ANNUAL REPORT 2010 / 2011 - MINDS

MINDS
CSG (Caregivers Support Group)
Advisor
Chairperson
Mr Jeffrey Tan
Mrs Mimi Tan
Secretaries
Ms Selena Chew
Ms Jenny Low
Mr Gary Ng
Vice - Chairpersons
Treasurer
Ms Clara Ng
Ms Carolina Chan
Ms Janet Ng
Coordinator
Programme Coordinator
Ms Low Poh Leng
Mr Patrick Lai
MILESTONES AND ACHIEVEMENTS
2010 was a busy year as each CSG chapter geared up their activities
to reach out to parents.
MINDS CSG@LGS
The CSG chapter at Lee Kong Chian Gardens School was officially
launched in June 2010, and parents started volunteering with
the school by helping the teachers during travelling lessons and
semester outings, and collaborating with Excelsior International
School to celebrate the Inaugural Achievement Awards Ceremony
on 19 November 2010.
MINDS CSG@TGS
A mini carnival was held at Towner Gardens School on 24 September
2010. The objective was to teach students how to use coupons to
purchase foods at the carnival. Parent volunteers manage the fishball
and hotdog bun stall. It was a delight for the parents to work
with the teachers to carry out the objective. More significantly, the
event brought a deeper bonding among the parents as they work
together.
MINDS CSG@FGS
The chapter organised several social activities and projects
throughout the year to promote bonding and support the school
and organisation. They are:
• Starlight Night Fever in December 2010 at Toa Payoh Central
Community Centre
• Christmas gathering
• Chinese New Year visiting
• Indo-Chinese feast gathering in April 2011
• Art sessions conducted by a caregiver
• Parents workshops in March, April and Games day in May 2011
• Social Enterprise paper bags folding project. Together with
NUSVAC volunteers and caregivers, the group completed 700
paper bags for the World Down Syndrome Day
MINDS CSG@TDCs
The chapter spearheaded a thriftshop project at MINDSville, and
organised several workshops and activities in the year to reach out
to parents in the TDCs. They are:
• Grooming workshop for parents and caregivers - Participants
learnt to dress for different occasions, body shapes and colour
matching. They were also taught basic skincare, make-up and
hairstyling. Caregivers went home motivated to groom and
dress-up their special children and themselves.
• Physical activities to improve self-help skills and fitness
programmes at home and in the community organised by TDC
physiotherapists - This informative and enriching workshop
was presented both in English and Mandarin on 21 August
2010. Participants tried the various exercise equipment, many
were simple home implements. Balance and coordination
activities were demonstrated to show how these can help to
improve and achieve ADL (activities of daily living).
• Caregivers’ Carefree Day - In collaboration with the TDC
social workers, the CSG TDCs chapter held its first outing on
1 December 2010. Themed as “Caregivers’ Carefree Day”,
the event was attended by 23 caregivers from Ang Mo Kio,
Clementi and Napiri TDCs. The programme consisted of a
series of farm tours, followed by a hearty lunch. Set in the
relaxing ambience of “countryside”, the outing provided a
fun opportunity for caregivers to make new friends and destress.
• Joint Care & Self Care: Working with Therabands - In
collaboration with the TDC social workers, caregivers gathered
at a caregivers’ home for an informal tea session which
started with sharing of personal stories. There was much
laughter and tears as the communication took the form of
English, Mandarin and Hokkien at the same time. The striking
similarities of the caregivers’ journeys in raising a special
needs child brought everyone together in one heart. When
Geoff Sweeney, the therapist arrived, caregivers were ready
for a work-out. Armed with a theraband each, Geoff taught
a series of exercises for strengthening muscles and joints.
Although the steps were simple, they were challenging. After
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MINDS ANNUAL REPORT 2010 / 2011