Six years on and Going Strong, the Story of the Charyong Youth Group
The Charyong Youth group was officially inaugurated in December 2002 by the then Deputy Prime Minister Mr Lee Hsien Loong. The Youth group was formed largely because the senior members had noticed the lack of youth among its members. They were keen for youth members to contribute their ideas and participate in traditional and cultural activities that the Association organized.
Hence the Youth Group was formed with the chief objectives of promoting Hakka culture and tradition among youths, engaging the youths to contribute ideas to the clan, and creating a platform for young Hakka people to get contacts of other Hakka youth and seniors, which will be useful for them in their future endeavors.
Even before the official inception, the youth group was already heavily involved in the setting up of the website for the Association which was launched on the same day as the inception of the youth group. Also earlier in the year, we held a successful blood donation drive whereby we recruited quite a few first time blood donors for the blood bank.
In 2003, with the aim of planning a myriad of activities to attract members from all walks of life, we held golf clinics, pool workshop and wine appreciation seminars.
Year 2004 saw the setting up of the Youth Group Activities centre on 6th floor of the Charyong Building. Credit went to architect Chyi Bin for designing the layout and many others for being involved in the purchasing of furniture and setting up the place. We also held several ad-hoc events for self improvement and recreation, including kayaking, bowling, wakeboarding, cooking and beauty workshops. This was also the first year we worked with the Society for the Physically Disabled to bring beneficiaries from their Day Activity Centre on day trips. The Singapore Zoological Gardens was our first destination.
During 2005, we held one of our most successful recruitment drive, an orientation programme for scholarship recipients and applicants. Through this event, we recruited many of our current committee members, including Guoxing, Verene, Minyu, Camellia and Phebe. We followed up the drive with events like TAG paintball and the charity trip to Chinese Gardens. In the same year, Mingwei organized a Hakka language class for youths in the group who have not mastered the art of speaking khek. Also in a bid to find a niche activity for the youth members, the youth group subsidized youth members to pick up Salsa as a recreational activity.
The year 2006 could be considered as the one of the most happening year for the youth group. Early part of the year, Ming Chang organized a wakeboarding event whereby we saw quite a number of youths signing up. We saw several fresh faces and I realized I’m not cut out for wakeboarding myself. In May 2006, Camellia organized a cocktail mixing session which attracted a host of youths whether or not they enjoy drinking. I supposed whether or not you are a regular drinker, a bit of spirit or wine wouldn’t hurt. In June 2006, 6 of us participated in the leadership camp organized by the Malacca Charyong Association. In July 2006, we held a retreat at a chalet in Pasir Ris to reunite the old timers of the youth group as well as to integrate recently recruited youth members into the main group. In Sept 2006, we brought out beneficiaries from the SPD to Labrador Park.
2007 was a year of transition. A new committee was inaugurated in Feb 2007. We then set out with an aim of welcoming more new members into this group. In September 2007, we once again engaged the less fortunate in the society, bringing beneficiaries from SPD to the Jurong Bird Park this time around. The year saw many of our youth members involved in the visit to Dabu alongside senior members. At end of the year, Phebe organized a year end event called Dabutouille whereby we utilized the carpark area of the Charyong building to hold a barbecue session.
The youth group now faces several challenges. As the society becomes increasingly modernized and westernized, the clan and the youth group need to remain relevant to the younger members. Our role as an ambassador of the Hakka culture cannot be understated. Also, as the youth nowadays have many commitments including schoolwork, extra-curricular activities, religion, family and relationships, we face difficulties recruiting active members to participate in our activities. We have to constantly think of engaging and exciting activities for our members to participate in。 |
