Opened on 4 October 2003, the Grassroots Heritage Centre (GHC) is set up by NACLI as part of the People's Association's (PA) long term National Education efforts for its staff and grassroots leaders. Showcasing four decades of community development milestones, the GHC traces the growth of the PA and its grassroots organisations through historical accounts, pictures, audio reels, exhibits and artefacts. The centre also features a mock up of a 60s community centre.
Pinkies & the Brains Reflection
Education
Our visit to NACLI was like a trip back to memory lane. The exhibits show us the things, events and artefacts in our past that we seldom see now. We walked past the old stone benches, saw the first PAP red and white checked kindergarten uniform, the old sewing machine, abacus and many more antique objects. We learnt about the People’s Association (PA) vision for Singapore as well as the plans that they make, organised and set up in order to fulfil that mission of bringing all the races in our nation together through the 4 key activities: Education, Culture, Sports and Vocation. Our group’s mission was the Education activities that was organised or set up by the PA. So here’s what the PA’s been up to...
Kindergarten
Remember our good old’ days of school? The days where we had to wear our tiny red and white checked uniform with white school shoes and line up two by two, holding hands with our partner as we wait to enter our tiny class. We learn to write, sing and dance with our friends as the teachers taught us the alphabets and numberings in those short 3 hours of school.
Oh! How we wish NIE was that simple... =)
Well, the PA was the first to introduce to us kindergarten classes in 1964. Eight pilot kindergarten classes at Gulega , Kampong Cheng San, Tuas and five other rural CCs provide kindergarten education to rural dwellers. Due to the ever-increasing demands, classes were also held at rented shop units and even village wayang stages. Soon it became the largest organisation then to provide pre-school education in Singapore.
But alas, in 1999, after 35 years of PA’s kindergarten service in Singapore, it closed its doors to the last 15 kindergartens and the 300,000th and final student graduating from the kindergartens.
Youth Committee
Youth! A time where everything is an adventure to us. A period of daringness and passion...
We think that it is important to build up rapport with our youths as they were the ones who will be our future leaders of tomorrow. In order to do that, we need to get to know them well: their interest, favourites, dislikes, places that appeal to them and so on.
Thus, the PA had set up the National Youth Co-ordinating Committee(NYCC) in 1974 to administer the Commonwealth Youth Programme and to co-ordinate youth activities in Singapore. It aims to develop a vibrant, highly-connected and self –sustaining youth sector by establishing mutually supportive partnership with :
• youth organisation
• educational institutions
• civic and voluntary organisations
• public and private sector agencies both local and overseas.
Furthermore it was enhance with the establishment of the Advisory Council on Youth (ACY) p to identify the need and aspirations of youth, review policies and programmes for youth and make recommendation for appropriate plans and activities that would nurture youths to maximise their potential and make greater contributions to nation building.
Leadership Training
In order for us to be effective leaders, we need to have good leadership qualities and skills to lead our team to success. The Buona Vista Youth Leadership Training centre was established with that purpose of providing leadership training in order to instil in leaders a sense of national identity and a spirit of dedicated service to a multi-racial community.
In 1994, it was renamed as National Community Leadership Institute (NACLI). Currently, in addition to providing training for PA staff, it also caters to the training needs of the country’s leaders. A NACLI Board was established in 2003 to provide advice, broader perspective and technical expertise in developing NACLI’s programmes and charting future direction.
Defence
It is essential to educate and create awareness for every one of us in the education of Civil Defence in order for the nation in to be prepared in times of chaos. That was the reason for the formation of Civil Defence Co-ordinating Committees (CDCCs) which is to underline the importance of Civil Defence.
Besides security, the PA also deal with other emergencies like the flu pandemic and SARS.Grassroots leaders and the PA staff swung into action during the SARS outbreak to carry out contact tracing and conduct temperature checks on vendors at markets and hawker centres. They also helped in the distribution of thermometers and SARS kits to the households. In addition, many dialogues were organised in all constituencies to brief residents on SARS and social responsibility.
Conclusion
As we explored the place, we realise that the PA had really contribute a great deal in promoting cohesiveness and awareness in our country. Through activities in education, sports, vocational and culture, we learn about the other races and established friendship and rapport. All this is essential in creating a harmonious and tolerant nation whose people are made up of different races and religion.
Green & Clean Reflection
Culture
During our visit to the museum, we gained a deeper insight into the preservation of the cultural groups in Singapore. It started with the series of racially charged rallies resulted in the July 1964 racial riots, whereby the peaceful procession commemorating Prophet Mohammed’s Birthday evolved into violence between Chinese and Malays. A group calling itself Pertobohan Perjuangan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura distributed leaflets that called upon “Malays” to destroy the “Chinese” PAP government. As a result, twenty-two people were killed, hundreds were injured and tension remained between the Chinese and Malays even after the incident.
This incident prompted the government to pay greater attention to the ethnic relationship within the young nation. It hopes to create activities to not only preserves the unique culture identity of individual ethnic groups, but also allow other races to gain a deeper appreciation of one another’s culture. However, if one were to look at the other questions tackled by our other group mates, you would also be able to see how cultural preservation is silently weaved into different governmental projects. For example, when the government came up with the HDB policy, it was clearly stated that there would be a racial quota to ensure that there would be sufficient interaction between people of different ethnicity. The National Service Act also drafted young men from different races into the military.
Women’s Sub-Committee
Set up in 1967, the PA created the Women’s Sub-Committee (WSC), at Bukit Ho Swee community centre. However, in 2002, is group was renames was the Women’s Integration Network (WIN). The aim of the group is to encourage women from different cultural background to meet and enrich the community through different kinds of interactive activities. These women engage in various meaningful activities ranging from cooking and sewing to setting up exhibitions to educate the public.
Chingay Parade
On 4th February 1973 (the second day of Chinese New Year), the PA held the first Chingay parade. The procession was originally created specifically for the Chinese, whereby it was held to honour the five deities who served as guardians or patron saints each for a different dialect. However, as Singapore’s culture evolved, Chingay became more inclusive of the various acts from different cultural groups. In 2001 and 2002, even performances hailing from Tahiti, Ghana, Brazil and Slovenia arrived in Singapore. As such, it celebrates the inclusivity and diversity found in out sunny island city. If you look at the picture below, you would be able to gain a deeper understanding of Chingay.
IAGs and MAGs
The Malay Activity Groups (MAGs) and Indian Activity Groups (IAGs) were created in 1985 and 1990 respectively. Wanting to promote cultural activities and attract minority ethnic groups to participate, the MAGs upgraded into the Malay Activity Executive Committees (MAECs) and the IAGs into Indian Activity Executive Committees (IAECs) in 1998. Both groups coordinated their respective cultural activities to promote greater Indian and Malay participation in community centres. Below are some of the activities promoted by the MAECs and IAECs.
IRCCs and HCs
Created in 2002, the IRCCs and the HCs stands for Inter-Racial Confidence Circles and Harmony Circles, respectively. After the September 11 attacks on America’s twin towers, and the arrest of JI members in Singapore, ethnic-cultural relationships have never been more crucial. As such the IRCCs and HCs were created to bring about more awareness to create a more understanding and appreciative society. From the time since Singapore gained independence, our multicultural identity has helped us forge a common bond, whereby residents from different backgrounds could come together to create a national consensus. However, the new millennium has made Singapore and more open society, and brought about a different set of challenges. Therefore, we must make sure that our nation remains resilient and strong by continuously strengthening out multiracial ties.
All Blacks Reflection
Sports & Vocation
Community Centres -> Sports -> Encourage interaction among the races -> Build up characters of the youth
1962 was the year in which the 1st six rural CCs were completed. In 1963, 21 CCs were already built. Recreational facilities such as basketball courts, table tennis, volleyball courts, badminton courts and Sepak Takraw courts were made available to the public.
The shift from land sports to water sports was seen in 1974. On 31 July, the PA adventure and canoe club were formed to promote adventurous activities. 1987 saw the establishment of the PA East Coast sea sports club, Kallang sea sports club and the Pasir Ris sea sports club.
The grassroots have taken a serious view to include sports in the CCs as a form of healthy living and inter-ethnic interaction.
Vocation
The grassroots also take a huge role in teaching skills for our citizens to help them find jobs in the market and upgrade their repertoire of skills.
Tracing back to the 1960s, the CCs conducted vocational courses such as dressmaking, dress designing, embroidery and knitting.
In the 1970s, CCCs and CCMCs supported the government's economic drive to bring Singapore into the global economy and kickstart our growth as an independent nation.
