More than 200 participants congregated at NUS Sheares Hall for Camp Rainbow, the annual, iconic event organised by Club Rainbow (Singapore) (CRS) for children and youth stricken with chronic and potentially life-threatening illnesses. Led by a main organising committee comprising former CRS beneficiaries and past camp participants, the 3-day 2-night camp challenged the determination and resilience of a record number of 78 beneficiaries to overcome adversities in the face of struggles against their medical conditions. Close to 150 volunteers and medical team also contributed valuable time and effort and were instrumental in ensuring the success of the camp.
As the theme of the camp was on time travelling, the participants had the opportunity to revisit our past through playing forgotten kampong games like kuti kuti and five stones with specially designed large-sized props, and enjoy the sunset with a beach-side picnic dinner at East Coast Park. There were also fun activities where the beneficiaries indulged in the present, such as Pajamas & Movie Night, where a medley of hand-drawn cartoons from the good ol' days to CGI-packed animations was screened, and the participants were dancing with thorough joy in the dark with light sticks during the Disco Night. Workshops were organised to pique the beneficiaries' interest in dance, music and photography, and motivate them to continually pursue their interests and passion areas in the future. They also penned down their aspirations and dreams which were placed in a time capsule for safekeeping.
The Camp Opening Ceremony on 5 June was a motivational one, with Mayor Denise Phua gracing the session and inspiring the participants with her address. The camp came to an emotional closing on 7 June, with each group putting up a skit and a photo montage screened as all participants reminisced about the magical moments in the last 3 days of camp. Several beneficiaries were teary as they could not bear to leave camp.
