Our team chose a group close to our hearts: the elderly; and we focused on ‘Fall Prevention’ which has a very direct and significant link with health. We worked with a community-based organisation in Tanglin Halt – FaithActs (FA), and took part in in their weekly activities to build rapport with their members. To understand the needs of the elderly living in the community, and some of the challenges social workers face, we participated in home visits to share about FA and their programmes.

The FLAGship project was a collaboration between students of NUS and ITE College Central. The project was aimed at understanding and enhancing mental resilience among adolescents. We learnt through our reading that one of the predominant factors was that someone who has very strong ties with their friends and families is better able to weather the storms they face, as a result of the emotional and mental support they can receive from these people.

Our group chose to work on the topic of food choices among young people. We worked with students from the Institute of Technical Education to organise an ‘amazing race’. This was a hands-on and fun activity that also provided participants with information on health and nutrition that is relevant to them. Student participants from ITE ran around Junction 8, Bishan, finding ways of making fast food healthier, comparing supermarket prices for healthy and unhealthy options of snacks they commonly eat, and inventing an appealing but nutritious menu for a picky teenager.