project wao
Project We Are One (WAO) started off as a L.E.A.P. (Leadership. Engagement. Aspire. Potential) project under NUS Students’ Community Service Club (NUS CSC) from March 2019 to September 2019 and have since been converted into a Special Project. Project WAO aims to raise awareness for the migrant workers in Singapore among the NUS students through various initiatives. We also hope to provide opportunities for students to interact with migrant workers and hope that through their experiences, we can all work towards integrating migrant workers into our society such that we are one in unity.
past iterations
PROJECT WAO I
In its first iteration, Project WAO worked with Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2), aiming to raise awareness for the migrant workers by providing opportunities for students to interact with migrants workers.
ENGAGEMENT
Engagement sessions were held to promote volunteer-beneficiary interaction, providing an avenue for skills, knowledge and lessons to be exchanged. Through various mini games and chatter, more insight into the daily lives of migrant workers was gained.
ITEM-BASED DONATION DRIVE
Item-Based Donation Drives were held, collecting daily essentials and useful items for the beneficiaries. Such items include shampoo, body soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, shaver, shirt, shoes, water bottles, tote bags and suitcases.
COVID UPDATES
Unfortunately, many plans had to be cancelled or adapted. However, the committee stay true to their aim and creatively conducted various online initiatives instead
Drawing Perspectives, a video series exploring the migrant workers scene in Singapore was launched to better engage and raise awareness for the migrant workers.
PROJECT WAO III
In its third iteration, Project WAO worked with the Migrant Workers’ Centre (MWC) and Alliance of Guest Worker Outreach to organise a variety of activities that provided opportunities for students to interact with migrant workers and learn more about them
Focus Group Discussion
A Focus Group Discussion was held with guest speakers from ItsRainingRainCoats, the Migrant Workers Centre and HOME. Guest speakers shared about their experiences working with the migrant community, and also clarified commonly asked questions from NUS participants.
Sports and Games Engagement
Our Sports and Games Engagement Session provided our NUS student volunteers with an opportunity to bond with our migrant brothers over sports and games such as Carrom, Soccer, and Volleyball. Apart from the fun, students were also able to gain a better understanding of the lives of our migrant brothers.
English Conversational Workshop
An English Conversational Workshop was held at Kranji Recreational Centre in April, and volunteers taught our migrant brothers a range of topics — from basic grammar to presentation skills.
Mural Painting at Migrant Workers’ Centre
The Project WAO Team headed towards the Migrant Workers' Centre headquarters for a mural painting session which was featured on Channel News Asia!
Gardens by the Bay Outing
As a culmination to Project WAO III and in collaboration with the Migrant Workers' Centre, we brought our migrant brothers to the Gardens By The Bay for a relaxing and aromatic adventure.
PROJECT WAO IV
In its fourth iteration, Project WAO collaborated with the Migrant Workers’ Centre (MWC), ItsRainingRaincoats (IRR), and HealthServe to provide opportunities for the NUS student population to meaningfully engage and interact with the migrant worker community in Singapore through activities of diverse nature.
Sports Engagement
To start off the fourth iteration of Project WAO, our NUS student volunteers were invited down to bond and interact with our migrant brothers through laser tag, Captain’s Ball, and competitive Jenga. The session ended with a scrumptious dinner where our migrant brothers and NUS student volunteers had a fun time learning more about each other.
Photo Competition
Our photo competition, themed “For me, this is happiness.” provided an opportunity for our migrant brothers to showcase their artistic talents in photography through their entries, but more importantly, a chance to share more about their lives through their photos. After a round of Instagram voting, our winners had their photos and captions showcased at a photo exhibition at NUS Central Library, and were presented with prizes for their hard work.
Health Screening
Together with HealthServe, our NUS student volunteers had a chance to head down to Westlite Kranji Way Dormitory to ensure that our migrant brothers were in tip-top condition for their health, and to educate them about their health and wellbeing as well.
Cultural Outing
For our finale event, we invited our NUS student volunteers and migrant brothers to the districts of Little India and Chinatown, where we visited places such as Tan Teng Niah, the Indian Heritage Centre, and the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre. Our migrant brothers were excited to share more about their culture and the things that made them smile, and our NUS student volunteers wereelated to do the same as well.
MEET OUR COMMITTEE
