Meet our Volunteers
Caroline Chua
Volunteering can be more about receiving than giving
Volunteer Coordinator Alice Hue writes about Caroline, a committed volunteer with SPD's Freedom Adventure Club, an outdoor adventure interest group with the goal of helping others through having fun.
Caroline Chua began her volunteer service in the University. As an undergraduate with Nanyang Technological University (NTU), she volunteered through the NTU Welfare Society, working with beneficiaries who were intellectually disabled. However, work and study commitments kept her from volunteering after she graduated. After completing her part time studies, she re-ignited her passion and decided to try volunteering again.
An opportunity to volunteer came about sometime in early 2004, while surfing the Internet. She stumbled upon a posting on SPD’s website requesting for volunteers, and decided to send an email expressing her interest in being a part of the outdoor adventure group.
Friends often joke that one of her talents is to stumble over anything at any place. This time, her stumbling has brought her to SPD, which has given her much joy and a renewed passion for helping others. She recalled, "It would be a perfect way to combine my interest in the outdoors and sharing it with others."
Having been with the FAC since its inception, Caroline has grown with the group and the beneficiaries, and has developed a deeper commitment and understanding towards her volunteer work. The club has so far brought the beneficiaries to the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, West Coast Park, Qian Hu Fish Farm, Labrador Park, Fort Canning Park and more recently, the tree-top walk at MacRitchie Reservoir.
She said, "Volunteering has made me more sensitive to the needs of the physically disabled. Not only that, it has also motivated me to read more about the physically handicapped and their difficulties". She also enjoys the challenge of sourcing for places to go to and tailoring activities according to their needs.
"This year, FAC is planning to lead a group of beneficiaries up to Bukit Timah Hill. We have done a series of training for the beneficiaries so that they are well equipped. After that, we will be targeting for more difficult terrain or conditions like Pulau Ubin." In the long run, Caroline hopes that the FAC committee will comprise both physically challenged members as well as the non-disabled.
She said, "I believe that everyone is able to live an enriching and fulfilling life. The outdoors is something that everyone can enjoy and it can be motivating when one manages to overcome a certain challenge". Rarely have I seen a young lady like Caroline, who is so passionate in her volunteering work. She feels that everyone should learn to enjoy nature and live a fulfilled life.
In her journey with FAC, Caroline recalls the fun times she has had organizing the activities, and witnessing the fun that the beneficiaries have. She enthuses, "I feel that I have received more than I have given out." She observes that everyone has a handicap, whether emotional or physical, which can be very limiting. But she feels we have a choice to overcome it – we can choose to work with it or to allow it to overcome us.