THE establishment of the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information Volunteer Programme (WeeVolunteer) in 2018 has been heralded as a milestone in the school’s volunteering chapter – a healthy step forward in creating better living and social environments for the less fortunate.
Its two arms, WeeTrip, which serves different communities in neighbouring countries, and WeeReach, which embodies the spirit of benefitting local beneficiaries, enable a more robust and sustainable programme that will not only encourage volunteerism among students, but also promote positive, lasting changes in recipient communities.
While WeeTrip has been a long-standing programme in the school’s annual calendar of events, students are often confronted with the dilemmas of voluntourism, and the unresolved questions of a project’s effectiveness that come with it.
Therefore, to enhance the legacy of our overseas and new local programmes, and address the elephant in the room by walking the talk, a shift in the organisation’s trajectory was necessary.
Moving into a new era of volunteering in WKWSCI, WeeTrip now focuses on sustainable initiatives such as a 5-year programme in a specific locale overseas, which include installations of solar panels for electricity, or a water filtration system that will provide land-locked communities with potable water.
The biggest change, however, is manifested in its media-focused projects; student volunteers will utilise their media expertise to create awareness on problems faced by a impoverished community overseas through the myriad of social media platforms. In 2018, the team visited Luang Prabang in Laos and produced short documentaries, articles and photographs to portray the challenges faced by the local community.
In Singapore, the WeeReach volunteers have blazed the trail in a school’s first – running a weekly local volunteering programme at the Jamiyah Children’s Home and the Jamiyah Home for the Aged. Volunteers spend quality time and engage in activities with the beneficiaries to positive outcomes, and it is vital that change starts from home.
While the path to a better student-led volunteering body has been laborious, we believe that WeeVolunteer will make waves in making sustainable, positive changes in times to come. ∎
Wee Kim Wee School