Positive Choice is an Abstinence program by HOPE worldwide. Our Singapore teens were drawing a graffiti poster that will be shown in a localized video that will be screen for Asian audience. If you are interested in “Positive Choice” program, here is the link for more information: www.positive-choice.org
Category Archives: HOPE for Youth
HOPE for Youth Amazing Race 15 Nov 08
It was an amazing day in Sentosa. The teens organised an amazing for kids in the Nurturing Program. There were five teams running up and down Sentosa, looking for clues and codes. They went down the Luge and up the SkyTower, drew pictures of butterly, treasured hunt for balls in the beach. There were no loser in this game, all were winners. The kids had fun and so did the teens. We were glad that we can do a little to brighten the days of some children’s lives. Video clip below and photos are in the album "HOPE for Youth Amazing Race":
HOPE for Youth Movie Therapy 8 Nov 08
This year, our teens did their HOPE for Youth locally. We decided to help out with the unprivileged kids in our community. On Saturday, 8 Nov, we did a movie therapy session on character building for these kids. We watched a movie and discussed the application about lying and honesty. The movie was fun and the lesson learned was that "Truth is not overated". When we lie, we have to lie more to cover up. In the end, it becomes a big mess. Below is the video clip of our session and the photos can be found in our photo album under the same name.
Batam Orphanage Experience – Teens Speaks
Four teens speak about their learning experience serving an orphanage in Batam, Indonesia, this past December 07:
Upon my first look at the many cheerful and exuberant faces of the orphans that lived in the orphanage which was run down and dirty, I was completely blown away. Tears just trickled down my cheek uncontrollably. I cleaned and painted the kitchen, in which I saw dirt so many times more than the dirt I see in my own kitchen. It was literally a layer of dust formed on the surface of the walls. I would never imagine myself living in such a house – so smelly and dirty. But I really learnt how blessed I am to have a family and a clean home with clean tap water. I feel so unworthy about my complaints as I’ve received so much already in Singapore. These joyful orphans have certainly taught me gratitude and joy. (Fiona, 18)
Batam was an eye opener for me when we went to the orphanage. I had a shock. I had no idea the orphans in Batam lived such a lowly life. It made me think a lot about the life back home; about how fortunate and well off I am. One thing that I’ll remember is drawing water from the well. They had to walk a distance just to take water. It was definitely an experience for me drawing water from the well and taking the heavy load back to the orphanage. And the look on the orphans’ faces after we painted the orphanage is priceless. I would give anything in the world to see their happy faces again. (Addis 18)
Visiting the Batam orphanage really changed my heart and my attitude towards my life. The orphans always had a big smile on their faces, and I never saw one of them looking sad. Their happiness made me realize how I can have joy when I’m living in much better circumstances. When we started painting the orphanage, I was shocked and couldn’t believe how dirty everything was. It wasn’t pleasant when we painted all the walls including the kitchen and bathrooms. But there was such an awesome result in the end. I was grateful I painted because it definitely taught me to have a serving spirit. At the end of everything, I could tell the orphans and the staff who took care of them were grateful for what we had done and I personally gained so much spiritually. (Sonia 15)
For me, I feel that this retreat has been the most meaningful and at the same time fun for me. Just visiting the orphanage made me reflect on how fortunate I really am. Seeing the kids being so happy and joyful made my heart feels so warmth. To even look at the living conditions, I couldn’t help but have a tear. I am really proud of the teens for volunteering in this retreat to help out in the orphanage to make it a better place to live in. (Shawn Poh 19)
BEFORE AFTER
Don’t You Just Love Their Smiles and Happy Faces! We thank God we could serve.
HOPE for Youth (Batam); Dec 13 to 16 2007
Our teens went to Batam to serve the Orphanage. Our plans were to clean, repaint their home, do minor repairs, and to entertain the orphans. For this year, we were joined by some Japanese and Korean teens for the HOPE for Youth Retreat. 
The theme for our retreat is "ROCK it 2 (HeartCore)". For this retreat, we focused on our hearts – to serve, love, have compassion, and to draw closer to God.
Below are some video clips of our trip. (If the video does not work, please click playlist to restart or the link just below the video). For more photos, please click the photo link on the top right "HOPE for Youth 2007 (Batam)"
Video Clips:
On the first day, we got organised, and had fun.
In the evening, we had our devotional. Charles, evangelist from the Batam Church, inspired us with the lesson on "Heart for people."
The next day, we went to the Orphanage to serve. We had to go to the local well to fetch water as the water supply was cut off for that day. We cleaned and painted the home.
While we painted the orphanage, we brought the orphans to our resort. We had fun, games, and taught them art and crafts.
The next day, we went back to say goodbye. It was sad and there were tears. We played with the orphans and gave gifts to them. They were so delighted.
In the evening, we had another devotional and watched an inspiratinal movie entitled "Freedom Writers." After that we had fun. BBQ.
On Sunday, the last day, we gathered together on the Lord’s day and all of us made the "Toast for Change". This symbolized our decisions to be more Godly and to grow in our character and discipleship in 2008.
