Community Work

Leadership in service to the community has always been an integral part of the HYLI. The community work tie-up with MINDS (Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore) was an opportunity to put the young leaders through a true test of leadership. Over the course of two days, the Community Work Project helped the students to better understand that caring for the society's less fortunate lies within the responsibilities of a good leader.

Before the HYLI students met the MINDS members, Mr. Aaron Ng, Executive Director of MINDS, gave them a talk to let them better understand the less fortunate within the community. After a tour of the MINDS centre facilities, each HYLI student 'buddied' one of the MINDS members to ascertain his or her individual needs and to develop a learning programme for their buddy at the Singapore Zoo.

Travelling in groups of eight, the students took the lead to ensure that their MINDS buddies had both an educational yet enjoyable time at the zoo. The challenges included teaching the MINDS members how to identify certain characteristics of the animals and to carry out daily tasks such as following directions.

The Community Work Project culminated with a mini concert finale, where each of the six groups performed a song or dance to share their experiences at the zoo.