SMU students required to do community work, but a 'majority' continue even after graduation
Judith Tan Straits Times 11 Oct 10;
THE Singapore Management University (SMU) compels its students to serve 80 hours of community service as a condition for graduating.
True, some cynical or selfish ones see the stint as 'a necessary evil', but the school's administration is heartened that the 'majority' are sufficiently bitten by the community service bug after this to carry on volunteering even after they launch their careers.
The school did not cite figures on the proportion who keep up the volunteering post-graduation - be it by becoming volunteer teachers or by taking on pro-environment projects here and abroad.
But as of July, it has counted more than 9,100 students who have clocked more than a million hours in community service.
To mark the 10th year of this scheme, it is holding a photo exhibition to show how its students have given their time, talents and energy to various causes.
Photos of Inspirat10n, as the exhibition has been called, will be launched at the campus at 7pm today.
Ms Ruth Chiang, the university's director for career services, said SMU made the programme part of its curriculum to infuse its students - future leaders - with ethics.
She said: 'Many of our students grew up in abundance, and there's a segment of society that they've not been in touch with - the poor and needy. We want them to see first-hand the people who need help getting out of the vicious circle.'
Mr Theodore Teo, SMU's assistant director for career services, cited the example of a student from China, an only child who 'used to believe community work was something idiots do as there's no material gain'. But having to serve 28 days in a Beijing old folk's home changed her thinking. She volunteers there to this day, he said.
SMU is the only university here and in the region to impose this 80-hour community service requirement on its undergraduates; neither the National University of Singapore nor Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has an equivalent programme.
Associate Professor Lok Tat Seng, NTU's dean of students, said that for charitable acts to be meaningful, the desire to serve must come from the heart, rather than be imposed from outside.
SMU's Mr Teo said its students are briefed and told about the 'why' behind the programme.
The school has noticed that most students, after getting their feet wet, do become convinced of the good that can come out of what they do, and carry on volunteering after graduation.
Mr Teo added: 'They develop confidence and passion in the different areas - society, humanity, education and the environment. It's all part and parcel of becoming a responsible adult.'
College mates team up to 'give back'
Straits Times 11 Oct 10;
FOUR Singapore Management University (SMU) alumni have set up aidha, a non-profit body, to impart principles of entrepreneurship and money management to foreign maids.
Separately, an SMU alumna who is now a senior associate in human resources at the Singapore Exchange spends a good part of her annual leave volunteering as an English teacher in Timor Leste.
All five say their commitment to giving back to society started at SMU, which requires its students to log 80 hours of community service before graduating.
Fund manager Harsh Saxena, 25, a founding member of aidha, said: 'We want to help these maids by teaching them how to manage their money and making them aware of the ways of today's technological world.'
Teacher Angad Singh, 26, fund manager Amrt Sagar and marketing executive Sujeet Kulkarni, both 24, feel the same way.
In Sanskrit, aidha means 'that to which we aspire', and indeed, the organisation has helped put some maids on the road to financial independence.
By extending micro credit, aidha has enabled some of them to launch small businesses in their home countries.
An Indonesian maid who learnt from aidha about Skype-to-Skype calls has since started an Internet cafe in her village, collecting fees from those who want to make Skype calls.
Mr Kulkarni said: 'Helping someone get back on his feet gives us a sense of satisfaction. It's different from material returns.'
The four friends have also set up Moksh, which works with volunteer groups to rebuild lives in Third World countries.
Moksh, another Sanskrit word, means 'liberation from worldly intents'.
This Chinese New Year, they were in Chiang Mai, rebuilding homes.
'We were knee-high in mud and digging, but it was still a great feeling,' Mr Saxena said.
Ms Jessene Lim, 28, also knows what it feels like to forgo creature comforts in her quest to help others.
It is hot, humid and filled with mosquitoes where she teaches English in Timor Leste, but she said: 'It is a young country and has needs we take for granted. As long as I know why I'm there, I'll continue going.'
In 2005, after the Indian Ocean tsunami the year before, the diving enthusiast went with some SMU friends to Surin Island near Phuket to document the damage to marine life there. The data they gathered on sea creatures at varying depths was handed over to researchers at Thailand's Chulalongkorn University.
The group has since extended the project and collected data from waters off Surin, Timor Leste, Cambodia and Sabah.
Ms Lim said: 'I feel proud when my work yields results that lead to better things.'
JUDITH TAN
