SALT, The Women's Desk of SFX volunteered at the Myanmar migrants' home of the St Peter Claver community in Section 17 PJ on Saturday, 8 April 2017. Their task was to keep the highly spirited 15 or so Myanmarese children occupied in one of their houses while their parents and the adults attended a health talk in the other house.
By beginning with a couple of popular action songs, we broke the ice which proves that music transcends barriers of language and cultures. And food is yet another icebreaker. The children then took a break and gleefully tucked into jelly. It was also an effective bribe to quieten the crying ones. Motherly instincts surfaced to soothe and pamper the children.
Colouring books and pencils were given out, including 15 toys donated by Section 16/17B BEC, much to the children's delight. But our idea that there would be some quiet colouring time did not quite materialise as the children seemed happy enough to exercise their lungs and just be children, naturally inquisitive and restless.
We felt it was a worthwhile two hours spent, and seeing as it is going to be a monthly programme, we hope more volunteers will join us as we reach out to these displaced people who are in our parish community. Let us remember what Jesus said in Matthew 25:35-40.
The Migrant Ministry (MigMin) organizes talks and sessions on health and living for the Myanmar community every month.
Ed. - SALT (Sisters Abiding in Light and Truth) is the women’s issues and concerns group of the parish. Those interested to find out more about their ministry, please write to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
