SAVH InSight MICA (P) 138/05/2011 Issue 2/2011 September 2011 CONTENTS The President’s Star 3 Charity TV Gala News 4 Announcements 5-6 Standard Chartered Bank Organises Liverpool 7 Soccer Clinic Prawning with Barclays Capital 8-9 Client Profile: Live Wire! Victor Tan 10-12 Fun at Singapore Youth 13 Flying Club Trotting to the Zoo with 14-15 CHIJ Katong Eye Am Aware Now! 16 Mini-art Show at Marche 17 Crafts at SAVH Touch Art 18 Pulau Ubin Sensory Trail 19-20 Community Partnership 21 What’s New in Store 22 Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped Email: [email protected] 47 Toa Payoh Rise, Singapore 298104 Website: www.savh.org.sg Tel (+65) 6251-4331 Fax (+65) 62537191 SAVH Celebrates International White Cane Day 2011 With Kingsmen Creatives and L’Oreal Join us for day of fun filled activities with food, games and entertainment! Date: Saturday, 15 October 2011 Time: 11:00 am - 4:00 pm Venue: 47 Toa Payoh Rise, Singapore 298104. Nearest MRT station: Caldecott CC17 Individuals and corporations are most welcome to be part of this celebration through donating door gifts and sponsoring booths. Coupons are needed for purchases at this event for visitors. Sales of coupons are available on the event day. For enquires, please contact SAVH at Tel: 62514331 Infoline: 62529116 Email: [email protected] Facebook: http://facebook.com/savh.singapore Do Come and Support Us. All Are Welcome Main Sponsors: Supported by: Organized by: Page 2 SAVH Insight SAVH STARS AT THE PRESIDENT’S STAR CHARITY TV GALA The President’s Star Charity 2011 television gala was a night to remember for SAVH. Three of our visually handicapped clients, Adelyn Koh, Stephanie Ow and Mohammad Zahier, took part in the glittering event on 31 July that lasted two and a half hours. Zahier played the guitar alongside Singapore Idol winner Sezairi Sezali and his band Juxtapose. Adelyn had a co-hosting role while Stephanie played the erhu. The star-studded charity show raised a record-breaking $6.44 million for 28 charity organizations including SAVH. The gala show was also a farewell for President S R Nathan as this was his last President's Star Charity show before stepping down as President. Page 3 NEWS SAVH Holds its 58th Annual General Meeting SAVH’s 58th annual general meeting was held on 27 August 2011. The accounts for the financial year ended 31 March 2011 were passed at the AGM. The persons who form the Executive Committee 2011/2012 are as follows: Mr Tan Guan Heng President Mr Khoo Kong Ngian Vice President Mr Philip Lee Soo Hoon Vice President Mr Danny Chia Choon Guan Honorary Secretary Mr Alfred Shee Ping Fatt Honorary Treasurer Mr Cheok Cheng Ann Member Mr Steven Yeo Khee Peng Member Ms Chua Swee Keow Member Mr Adrian Tan Gim Hai Co-opted Member Blind Vote Independently in Presidential Poll The 27 August 2011 presidential election was a historic occasion for the blind. It was the first poll at which blind Singaporeans voted independently, without requiring election officials to help them mark their ballot papers. With a stencil, blind voters could feel the box against the name of each candidate and draw a cross in the box for their selected candidate. They were told the order of the candidates’ names on the ballot paper. “While we do not doubt the integrity of the officials, this is the first time that the blind can vote, independently, freely and secretly,” says SAVH president Mr Tan Guan Heng. We thank Mr Tan and the Appeals Committee for discussing this issue with the relevant authorities. Page 4 SAVH Insight ANNOUCEMENTS 1. MRT Caldecott Station to open on 8 Oct The MRT Circle Line will be extended with effect from 8 October when its final 12 train stations, including Caldecott Station, will open. The Caldecott Station has an access to Toa Payoh Rise, and is just across the road from SAVH. Apart from Caldecott, the new stations are: Botanic Gardens, Farrer Road, Holland Village, Buona Vista, One-North, Kent Ridge, Haw Par Villa, Pasir Panjang, Labrador Park, Telok Blangah and HarbourFront. The existing 16 stations stretch from Dhoby Ghaut to Marymount. SAVH is working with SMRT to arrange for a familiarization exercise in Caldecott Station for the Association’s clients. 2. Names of MRT stations available in Braille You may wish to purchase a list of the names of all the stations in Singapore’s mass rapid transit network in Braille from the Braille Production Unit. All four lines, namely, North-South, North-East, East-West and Circle Line, are covered in the list. Please contact Ben Ong at 62514331 x 171 for a copy. Page 5 ANNOUCEMENTS (continued) 3. SAVH Donation Draw 2011 SAVH is in the midst of a donation draw fundraising project. Tickets for SAVH Donation Draw 2011 are available and we appeal to you for your support. The tickets will be sold at $2 apiece. The draw is scheduled to take place on International White Cane Day at SAVH on 15 October. 4. Higher light contrast in all MRT stations by 2013 SMRT will be installing new fare gates in its stations. The new fare gates have a higher light-contrast (red and green). Currently, you can find these gates at Bishan, Braddell and Novena MRT stations. The fare gates also emit a beep when one taps one’s Ezlink card against the card reader. SMRT has advised that these new fare gates will be installed in all stations by 2013. 5. Letters to the Editor Write to us if you have feedback, contributions or suggestions! Contribute if you are a writer or photographer and would like to be a part of SAVH InSight! Email us at [email protected] Editorial Team Michael Tan – Chief Editor Suja Thomas, Mary Kwang and all contributing writers The editorial team would like to thank all who have contributed to this issue of this newsletter. Disclaimer: The opinion and views expressed in this newsletter by the writers do not necessarily reflect the official views of SAVH. The Association reserves the right to edit any article submitted for this publication. Page 6 SAVH Insight Reds Thrill SAVH Kids at Soccer Clinic by Fauziah Hanim, SAVH Volunteer 17 July was certainly a red-letter day for SAVH, when Liverpool Football Club (LFC) spent a day in Singapore as part of its Asia Tour 2011. Part of the activities during the Reds’ stopover was a soccer clinic organised for children with disabilities by the Standard Chartered Bank, a steady corporate supporter of SAVH. Much loved Reds legends Ian Rush and Phil Thompson and some of the team’s current players and community coaches turned up at the Singapore Sports School to teach the children simple football tricks and antics. The clinic was attended by around 10 children who are SAVH clients. Another 40 kids from the Singapore Sports School and children of Standard Chartered Bank’s staff took part too. The clinic focused on imparting football skills and techniques as well as health and fitness training. There was also a customised session for the visually impaired children. SAVH clients received new soccer jerseys and boots during the clinic. The greatest fun was had by all when Ian and Phil blindfolded themselves to play soccer with the visually impaired children. It was indeed heartening to watch these legends trying to find the net, getting a feel of how visually-impaired person ‘see’ things. This is an exemplary case of promoting inclusion and integration with the less fortunate in the community. Page 7 Prawning with Barclays Capital by the Barclays Intern Organizing Team As part of the Barclays Capital summer internship programme, interns were given an opportunity during a 10-week period to give back to the community. This year, a full-day event was organised in collaboration with SAVH. Planned and driven by a team of 15 interns, the event aimed to raise awareness about the visually handicapped, demonstrate understanding towards them via high levels of interaction and allow the interns to develop empathy and appreciation of what they have. For the visually handicapped clients, the organising team aspired to provide assurance that society cares about them and recognises their plight. The organisers also wanted to let the visually handicapped try something new via this event – activities they would typically not have the chance to participate in. With a total of 50 interns from Barclays Capital, the event kicked off with a series of activities. In groups of 20, interns were first brought on a tour of SAVH. The first stop was the library, which showcases SAVH’s collection of audio and Braille books. To get a feel of a typical movie-watching experience, interns watched the descriptive movie The Matrix, customised with background commentary and voice-overs. At the Braille Production Unit, interns were able to observe the working of a Braille printer, which utilises pins to print Braille characters. Next in line was the Sheltered Workshop, . Clients who work at the Sheltered Workshop earn allowances, providing them with the opportunity to achieve a sense of self-worth. Page 8 SAVH Insight Prawning with Barclays Capital (continued) The tour ended with a quick Basic Sighted Guided Technique session, where interns learnt how to interact with and guide the visually handicapped when moving around. SAVH and the organising committee next arranged for a lunch-in-the-dark session for interns to experience dining in complete darkness. This was an activity which most participants had never tried before. It was refreshing for many, and also served as a strong reminder to us not to take our sense of sight for granted.