This year, Learning Vision @ Changi Business Park participated in the Start Small Dream Big (SSDB) project with the theme “Alone We Can Do So Little; Together We Can Do So Much!”
The children and their families participated in a fundraising campaign – Food Fiesta. Food Fiesta is a food carnival that serves food from different cuisines which involves the children’s active participation. Coupons are sold prior to the event and proceeds from the sales of the coupons will be used to purchase food bundles from a beneficiary.
The theme for this year’s Food fiesta was “Flavours of the World” which gave children and their families a chance to sample the unique flavours from some of the foods of different countries such as Korea, Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand!
Prior to the event, the children had the opportunity to participate in a cookery session of the food that they’ll be selling. This was done to ensure that they were familiar to the product that they will be selling and through the cookery experience, they were able to understand the culture of the country through their food. Each of them was able to take part in the different processes involved to prepare the food such as washing, stirring, cutting, etc.
During food fiesta, families were invited to join the event where the children were given hands-on entrepreneurship experience taking on different roles (e.g. cashier, promoter, cook) at their respective stalls.
It was a great bonding time for the children and their families as they sat down at the dining area, indulging in the food items that were bought. It was such a delight to enjoy quality time together over lovingly prepared dishes from around the world.
As COVID restrictions eased, the centre was also able to invite Learning Vision @ Changi Business Park’s alumni to join us for this year’s Food Fiesta. It was a heart-warming reunion, with the elder students reliving their very own Food Fiesta experiences too.
The Food Fiesta was a success as the centre managed to collect enough funds. As such, the centre was able to partner up with The Food Bank Singapore (FBSG) to purchase food bundles to be distributed to the less fortunate. To let the children have a better understanding of what FBSG does, a representative from FBSG came to the centre and conducted a talk for the children, educating them about food wastage in Singapore. It was an opportunity for children to understand the issue of food insecurity in Singapore with opportunities to ask questions as well.
Children from the Nursery to K2 levels, along with some of their parents, travelled to One Blue Heart Centre in Bedok North to prepare and distribute food bundles to the beneficiaries. Minister of Parliament Faisal Manap graced the event and expressed his gratitude and warmth towards both the children and parents for being involved in this community initiative.
Parents who were present lent helping hands by transporting and arranging the goods for systematic packing. It was a way to cultivate teamwork in them and another great bonding opportunity!
The children went to the different housing units together with their teachers and parents to personally hand over bundles to the respective beneficiaries. The children and parents were able to interact with the beneficiaries which were mainly elderlies. They saw many smiling faces which made their day!
In all, the event was another great success! The children could not stop talking about their experiences even after coming back to school. It was an eye-opening and memorable event for both the parents and children as they were able to help families facing food insecurity. This experience also encouraged children to have a grateful heart and empathy.
