ST 12/6/03 Youths taking off for world's hot
spots
HE MAY be only 19 but Mr Ian Cai has comforted
the dying in Calcutta, entertained orphans in East Timor and will
be giving out food rations to Iraqis in Baghdad next year.
'The polytechnic student is among the youths that
Youth Challenge (YC) has sent on its humanitarian programmes to
the world's 'hot spots' since 2000.
Mr Vincent Lam, executive president of the organisation
which focuses on youth development, said: 'Our aim is to expose
Singapore's youths to the world.
'Many of them are very myopic. We must push them
out to the world, instead of waiting for the world to come to them.
'The 18-year-old organisation is also a partner
of the United Nations Development Programme, which provides ground
support for the trips.
IYC is now planning humanitarian trips to Mongolia
in December and to Botswana, Iraq, Afghanistan and China next year.
About 20 participants, aged between 18 and 30, leave
on each trip.
They are mostly YC members, and each member has
to raise funds for the trip and plan it themselves.
Meetings are also held with the participants' parents
before each trip to address their concerns.
'The main thing is that they are worried for their
children's safety and if they have enough to eat,' said Mr Lam.
One participant, 20-year-old Serene Woon, described
her shock when she saw people scavenging for food in Calcutta, India.
Miss Woon, who is waiting to enter university, said:
'The poverty there made me feel very lucky to have food to eat,
a good family and a school to go to.
'I had to learn not to take all these things for
granted.'
For Mr Cai, the trips were a lesson in humanity
and made him more mature.
He said: 'The Timorese are very passionate about
nation-building and are in stark contrast to our youths here.
'My friends think that nation-building is the Government's
job but, if we want to survive, we have to be as passionate as the
Timorese.'
