CAPTain Spotlight 6 of 9: Beyond Expectations

Article written by Mark Ngoh, Angelica Ang, Bryan Goh & Grace Cheong

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented upheaval to the world, and to Singapore, forcing the nation into a period of Circuit Breaker in efforts to curb the spread of the virus. Even as our economy and society reopen, it is evident that the pandemic has brought, and will continue to bring unique challenges to different communities in Singapore.

Although these times have been rife with uncertainty and unknowns for many of us, several CAPTains, both past and present, have gone above and beyond to play their part in making a difference — no matter how big or small — in our community. The Active Community Engagement (ACE) wing in CAPT has launched an initiative, CAPTain Spotlight, to share the stories of these CAPTains. Through this initiative, we curate and share the narratives of nine individuals/groups of CAPTains who have embodied the ACE spirit – actively engaging with the communities in their midst. This is the sixth of our ‘Spotlight’ stories.

CAPTain Spotlight 6: Beyond Expectations

In light of the enhanced social distancing measures in place, many Singaporeans have been innovating novel and creative ways of engaging with the communities in our midst. Although limited to the physical confines of our homes, many locals have rallied together to roll out various online initiatives and resources, as well as devote their time and effort to ensure the continuity of social services for the hardest hit of communities amongst us.

This encouraged Wei Yang, Nicole, Woon Jo and Jian Xing (Nicole is a Year 2 CAPTain while Wei Yang, Woon Jo & Jian Xing are CAPT alumni) to take the leap and shift their mentoring project online onto the Zoom platform. Project Beyond Expectations’ collaboration with Beyond Social Services first began in 2018, with the aim of engaging youths staying in rental flats in the Jalan Bukit Merah, Henderson and Tiong Bahru areas. Aside from their initial focus of providing mentorship and academic support to the youths, the project has also expanded over the years by incorporating experiential learning as a tool to excite and bond them.

Following their shift online, there were several unforeseen challenges in terms of planning for and executing the engagement sessions. Firstly, it was difficult to get the youths who were already attending zoom classes daily as part of Home-Based Learning to attend another potentially draining Zoom class; that caused a dip in attendance for the first few sessions. Secondly, due to the lack of physical proximity and the inability to control the learning environments of the youths, many mentees were distracted and had reduced attention spans during the lessons. Many of the youths also faced technical difficulties e.g. some having spotty Wi-Fi connections that would crash halfway, and others having faulty earpieces. The confluence of these factors significantly reduced the quality of mentor-mentee interactions online.

Over time, the team was able to brainstorm and implement solutions that alleviated these initial teething issues. Some youths were too shy to verbally share their thoughts on Zoom. Hence, the team came up with a journaling system — they would ask questions on PowerPoint slides, and mentees would type their responses in the slides that were named after them. The team also worked closely with Beyond Social Services to seek donations and were thankfully able to garner enough devices for the mentees who did not have access to laptops or tablets. In a time when volunteers were at a low, the team’s mentors also volunteered to deliver these donations (food, essentials and devices) to the mentees and their families.

The team shared that their learning takeaways from CAPT moulded the way in which they approached and led their project. Their experiences in CAPT had taught them in many ways that serving the community isn’t always a ‘one-way street’, and that community engagement is goes beyond ‘helping’ the less-advantaged youth with tuition. This is why they have never positioned themselves as being better or superior simply because they are older but have instead emphasised on the mentor-mentee relationship they have as one that seeks to learn and grow alongside each other.

The team also emphasised that every project has to first seek to understand the needs of the community and consider its sustainability before it can make a long-lasting impact. Hence, before they started this initiative, they were mindful that they were not merely imposing their views on the community and strove to work on developing ways to ensure the viability of the project in the long run.

In times of uncertainty, it is all the more crucial for us to approach each endeavour that we embark on with an open mind, be flexible and adaptable in our planning. Project Beyond Expectations would like to extend an invitation to all CAPTains who may have an interest in mentoring, to sign up as mentors! The journey may not always be smooth-sailing, but Project Beyond Expectations is certain that the experiences you will gain and the lives you will touch will be worthwhile.

Follow us on Instagram @captacewing!