Youth

Students in their teenage years might go through a turbulent and challenging time. We build rapport and foster trust between students and coaches through board games, console game, and fustball. It is a good way of connecting with students through a fun and relaxing way. Additionally, students will exhibit certain behaviour and beliefs we can address on.

We also run camps, conduct Social Emotional Learning workshops and even baking classes. Through these platforms, students get to learn various life skills such as discipline, boundaries and inter-personal skills to name a few. Our goal is to impart life skills and help students discover their values and understand their emotions better.

It is crucial to build strong rapport with students, assuring them it is safe to share more about their lives. By being a listening ear, and a more mature figure, students feel they are being heard, they have someone to process their emotions and thoughts with, thus giving us the chance to positively influence them in their thinking and action.

Sometimes all it takes to impact a youth’s life is an affirmative word, or spending extended time with them. This is how we communicate their worth and value to them.

After School Engagement (ASE)

ASE is a drop-in programme for both primary and secondary school students. ASE aims to progressively develop tenacious grit and emotional resilience through both structured and unstructured activities. Our hope is to reduce maladaptive behaviours and increase coping abilities in these youths after a few years of engagement.

Through fun and play, we build relationship and trust, facilitating a safe environment for youths gradually warm up and share about issues and difficulty they might be facing. It is also through unstructured activity, we often find many moments to inject life-skills, or highlighting their potential, giving us an in-route to identify and affirm. It is through these conversations personal stories are shared and values imparted.

Youth Out Reach (YOR)

YOR is a social initiative using sports as an engagement tool to outreach to youths in Tampines as ECSS has existing work relationships with various schools located within the district and Tampines North Community Centre.

ECSS recognise that ASE and YOR is part of a wider social support network including school teachers and counselors. As a community of nurturers, we journey with these youths through their confusing and painful moments, as a friendly guide. At the same time, we are privileged to share in their joy, celebrating their achievements together with them. In saying this, we too recognise that the learning and growth is mutual, because the journey and experience is shared.

The growth and character development of each individual may seem silent and invisible, but we lavishly give into these young lives, because we know we are investing into the future. We are not only interested in seeing a single tree blossom to provide shade and shelter for many, we labour in anticipation to see a forest of resilient characters contributing to Singapore’s well-being and flourishment.