Two students enjoying a storybook in the reading corner at Tzu Chi Great Love Student Care Centre. (Photo by Chua Teong Seng)
“Every grain of rice and every morsel of food comes from the hard work of many. Let us mindfully chew and taste it, and give thanks to all the living beings in the world.”
With their palms together, the students and teachers at Tzu Chi Great Love Student Care Centre sang a Chinese grace before tucking in at lunch.
Located in a beautiful colonial house amid the lush greenery along Queen’s Avenue in Sembawang, the Student Care Centre officially welcomed its first 38 students on the 3rd January this year.
The Great Love Student Care Centre is located in a beautiful rustic colonial house situated along Queen’s Avenue in Sembawang. (Photo by Chua Teong Seng)
A Save Haven for Children After School
On the 31st December 2016, three days before it opened, the Great Love Student Care Centre held an Open House, where parents came with their kids to finish their registration, and at the same time, let them familiarize with the surroundings.
The usually quiet environment buzzed with excitement and anticipation, and Tzu Chi volunteers were present to attend to the visitors when they arrived. Classes in Chinese tea art, flower arrangement and handicraft were held in three different classrooms located within the Student Care Centre, and both adults and children alike had fun experiencing the artistic activities. Some of the parents signed their kids up for other educational classes offered by Tzu Chi, such as the Parent-Child Bonding Class, Parent-Child Tea Art Class, and Children’s Art Class, after learning about the benefits of these classes from volunteers on duty.
Some parents and their children experiencing tea art in a classroom at the Student Care Centre on its Open House Day. (Photo by Chua Teong Seng)
Many of the parents shared that they felt happy and at ease placing their children in the Great Love Student Care Centre. Among these parents was Chen Yu Liang, who commented that it’s indeed important for character education to start from a young age, and thought that both his children were very blessed to get connected with Tzu Chi’s humanistic values. He had personally witnessed the transformation in his son after the latter spent over a year at the Tzu Chi Great Love PreSchool. Now, his daughter, a Primary Three student, goes to the Great Love Student Care Centre.
Apart from the usual transport and student care services, the Centre provides healthy vegetarian meals and various classes that inculcate humanistic values. It also places a strong emphasis on teaching and nurturing independent living skills, to develop students’ self-reliance and self-confidence.
Besides three spacious classrooms, the Centre also has an IT corner with computers and a television that plays educational programmes.
A father and daughter pair enjoying an art and craft activity on the Centre’s Open House Day. (Photo by Chua Teong Seng)
On the 3rd January, the students arrived at the Centre after school and gathered at the dinning area for lunch. The Centre’s supervisor, Dai Yu Mei led everyone to sing the Chinese grace before they had their meal. “I don’t like vegetables!” exclaimed one of the children as he painstakingly picked out every shred of cabbage and carrot from the bowl of noodles served to him. Seeing that, Dai gently coaxed him to finish all his food, and patiently taught him not to waste any food. After lunch, the kids were led to their respective classrooms to do their homework or reading.
The Centre’s Supervisor leads the students in singing a Chinese grace before lunch. (Photo by Nichelle Chan)
23 out of the 38 children at the Centre are Primary One students and the children mainly come from the ten-plus schools around Yishun and Sembawang. A number of them are graduates of the Tzu Chi Great Love PreSchool, and their parents have sent them to the Centre with the hope that they can continue to grow and be nurtured in an environment imbued with Tzu Chi’s humanistic values.
After lunch, the students did their homework or read a book in a classroom. (Photo by Nichelle Chan)
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