20
December
2016
|
22:21
Asia/Singapore

Making wishes come true

The NUS Students’ Community Service Club (CSC) organised its annual Grant A Wish (GAW) event from 10 to 17 December with three organisations — Brain Tumour Society (Singapore), Club Rainbow (Singapore) and Haemophilia Society of Singapore. Now into its 14th year, the concept of GAW invites donors to make the extra effort of getting the gifts themselves for the beneficiaries instead of giving monetary donations.

Themed “Wonders of the Universe”, the event touched the lives of some 150 chronically ill children and their siblings. Besides “granting the wishes” of these children, CSC students also assisted in providing needy families with household appliances of their choice.

The student group held wish collections at the start of the project, where they spent a day interacting with the children who penned their wishes. These wishes were then followed through by NUS students and staff through various adoption drives held around the campus in October.

At the Christmas parties, CSC students together with volunteers and the children’s caregivers organised a skit and some games which were suitable for all beneficiaries. The children played a life-sized Snakes & Ladders game; participated in a “Moonwalk” – a challenging trail that involves number patterns; and were taught to make “Balloon Rocket Cars” – cars activated by inflated balloons.

grant wish 2

CSC students preparing the props for the games

The highlight of the parties was the gift presentation where the children were pleasantly surprised and elated to have their wishes fulfilled, receiving the items they had requested.