IF
YOU are new in town, how do you make friends outside of work? For Ms Anuroopa
Pereira volunteering was her way of getting to know locals when she moved to
Singapore from Bangalore four years ago with her son Siddharth who is now seven
years old.
It took the public relations consultant a
while to find her footing, she told tabla!, as she had a busy schedule but she
managed to volunteer at two different organisations, the St Andrew's Hospital
in Simei where she helps out during Christmas and the Community Chest.
"It is a little bit hard to volunteer as
most organisations require a long-term commitment rather than someone like me
who can do one-off events," she said.
Which is why Ms Pereira roped in her mother
Leena Rebello and Siddharth to volunteer for the People's Association (PA)
event on Oct 29, the PAssion Card Cares Carnival, a community effort to raise
funds for charity through proceeds from on-site games stalls.
It was part of the PAssion Fun Around the Bay event
with over 10,000 people showing up for the event. The money raised from the
carnival will go to the beneficiaries of the President's Challenge 2011, the PA
Community Development Fund, Care Community Services Society and the Singapore
Children's Society.
She had responded to a call for volunteers
through the PAssion Card e-newsletter which she receives every month and
decided to man the hot pot game booth with her mother and son.
Ms Pereira told tabla! that she is keen on
volunteering because she feels so blessed being in Singapore.
"I see the need to step forward and give
back to Singapore in part because of the opportunities it gave me and my
family. I feel that I am now part of a larger community which I hope I can
contribute to in every way. I brought my mother and son along so that they too
can experience the satisfaction of helping others who also call Singapore their
home, and make new friends," she said, adding: "I also want my son to
know that it is an unequal world we live in and he needs to do his part to help
those who are not as blessed."
Another volunteer at the carnival, Dr Kalpana
Vishnoi, also heard about the call for volunteers through the PAssion card
e-newsletter. Having been in Singapore for the last year, she saw it as an
opportunity to make new friends in Singapore.
Dr Vishnoi, who hails from Delhi, told tabla!
that she volunteered to try and integrate into the local culture and roped in
her husband and son to man a games booth at the carnival.
"Wherever we have been posted, we felt we
should always try to integrate with the local community.
When we were in Vienna for over two years, we
volunteered to be a part of a tree planting programme there. Being a part of
this carnival in Singapore was a real eye-opener for us and we have had so much
fun," she said.
Dr Vishnoi added that she will be signing up
for more PA programmes and hopes to volunteer her time for more local events
during her stay in Singapore.
Sheela Narayanan
tabla!
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