Celebrations bring people together! Families from AWWA Family Service Centre (FSC) and Transitional Shelter (TS) came together on 30 Jun 2018 to celebrate Hari Raya.
In line with AWWA’s motto of “People Giving to People”, the families each brought something to the event to share whether it was food, snacks, helping out in the various activities, planning the logistics on the event day or cleaning up after the event was done. They supported each other and contributed to make this event a success.
It was definitely a good time for families to take their mind off the challenges they are facing in their daily lives. They could focus on the positive, the joy that festivities bring and the good company of new friends. Families took on different roles and each were in charge of different areas like decorations, logistics, setting-up and tearing down.
The day started out with music! Clients of AWWA FSC put together a high energy community drumming performance opening the event with a bang! The families also got together to make Hari Raya decorations and then hanging them up to create the festive ambience.
The families from both services came together and bonded over a delicious dinner. For better knowledge on the Malay culture and the Hari Raya celebrations, there was also a quiz where the families got to exchange information and experiences. It was especially insightful for the non-Muslim families who were there to celebrate as well.
To enliven the event, prizes were given out to families for the “Best Dressed Family”, “Most Enthusiastic Family”, “Friendliest Family” and “Most Hardworking Family”. The “Most Hardworking Family” award was given to the family who was most involved and took the most initiative during the preparation.
The families showcased their creativity during the last activity. They were tasked to work together to make Hari Raya kuihs out of the various materials such as modelling clay and paper. Each family was provided a different set of materials so they had to tap on each other’s resources and one of the rules of the activity was that they had to ask one question to get to know the other person better before being able to borrow the item. By the end of the day, everyone made a new friend!
The day ended with a photo taking session to capture the happy moments, enabling the families to look back and remember the positive experiences and memories they have made together.