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Youth volunteers immersed across Lien AID’s offices

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International Youth Day is celebrated globally on 12 August. In this issue, we shine a spotlight on our latest youth volunteers, their field experiences, and takeaways since answering the call to action by contributing their time, skills and enthusiastic energy to our cause.

Over the years, Lien AID has actively engaged Singaporean youths from tertiary institutions such as Nanyang Technological University (The Blue Right), and Ngee Ann Polytechnic. Many receive the opportunity to step foot on our project sites, directly interacting with beneficiaries and gaining first-hand experience and understanding of the severity of the water issue in Asia.

Since last year, we have begun to engage youth volunteers from Cambodia, Vietnam and more recently the United States, immersing them across our organisation in Singapore and Phnom Penh.

The students from Royal University of Phnom Penh visited Kandal Province’s rural villages and aided the organisation in carrying out needs assessments surveys, which involved interviewing villagers in their homes and collected much needed data to inform our intervention process.

“I am close to graduating and wanted more experience in the work that I was studying at university. I am studying engineering and thought it would be a good way to get exposure to water treatment technology. I also wanted to make a difference in people’s lives and be involved in something so important,” explained Kimsay.

Read more about Kimsay’s experience here.

Read more about Kerry Phan’s (student intern from the United States) experience here.

Every drop counts: Singapore World Water Day 2013

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Water is precious; every drop counts.

Lien AID marked Singapore World Water Day 2013 together with an estimated 25, 000 people across 15 locations island-wide in an event organised by the Public Utilities Board Singapore. At the anchor location Marina Barrage, Lien AID raised awareness about the poor access to clean water that still faces disadvantaged communities in Asia. Photo stories illustrating the real experiences of families and individuals across these communities were displayed at the event. These stories were put together last year as part of the Pour A Glass of Hope Campaign; an advocacy initiative carried out in partnership with a class of students and their professors from the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University. The class had travelled to Cambodia in Feb 2012 as part of their curriculum and were given the opportunity to interact with beneficiaries and government officials at selected project sites. Two student volunteers, Cynthia and Athena were also on hand at the event to share their experiences in Cambodia.

The public was also urged to show their support for the 31st article in the UN Declaration of Human Rights, the right to clean water. Coined the Blue Right by Lien AID, people were encouraged to document their support through photo declarations at the event. School children, families, friends and government officials were photographed showing that they believe in the Blue Right as shown in the photo gallery.