, the fun that I had with those kids can replace the last 8 hours…
An Ordinary Guy in an Extraordinary School 