Caption on Front page
"They Came and Won the Hearts of People"
Picture captions:
Fun and Entertainment….
Enthusiastic Smiles…
Faculty
Flowery Smiles
With Students from the Village
The small village of Nachiapuram in Sivagangai District was surprised and awed on the unexpected arrival in town of the new faces that looked completely different. However within the next few days these new arrivals, the enthusiastic boys and girls, all students from Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore interacted, played, chitchatted, and dined with the locals and became friendly.
These were students pursuing their Engineering education in Building and Environmental Sciences from the Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore. These thirty one (31) students were on a mission to provide community service in Nachiapuram. Accompanying them were their Project Leaders Mr. Alagusundaram, Mr. Lee Tek Chun, and Mr. Kwan Wai Keng, all teaching faculty at Ngee Ann Polytechnic.
The first stop for these students from Singapore was at the campus of Jeyamkonda Vinayagar High School. One group arrived with buckets, paint, paint brushes, and soon the school building took a bright new look. At the same time another group began cleaning up the surroundings, clearing trash and debris. Soon the campus was Spic and Span ~ Singapore Clean!
The students obtained permission to paint and clean the school from Mr. N Kannappa Chettiar, the President of the School and Mrs. Thenammai the Headmaster. The students spent about INR 170,000 (S$ 5000) on this project.
On seeing these kids strive to clean up their school and surroundings, the citizens of the village came forth and offered to provide these students with food and a place to stay. However this was met with an affectionately staunch response of "No! We will pay for accommodation and food".
During the two weeks they were in Nachiapuram, these energetic enthusiastic students spent time with the locals and the students playing games like Kho Kho, Kabaddi and riding "doubles" with the students on their bicycles. They sat "Indian Style" on the floor and ate from banana leaves. Some had mehndi painted on their palms.
All this with the only two words these students knew in Tamil (the language spoken in Nachiapuram), "Vanakkam" and "Nandri". These translate to Greetings and Thanks. (Over time they picked up words like "Pothum… Innum Konjam" [ Enough….. and just a little more] among a few others). But they demonstrated that "Love has no words".
When asked what the objective of their visit was their response was" An experience beyond what is taught in the confines of the classroom, and gaining the goodwill of developing countries by means of providing Social Service are the prime objectives. Learning about students in other countries, their cultures, their civil life are other objectives"
The Government of Singapore paid for 50% of the transportation and miscellaneous expenses for these students. They were sent under the Youth Expedition Project. The remainder of the cost for this visit was borne by the students' parents.
When asked about this Goodwill trip, Lecturer Alagusundaram mentioned that this was arranged to provide the students to gain first hand experience of education outsides the walls of the classrooms. He also stated that this is an important aspect of education in Singapore.
"Initially the students from the village school looked at us differently. But over time they got to know us and became very friendly. It is now very difficult for us to leave them when we go back", said the Singapore students with a heavy heart.
A day prior to their departure from Nachiapuram, the village arranged for a function to appreciate the work of these students. The Keynote speaker of the function Mr. Sivalpuri Singaram stated that "Students should do at least one good deed everyday". The Singapore students also clapped with the rest of the gathering.
The eyes of the Nachiapuram citizens welled with tears when it came time to say goodbye to the Singapore students, who, one fine day landed in their place as Goodwill Ambassadors, and won their hearts over. It was as if they were parting with their very own children. The expression in the faces of the Singapore students was proof that the feeling was mutual.
These students left the three laptop computers, a laser projector, and a variety of game apparatus amongst other things they had brought for use during their stay, as a gift for the school. They packed their backpacks and left for their trip back to Singapore.
They then went to Madurai, the cultural capital of Tamilnadu. They visited places like Meenakshi Amman Temple, Thirumalai Naicker Mahal. In Trichy the Rockfort town they visited places of worship like St Luke's and St Mary's church.
They then left for their plane ride to Singapore. The specials of Chettinad Culture, mainly its Hospitality and Cuisine must have certainly lingered in their minds."
Aww I miss India :(
Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld from M1.
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