It was a party that saw the coming together of various groups and nationalities as one to celebrate the festive season. HealthServe's 3rd Anniversary & Christmas Celebration held on Dec 19 at The Agape Centre (Jurong) had different groups (NGOs, migrant workers, volunteers, churches etc) contributing and participating to make the event truly meaningful and memorable. The Rescue Lighthouse carollers performed six Christmas numbers and a quintet fronted by regular volunteer Patrick Chng also took to the stage. Our Indian and Chinese migrant friends also made an appearance, entertaining the audience with skits and songs in their own languages. Some 30 Chinese construction workers and 20 Indian workers were our guests that evening too. Many of them had to work till 7pm that day but still made the effort to join us. 

The finale was a joint effort between volunteers and migrants who performed We Wish You a Merry Christmas in three different languages! I was truly thankful for being given the chance to help plan the party – it gave me the chance to witness the spirit of unity during the celebration. I was further encouraged as we looked back at the work HealthServe has done, be it the research at Kian Teck dormitory, or hearing from our migrant friends who had received help from HealthServe and are now doing well back at home. The sharing of HealthServe's vision for future projects in Jurong left me with an even deeper realisation of the need for us to constantly work together, while continually serving our migrant friends and each other. ~ Yan Manhong ~

Manhong is a final-year student from Ngee Ann Polytechnic. She is pursuing a Diploma in Psychology and Community Services and is currently attached to HealthServe on a four-month internship to develop a youth orientation programme.