" I have been volunteering as a Mathematics tutor with Gracehaven since 2011. Initially I had signed up for the volunteering programme with my friend. However, due to personal reasons, my friend could not commit and I was left to decide if I should go ahead.
I was apprehensive as I wasn’t sure if I could give my fullest commitment. However, I decided to give it a try as I would wish to give my time to something more meaningful other than my work.
Having started with tutoring the children in Gracehaven, I have not looked back and felt that it was a meaningful journey.
Tutoring the students makes me laugh and cry at the same time. At times, the students can be naughty, not pay attention during the session and not complete the assignments that I have handed out to them. Yet, there are also times, when they intrigued me with their innocent yet thought provoking comments and questions.
Through this volunteering experience, I have learnt that work can never be finished and I need to slow down my pace of life. Also, these students have taught me many Generation Y lingo and gave me an insight perspective of the new generation’s perspective of life.
Though I may not be able to answer all the students’ questions (at times, I even had to seek help frantically from my teacher-friend to solve these questions), I do hope that the small amount of time that I have spent weekly with these students will, in some way, help them along their journey in life. "
Yau Wen
Volunteer Tutor
Gracehaven
