28 April 2008

Our programme for the day comprised mainly of discussions and brain storming ideas. We split into three groups. One team discussed the menu changes; another discussed competition day, IT and media, and the last team handled the external and internal design of Sweet-Tooth café. After three or four hours of discussion within each team, the admin group came and met with each team to exchange the ideas of each team. Then, the admin group discussed our plans with Gao Li Qing to ensure that we were on the right track.

29 April 2008

In the morning, we had a facilitator session. This was a crucial part of our learning process throughout this trip. It was a time where the team came together and discussed our thoughts, feelings, and future plans. It was a very fruitful time and we ironed out our direction for the day. To enhance our experience in Dali, we decided that interacting with the hearing impaired as well as the locals was very important and we went about this in different ways. Some headed to the Tea House to interact with the students and the staff, some headed to Sweet Tooth to interact with the staff and customers, while others headed out to interact with people from other cafes and do some market research. All in all, it was a very productive day.

Journey to Kunming-Dali Gu Cheng

At 3.15am, We boarded China Eastern Airlines to Kunming. It was only upon landing that we realized Kunming did not have the materials we needed to buy. We changed our plans and took a four hour bus ride to Dali. At Dali, we met up with representatives from Campus Impact, who brought us to San Yue Jie. We were lucky to arrive in Dali on the last day of this festival that only happened once a year. It was indeed an eye-opening experience; San Yue Jie had a wide variety of goods on sale, for example ostrich and donkey meat. Gao Li Qing, the manager of Sweet-Tooth Café taught us some simple sign language. This would allow us to better communicate with the hearing impaired staff in Sweet-Tooth café in the weeks to come. After dinner, we visited Sweet-Tooth café for the first time. The appearance was better than expected, but there were definitely improvements to be made. We realized we could expand and revise our marketing strategies to better cater to their needs. The team ended the day with a meeting at the travelers’ inn to discuss this further.

Dali-Xia Guan

We started off the day with a discussion of our marketing plan and the programme for the day. We divided ourselves into three groups: one group stayed in the travellers’ inn to update the blog, another discussed our marketing plans with Gao Li Qing, another headed to Xia Guan to source for supplies. Later that night, the team came together to further refine our plans and discuss the agenda for the next day.

The first thing we did was to split into 2 competing teams. Each team consisted of members from the various departments (Marketing, Administration, Business Development, IT) so it allowed us to work with people we had not previously worked with before. The teams were pitted against each other in several exhilarating rounds of Ultimate Frisbee and Captain’s Ball. Teams also competed in an interesting game where they were each required to prepare a 3-course meal of either fusion cuisine – American-Korean Fast Food or Indian-French Fine Dining. A certain ingredient was required in the preparation of each course. The appetizer had to include cucumber, the main course had to include orange and dessert required coffee. Teams would then have to start their own outdoor fires and prepare their creative culinary creations. Needless to say, both teams did equally well in this activity and demonstrated high levels of teamwork, cooperation, resourcefulness and originality.

After a scrumptious steamboat dinner during the evening of the first day, we finally got down to serious business. We split into 3 teams and engaged in a round robin of the various board games that we are introducing to Sweet Tooth Café. This allowed every single member to get familiarized with the games, such as First Hand, Pit, Set, Saboteur, so on and so forth. We then proceeded to translate the instruction manuals for these games from English to Chinese. This task was definitely not easy, testing every team members’ analytical skills, as well as their command of the Chinese language. The more complex games like Corner posed a great challenge for the translators, requiring several individuals to work laboriously into the wee hours of the night.

David from CampusImpact headed down to Singapore Management University on Day 2 of the camp to give the team an inspirational talk titled “Ten Core Values of a Winning Team”. David was an energetic and engaging speaker who managed to skillfully blend leadership and teambuilding theoretical knowledge, with his personal experiences leading past overseas expeditions. Some of the core values he identified include, “Cooperation that creates harmony on the team”, “A cohesive team is responsive to change”, “Winning teams have a sense of community”, just to name a few. These important core values serve as an excellent guideline for our team as we embark on our trip to Dali.

Team facilitation sessions were also conducted by our resident facilitator, Benjamin Chen, to give the team an opportunity to reflect on our progress thus far and to voice out our expectations and goals of the upcoming trip to China. We shared our personal insights and the lessons we had learnt from the execution of our Pre-Expedition Service Project with the hearing impaired students from Boon Lay Secondary School. Most of us were overwhelmed by the remarkable enthusiasm of the hearing impaired students and we look forward to working with them again and making a greater positive difference to their lives.

The camp ended on an optimistic and uplifting note, with a final facilitation session where we voiced out our feelings on how we have evolved and grown closer as a team and our thoughts regarding our project in Dali. All in all, every single one of us felt that the camp was great fun – a perfect mix of work and play. It definitely met its objectives of bonding the team and preparing us for our upcoming trip.

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• To learn to communicate better with the hearing-impaired, prior to our actual expedition to China
• To interact with and contribute to the local hearing-impaired community
• To foster greater team bonding within the team, as part of our pre-expedition preparation

Phases

Our Pre-Expedition Project consists of two phases, namely, a training session followed by the actual execution of the project proper. The details for both phases are as follows:

1st Phase: Training
Date: 29 March 2008 (Saturday)
Time: 0900 – 1200 hours
Venue: SMU Concourse Area

2nd Phase: Execution
Date: 5 April 2008 (Saturday)
Time: 0900 – 1200
Venue: SMU Concourse Area

Partners and Beneficiaries

Assisting us in the execution of our execution, as well as providing the necessary training for our execution, is CityCare Limited. CityCare Limited is a non-profit organization committed to reaching out to the underprivileged and disadvantaged in Singapore, through the education and training of volunteers, leading community involvement projects, collaborating on social projects, and serving numerous voluntary welfare organizations.

Our beneficiaries are a group of 10 hearing-impaired students from Boon Lay Secondary School, from Secondary 1 to 4. They are divided into a few teams for the duration of our activities and each team will be facilitated by a few SMU students from our OCIP team.

As part of the preparation for our project’s execution, CityCare conducted a training session on 29 March 2008. During this training session, our team was able to gain basic information on the hearing-impaired community in Singapore, as well as learn basic sign language, which allows us to interact with the students from our beneficiaries on a more personal level.

Execution

For our execution day, we have organized a series of station games, with the theme being “Adventure to Save Sweet Tooth Café”. We aim to not only encourage greater interaction between our team members and the hearing-impaired students, but at the same time, share with our hearing-impaired students more about our actual expedition to China. In this way, they would have a more fulfilling purpose in carrying out the day’s activities, and have fun in the process.

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What Everyone Thinks After the Pre-Expedition Project

1. Xander

After hearing how Audrey described them as shy and anti-social, I came for the event with rather low expectations. I was pleasantly surprised when things turned out very much otherwise. They were enthusiastic, amiable and got into the spirit of things very quickly. It was truly an enjoyable experience for all of us. I started hoping to inspire them; I left feeling inspired.

2. Shaun

The cip project served to open me up to interacting with hearing-impaired people, and also helped me mentally prepare for the upcoming expedition as well. i appreciate the enthusiasm that the kids brought that day and i look forward to experiencing more of the same when we go to china. at the same time, i’m happy that the kids had a lot of fun, and hopefully we’ll make an impact on their lives like they have done in ours.

3. Aveline

This pre-cip event allowed me to learn more about the hearing-impaired. While they are unable to learn things as quickly as us due to their handicap, they are compensated with other skills. For example, being the station master for Jenga, I was surprised at their ability to complete the task at hand effectively within the shortest amount of time. Initially, I thought that the pictures I chose for ‘spot-the-difference’ would be too difficult for them, but I was mistaken!

4. Ben

The initial perceptions that I had of the hearing impaired were quashed as we spent time together. These kids demonstrated happiness and even bountiful energy as they went through the stations. No sense of sadness could be felt from these people who are deprived of good hearing. Pitiful? Far from it. These kids have the strength and optimism absent in most “normal” people their age.

5. Kah Hwee

It was my first time working and playing with the hearing-impaired students. Really an eye-opening experience to me. I learn how they actually communicate with others using sign language or lip-reading or just by reading people’s expression. I didn’t have much interaction with them though, as i was the overall coordinator, not one of the group facilitators. Nevertheless, the overall impression they gave was nice, friendly and cheerful. I almost didn’t see any negative attitude in them!

I also got to know that the hearing-impaired students need help in their studies because they can’t follow the curriculum well due to their hearing loss. I would really like to mentor them but i couldn’t do much sign language except for those basic ones. Besides, mentoring others is a long-term commitment that needs consistent effort, but i will not be in Singapore for 3 months during summer holiday. How I wish I could stay to help them. Perhaps next year, while I stay and do my internship here.

6. Madeline

The Pre-CIP event last weekend was certainly an eye-opener for me. Through the exciting and fun games, I was able to interact with the hearing-impaired students and this allowed me to gain a better insight into how their disabilities have affected their lives. I had a great time and I hope that the students had as much fun as I did. I look forward to meeting up with them again!

7. Michelle

The pre-ocip event was an eye opener. Somehow, I had the impression that the hearing-impaired kids were slower in terms of learning and understanding due to their disability. But I was totally wronng! They are all highly intelligent individuals. In fact, they signed so fast that I could barely catch up! Like any other secondary school student, the hearing-impaired students from Boonlay Secondary School were really enthusiastic about the series of games we’ve planned for them. We were obviously worrying too much before the event, thinking that the students will be very apprehensive and shy when it comes to playing games with strangers.

In addition, the students were very accomodating. Knowing that we are not “fluent” in sign language, they slowed down when communicating with us. Some even spelled out what they were trying to say, word for word. Others acted the action out, or modified their sign language to gestures that are more universal.

Overall the experience was really rewarding. Working with zealous bunch of students like them really does make one’s day!

8. Richard

It’s a great experience to interact with the hearing-imparied students. At first, I’m doubtful about the communication with them since we only had one-day intensive sign language training. But, after going through various games and fun activities, I feel that hearing-impaired people are just the same as ordinary people. They enjoyed the games just like we do and the frienship bonding happened rather quickly. The Pre-CIP event certainly helped to set some expectations and learing points before our expedition in China. It’s a sweet memories for me.

9. Sheryl

I think the Pre-CIP event was much more meaningful and significant than I thought it would be. I am actually very interested in sign language and even took the beginner’s course, but because of the lack of time and lack of interested people taking with me, I stopped after only one course. Now, getting to know more hearing impaired people and being able to practise sign language has been a very great blessing. For I can see how useful sign language is and how I can use it to help people and to communicate with people. Moreover, I realised that the hearing impaired really are not that different from us. I am very grateful for this opportunity to interact with them and hope for further opportunities to do so.

10. Kennedy

It was a very fun day. I did enjoy myself a lot on that day. They are a group of energetic and fun students and are indifferent from normal and healthy people. I learnt quite a lot from them in term of character-building. I learnt to be more patient.

11. Vanessa

I felt the Pre-Cip session allowed every member of Wings to have a better understanding of the hearing impaired world. Personally, I was apprehensive when I first met the students from Boon Lay Secondary School. Just like most of the participants of this event, I was not very comfortable with using sign language as the only mode of communication. I did not know what to say to them and what I could do to know them better. However, it was their friendliness and jovial personalities that broke the silence. We launched into the games after a very short introduction. Though the games we planned were simple, they could get all of us involved in a maniac of friendly competition. To say the truth, I was surprised. I was surprised to see how this bunch of teenagers, who are perceived as lesser beings by some members of the society, can be so creative. Probably because they lost their sense of hearing, they could see from a different perspective. If we could take a step back and compare our perspectives with theirs, we would be shocked to see how narrow-minded we actually are.

12. Gao Sheng

I am excited to be able to participate in this event for the hearing impaired students. Personally I find them no different from normal kids, and I really had a lot of fun on that day. Hope to see these students again soon.

13. Su Mon

Our pre-CIP has been a great fun! Although we were worried about communication problems and bla bla, it finally turned out well. I believe our efforts are worthly used.

14. Gabriel

The activities were fun and interactive. It is always very interesting to help the hearing impaired. Not only are we helping, we are also learning a new language from them. We are able to realize their difficulty to survive in this world. We should all the more help them.

15. Shi Min

From afar, it seemed like a silent congregation. On a closer look, you would have been surprised by the fact that the group was actually teeming with life and activity – the endless chatter, punctuated with lighthearted teasing. The ‘noise’ was deafening…

I really did not know what to expect coming into this project, but coming out of this, what I do know now is this – what an unforgettable experience!!! I thought we were well prepared, all recently equipped with our new found pair of mouths. Little did we realise what we were in for. Despite the setbacks in communication, we persevered. ‘Body language’ was the phrase of the day. By the time we had to bid our farewells, a wave of satisfaction washed over me. It was the smiles on their faces and the twinkle in their eyes that rang out the loudest in my ears…

The Biz Dev/Corp Comms Team has organized a Valentine’s Day t-shirt sale conducted at the Concourse in SMU. We managed to raise some funds for the project through the sales of these t-shirts designed by our team members. Also the Fund-raising Team has completed a detailed proposal for potential sponsors.

The Marketing/Programs Team has been working hard trying to find out what can be done to improve the café. In fact, some of the members from the marketing team have tried out several board games from the Settlers Café and will be buying some of the used board games from them. The board games purchased will be donated to the café and we will teach the hearing impaired workers how to play the games so that they can teach the customers.

As for the Local Service Project Team, they have been looking for organizations and have found one organization which has agreed to let us work with them to a conduct an event that allows us to interact with the hearing-impaired.

Lastly, for the Admin/Logs/Acc Team, they have been working on the proper procedures and paperwork that need to be done before the trip, and seeking for reliable sources to get vaccination, insurances, visas and air tickets at the best prices.

The Marketing/Programs Team’s responsibility is to suggest ways in which our team can help Sweet-tooth café increase sales. The Marketing Team is also in charge of defining every member’s responsibility and planning their day-to-day schedule during the expedition.

The Biz Dev/Corp Comms Team’s responsibility is to organize events to raise funds, as well as to propose our idea to companies that may help to sponsor part of our project.

The Admin/Logs/Accounts Team’s responsibility is to ensure that all the administration procedures are fulfilled before the expedition. This includes vaccination, insurance, visas and transport. The Administration Team is also in charge of all finance and logistics matters.

The Local Service Project Team’s responsibility is to organize a local community service project that may help prepare our team for the actual expedition. The LSP Team is in charge of sourcing organizations that are associated to the hearing impaired community. After which, the LSP Team will organize activities for the entire team, so we may learn how to interact with the hearing-impaired. This greatly complements our actual project.

After several weeks of meetings, planning and discussions, the team and Campus Impact have decided on a set of actions to help Sweet-tooth café during the two weeks we have in Dali:

1. Introduce new menus
2. Create novelty and caters better to the seasonal crowd
3. Improve the exterior and interior of the café
   - To provide customers with a comfortable place to dine in.
4. Improve the computer facility in the café
   - Students and tourists may surf the net while dining.
5. Liaise with hotels and tour agencies to include a visit to Sweet-tooth as part of their tour programme
   - To help the café secure a stable group of customers.
6. Liaise with food suppliers for cheaper baking ingredients
   - To help decrease the costs.
7. Advertise
   - To increase flow of customers.