Celebrating Heroes 2023: Beacon of Hope
365 DAYS, 4 COMMENDABLE SIBLINGS, 3 SELFLESS CAREGIVERS AND 1 OUTSTANDING SIBLING WITH ONE COMMON MOTIVATION – A LOVED ONE.
Celebrating Heroes, an original event by Club Rainbow (Singapore) has been honouring countless caregivers and siblings over the decade. Taking a hiatus from 2021, we continue to recognise these heroes walking in our midst.
Starting as Caregivers Appreciation Day, the event evolved to Celebrating Heroes (CH) in 2015, where the first Exemplary Caregiver Award was presented. Whilst the common saying goes ‘it takes a village to raise a child’ but the most important support comes together as a family unit. Siblings are often forgettable when immediate priorities surround children with chronic illnesses. Acknowledging these young ones as part of the core support system of the family, we appreciate outstanding siblings too who share the daily responsibilities of caring for their brother or sister together with their parents.
Exemplary Caregiver Awardees Panel Discussion
This year, we received numerous nominations for many caregivers and siblings from all walks of life and even ages. After many tear-jerking encounters from the interviews with nominated caregivers and siblings, we are proud to share this year’s Celebrating Heroes 2023: The Beacons of Hope – 1 commendable sibling, 3 selfless caregivers and 4 outstanding siblings! These awardees are true representatives of the many caregivers and siblings of Club Rainbow who give their time selflessly to their loved ones.
Joanna Yap and her daughter Amelia, Exemplary Caregiver Awardee
Meet Joanna Yap, mother to Amelia and one of the Exemplary Caregiver Awardees. To help Amelia reach her fullest potential, she spares no expenses in finding activities, interventions and different resources that will be able to enrich Amelia in her swimming abilities and baking skills. From enlisting the help of her friends to impart baking skills and bible knowledge to Amelia so that she will be able to learn things that are outside of her school curriculum. To developing Amelia’s passion in baking and now enrolled in a pastry course in Delta Senior School.
She has done a lot beyond just being a mother; ensuring that Amelia works towards the goal of becoming a national swimmer; becoming a kindergarten teacher so she could be better equipped to teach Amelia.
Exemplary Sibling Awardee, Wen Xin
As much as Wen Xin remembers, her brother was born normal and she always loved playing with him, taking care of him and being the older sister. At the age of 6, Wen Jie was diagnosed with a rare condition, leukodystrophy. He then received a bone marrow transplant operation: however, after the operation his condition deteriorated and began to lose his speech, sight and physical ability.
Wen Xin shows great responsibility in caring for Wen Jie especially when their parents are not around, Watching her brother’s lost of ability first hand at a young age has caused her lots of distress growing up, needing the help of art therapy. However, she uses these experiences to share and help others who are going through similar situations.
Now at the age of 18, Wen Xin is one of the- Exemplary Sibling Awardees. She is helping Wen Jie with his daily needs like suctioning and NGT feeding. She is not only able to take care of Wen Jie but her other younger brother as well. She is also a part of our programme, Youths for Rare, where she took part in a human library project with NUS and NTU school of medicine where she shared her journey with Wen Jie to medical students, showing great determination and courage to fight alongside her brother.
To hear more of our awardees, watch the Celebrating Heroes 2023 videos here:
Local Running Community with Big Hearts
Speaking with Mr Pang Wee Khai, Founder of Enjoy Your Run, we learnt why and how Wee Khai (WK) supports Club Rainbow (Singapore) (CRS).
CRS: How did the group *Enjoy Your Run* come about?
EYR Team at East Coast Park
WK: Enjoy Your Run (EYR) came about during COVID-19 and the relaxation of the control measures. There was also generally more interest in fitness and wellness. A group of friends with some running background came together and decided that it was perhaps more enjoyable to exercise as a group for motivation because running at times requires tremendous discipline to follow through. So that was how we started to gather in small groups in July 2021, on a monthly basis at East Coast Park. It gradually became a weekly gathering for the passionate runners in the group.
Over time, EYR grew organically both in number of active members and the fitness goals achieved. Besides improving general health, several runners smashed their limitations and set new personal records for running - from middle distances to ultra-marathons. What seemed impossible was made a reality due to the strong bonding and teamwork at EYR, both on and off the running course.
CRS: Why have you decided to raise funds for the children of Club Rainbow, and is there any meaning behind the campaign title "Let the children run"?
EYR founder, Pang Wee Khai
WK: I came across Club Rainbow at NUH when my firstborn was born with a genetic condition many years ago. Although we did not engage their services at that time, we came to know about the existence of such charitable organisations, which provide support to families whose children suffer from chronic illnesses. Due to personal experience, it was meaningful to be able to raise funds for an organisation close to our hearts. In fact, there were two online campaigns done previously before the first group effort in 2022 ->
https://www.giving.sg/campaigns/raceto40-marathon-club-rainbow
https://www.giving.sg/campaigns/bryceton-goes-for-10k
Campaign: EYR 2023
CRS: Have your group encountered any challenges in your fundraising journey and how did you overcome those challenges?
WK: Generally, friends are supportive of our collective effort. Of course, there are also many other fundraising campaigns out there. It is more about creating awareness and being sincere about what and why we do it.
In terms of challenges, it is inevitable that injuries may happen in the course of getting stronger and fitter. Like all dream journeys, we may face unforeseen circumstances on the road to better health, especially because many teammates are busy working parents. We learn to be patient and share our burdens with each other. In comparison, the children and families of Club Rainbow go through much tougher challenges, which few people can fully comprehend -- we keep this awareness close to our hearts as we fundraise for their cause.
CRS: How do you shout out for your campaign?
WK: We have been periodically creating awareness on our social media whenever the situation allows. It was also great that we had help with dollar-for-dollar matching by Tote Board, which gives friends more reasons to support our effort.
Inspired by Wee Khai’s initiative? You can start your fundraising journey with us today!
For the least effort in managing initiatives and maximum fun
Fundraise through Ride and Ralk for Rainbows 2023Grow the community with maximum flexibility
Start your own fundraising initiative like Wee Khai, email contact@clubrainbow.org for more details.
Club Rainbow : Excellence and Tertiary Awards 2022
Education is one of the core pillars of support at Club Rainbow (Singapore) and we believe that it is the foundation and stepping stone in developing the potential of our beneficiaries. The Excellence & Tertiary awards are an opportunity to recognize our beneficiaries’ efforts and celebrate their successes. These awards are for those who completed their major national examinations like PSLE or N levels last year and for those in tertiary institutions.
This year, we presented 3 categories of awards - Excellence, Progress and Outstanding Character.
Our Excellence Award winners have performed exceptionally in their major national examinations and in their tertiary institutions.
Excellence Awards recipients:
Aiden Chan Yen Peng
Ng Gin Hon Royce
Eswaran S/O Raja
Our Progress Awards winners have displayed perseverance in their academics and have overcome challenges to make significant improvements.
Progress Awards recipients:
Victoria Tan Hui En
Vasanthii D/O Raja
Our Outstanding Character Awards winners have participated actively in school and the community, displayed exemplary conduct and leadership qualities, and above all, inspired others by being role models.
Outstanding Character Awards recipients:
Aniq Irfan Bin Norhisham
Siti Nur Alawiyah Binti Kamsani
Choose to be Happy!
“Don’t Worry, Be Happy!”
Everybody tends to say this to someone having a wrong time, but what does happy mean? Is it that easy to be satisfied?
The word happy is generally defined as a feeling of pleasure or contentment. Such feelings could arise from something as simple as eating something delicious or seeing something beautiful; and can be immediately felt by a child who just got a new toy.
So, what do we do when we are having a bad day and finding it challenging to feel happy? Although we are told that it is fine to embrace our negative feelings, we could always go a step further by embracing those bad feelings and then taking action to exchange them for more positive thoughts. A bad day is no reason to ignore all other good parts of life. Many studies have linked happiness to health as a good mood helps us smile more, sleep better, and feel more energetic.
One easy way to feel pleasure and contentment is to be thankful. I like to keep a gratitude journal to remind myself of things I am grateful for throughout the day. Small mundane things, like the bus arriving on time or remembering to bring an umbrella on a rainy day. By doing so, you will likely realise that you are luckier than you think. I also know someone who practices ‘gratitude hour’ where he spends an hour every Friday sending emails thanking people who helped him throughout the week.
Most people have also heard of the adage – It’s better to give than to receive. While rewarding ourselves, we must also remember that we are all capable of spreading happiness by building a more compassionate world and not forgetting the needy. You could start by gifting to those who need it or volunteering your time, as experiences provide a higher level of happiness than material items.
If there is one particular day each year where we should put in extra effort to purge all negative emotions from our system, that would be 20 March, also known as the International Day of Happiness. First celebrated on 20 March 2013, the United Nations General Assembly established the International Day of Happiness to make people worldwide realise the importance of happiness in their lives. Building on the idea, the United Nations also launched 17 Sustainable Development Goals aiming to eradicate poverty, reduce inequality and protect our planet to make people’s lives happier. (More information can be found here: https://www.undp.org/sustainable-development-goals)
Here at Club Rainbow, we hope that our beneficiaries can live as happily as possible despite the challenges they face in their lives. In conjunction with this year’s International Day of Happiness, we would appreciate your support for our efforts to make this world a better place for children in Singapore living with chronic illnesses. Actions matter, and you can make happiness a choice every day!
Written by: Tang Su Yen
Edited by: Club Rainbow (Singapore)
We welcome volunteers to support our beneficiaries and passionate individuals who like to kickstart creative fundraising initiatives. Email us at crscpm@clubrainbow.org to start your journey with us today! Other ways you can be part of - https://www.clubrainbow.org/take-action.