A group of 10 NUS students worked together with We Love Learning Centre (WeLL Centre) to help mentor young girls in the community and develop a safe space and strong support network for them to learn more about their own health.
Project Director Ng Qiao Xin Jamie, Year 4 Nursing, started Project Lilacs after recognising a gap in the community while working on a previous volunteer project. Consisting of both undergraduate students and alumni from Nursing, under the Faculty of Medicine, volunteers worked together with WeLL Centre to figure out how to make use of their medical knowledge on women’s health, communication skills and our own lived experiences.
The Project Lilacs team scheduled visits to the girls every other week. During these visits, they carried out activities based on the girls' interests, be it cooking, painting or even shopping. This allowed the girls to feel comfortable enough around the volunteers to raise questions and discuss topics pertaining to their mental health, sexual health and relationships.
The team also created a welfare care pack for the young girls, consisting of a tote bag, information card, organic antibacterial wet wipes, mini reusable heat pack, deodorant and facial wash. These items were carefully handpicked to align with the learning milestones of Project Lilacs. Jamie shared that the team “believed [they] should provide these resources if [they] were to teach about hygiene habits”, such that the girls have access to these” crucial resources that are needed for implementing these habits in their daily lives”.
The first day of IVGF saw the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate competition undergo a Swiss tournament to determine the top four players to advance to the semi-finals and subsequently, the grand finals. After a gruelling morning of games and a nail-biting semi-final, Alvis ‘PsineWave’ Ng and Julian ‘XRias’ Foo from NUS faced off in the grand finals, with the former coming out top in a 3-0 victory.
With 12 teams and 67 student participants, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang was the most popular game at the festival. While all three NUS varsity teams managed to enter the finals, one of the teams was eliminated by a surprise contender from SIM. Eventually, it was an NUS versus NUS final where “Finally AbleToCan” took down “WeLoveNUS” in a close game of 3-1.
When asked about her experience leading the project, Jamie shared that she saw "little wins" along the journey of working with the community, her team and various partners. These wins include the girls opening up to the volunteers, gaining the trust of their parents to bring them out, and gaining the confidence to share their own opinions on sexual health topics.
Jamie expresses her gratitude to her team, who she shares have worked tirelessly over the past year to help develop our project in their own ways. She also expresses the team’s gratitude to their community partner, We Love Learning Centre @ Henderson (WeLL centre) who has supported Project Lilacs by connecting them with the community; the mothers from the Henderson community who have worked with them on our fundraiser; NUS CEF for the funding support and feedback during the early stages of planning, their project advisor Dr Shefaly Shorey, who advised them on our workshop content and delivery; Go With The Flow, who has provided the community with sanitary products regularly and everyone else who has worked with them over the year.
To interested volunteers who have a strong commitment to improving women's health and creating conversations around sexual health, do drop Project Lilac a message on their Instagram page, @projectlilacs.
Share:
Contributor
Writer: Kuik Tze-Yin, Year 4, Communications & New Media
Project Lilac Team Members:
Ng Qiao Xin Jamie (Year 4 Nursing) - Project Lead/ Project Director
Lim Shi Wen (Year 4 Nursing) - Project Lead/ Head of Outreach
Chan Pao Yi (Year 4 Nursing) - Project Lead/ Head of Publicity
Tan Jing Wen (Year 3 Nursing) - Outreach Committee (21/22), Next Project Lead/ Head of Outreach (22/23)
Amirah Izzati Binte Nazir (Year 2 Nursing) - Outreach Committee (21/22), Next Project Lead/ Director
Insyirah Maritz (Year 3 Nursing) - Outreach Committee (21/22)
Pavithra Amullu(Year 4 Nursing) - Publicity Committee (21/22)Next Project Lead/ Head of Welfare
Nur Amirah Bte Mohamad Noor (Graduated) - Publicity Committee
Seri Izzati Binte Abdul Rahim (Graduated) - Publicity Committee
Khalisah Amran (Graduated) - Publicity Committee
