Inspire: 

I had the opportunity to learn more about the special needs community during one of the school’s morning assembly done by my GSL. 

Watching the presentation about Inclusive Sailing sparked an interest in me, and encouraged me to want to experience working with students from Katong School, for me to understand them better and learn a new skill with them at the same time. 

Learn & Decide: 

Through this programme, I aimed to learn how to interact with the students from KS appropriately, without any preconceived bias. I heard from my friends that they may not be so different from us. 

As a pilot programme in Singapore, I wanted to work together with them to rough it out at a camp and learn how to sail a sailboat. I hope to share what I have learnt in this project to as many people as possible, to provide them with a deeper and more in-depth understanding of people with MIDs and quell and misconceptions about them. 

During the preparatory sessions, I was tasked to lead the team in the interaction with the MIDs. We really bonded and interacted much with the KS students, and got to know their interests, so I am able to work with them comfortably during the camp. I took the initiative to chat with them and make all of us more comfortable in interacting with each other. As a seasoned Scout, I planned the types of knots to teach and share with the rest of the team. 

The highlight was that we managed to use all the skills that we have learnt together to sail our boat, even in the storm! This proved to me that everyone can contribute and has value, and we cannot underestimate anyone.

Do: 

Firstly, we met up with the students from Katong school, and my team and I planned and conducted the ice breaker games with them, taking initiative to get to know them better. The meetup was successful, with everyone knowing each other, as if we were old friends. 

The second meetup was at the Outward Bound Campsite, where we familiarised ourselves with the area. During the second meetup, with the help of our instructors, we planned how we were going to ration out food supplies, splitting the meals evenly across the days for our expedition. We also assigned ourselves roles, for me, I was the first aid IC. I had to ensure everyone’s constant well being and we prepared to treat minor injuries if there were any, planning for the possible contingencies. We also took shifts to be the logistics IC, planning and also bringing out all the equipment needed  for the actual camp, such as kayaks, oars, and the sails. 

Together, the team discussed the most efficient way to set up our cutter, in as little time possible. By the end of the second meetup, we had planned our food rations, and had discussed out all the equipment needed for us to set up the cutter. Furthermore, each of us knew in detail what our roles were, and were prepared to carry them out.

During the actual camp, everything went smoothly, and every one of us took every opportunity to step up and lead, be it increasing morale or guiding the team to set up the cutter. As the first aid IC, I had to plan the first aid supplies to bring for the expedition, and made sure everyone was well hydrated and feeling well throughout the 5 days, especially during the expeditions. Thankfully, no one sustained any injuries or illnesses during the camp, while I feel extremely grateful about.

One of my most memorable moments was when the cutter was veering off course, when I noticed it, I immediately notified the rest of the team, and so everyone did their part, sounding out when they needed help, and helping others to the best of our ability. During this time, I had the opportunity to lead the “crew” back on track, which was really satisfying to see everyone come together and play their part and more!

Every day of the camp, a different person is tasked to lead the group. I was the IC for day 2. I realised that it was going to be a demanding day as it was the first day that we were going to take our cutter out to sea, so the team was not extremely well versed in actually setting up the cutter and casting off. Despite the initial challenges of assigning everyone their roles based on their strengths, I managed to pull through and led the team to a pretty quick set up of the cutter, casting off within the morning. I believe the camp was successful in honing my leadership capabilities.

Share: 

I shared with my PLC my thoughts about the programme and will be continuing to work on a poster for the school’s Values day.