Monday, June 14, 2010

Y Camp was really quite an experience.

My bene was Khairull from MINDS, and I guess I'm quite lucky because he is a totally awesome dude who was super enthu sia! He had a couple of medical conditions but it didn't stop him from wanting to try everything, although it led to some worry on our part whenever it came to the medicine haha. Still remember how he was the first to raise his hand for the high elements, and holding his shoulder while he held mine as we crossed the Charlie Chaplin... when he became more like a little brother to me than just my charge haha. And I taught him a cool fist-bump. Booya!

Second reason why I'm lucky is because I have a great group behind me! First is of course Alyssa, my co-partner for Khairull! She's awesome not just taking care of Khairull but also talking and other random stuff (: I won't forget you teaching me the rose and the heart! Really glad we got paired up for this too, it was fun sharing all the great moments with you!

Then the rest of Duffy Dack (corruption of the word Daffy Duck!): Eric (the sexy one), Eric (the handsome one), Bing Yi (my best friend from JJC haha), Kenneth (the manly MAN/good friend), Royce (scouts senior! woohoo), Nelson (my dancing partner XD), Yidan (classmate!), Karina (the ex-EAgent haha), Daphne (cool specs!), Wai Eng (the loveable volunteer?), Yi Ting (best volunteer! :D), Linh (great with games), Xi Ting (chio-bu! xD), Man Teddy and Azim! And of course our two (lol compatible) leaders Jun Yan and Jasmine! Let's have a DD outing soon!

Quack, quack, quack it up!
Climb, climb, climb it up!
Shake, shake, shake it up!

Lots of good memories... the mini-games, splashing in the pool, singing our hearts out to campfire tunes and classic songs, learning the 'i wanna hold your hand' dance and switching partners midway, talking cock with the rest of the guys, laughing with Alyssa as Khairull find new ways to show his cuteness, conquering the high elements, the 'campcraft' with the even craftier hard-boiled egg, jumping and dancing to 'sorry sorry' and 'nobody' during campfire, deep debrief sessions and affirmations, the sad goodbyes. Plus all the little moments in between. Haha I would love to do a narrative but I think I won't do it justice. Plus, some of Khairull's toilet-related anecdotes are better left unshared xD

At first, I thought that giving physically/mentally disabled people a chance to do some pretty extreme challenges was going to be near impossible at best, but after the camp I think I'm going to have to try to be a little less skeptical about good intentions. When people say disabled doesn't mean unable, its true. Going into the water, climbing the high elements and even the day-to-day activities has given me newfound respect over what the benes (beneficiaries) can do. Some of them were really just like us: in actions, in habits and even in thought. I have great respect for Ming Kiat and his independence and dignity despite being wheelchair-bound.

The little moments may catch us by surprise but I think by the end of the camp we all knew better than to doubt them.

Like what one of the Y camp leaders said: "we do things for a reason, we do things for a season, we do things for a lifetime."

We do things because it's worth it.