Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Project 'Deliver Me' by Peh Kian Chai



 On 8 September 2012, South 2 cluster volunteered for the National Library Board’s (NLB) Project “Deliver Me” initiative. Project “Deliver Me” is a special service that engages NLB’s community of volunteers in the delivery of library materials to the doorsteps of those individuals who are handicapped / have no means of getting to a library. We reported at Central Public Library at 9.00am to collect the books and listened to the briefing. We were split into 3 groups with at least one experienced volunteer with us. Each group was given 3 addresses to visit. After checking that the recipients’ books were in order, we set off via pre-arranged cabs waiting outside the library. For every home visited, we would try to have some light conversation with the recipient or their family members. We would find out about their reading preference and types of books they would like us to bring in the next round. We would also collect back the books that they have borrowed previously. The recipients are delighted to see us and are appreciative to us for delivering the books to them. Some even offered us drinks and snacks!

We ended our trip by dropping the books to the nearest public library. In our case, it is either Jurong West Public Library or Clementi Public Library. Although the total time spent is only about 3 hours, but we have definitely brought a lot of happiness to the recipients. We are grateful to be given the opportunity to volunteer for such a meaningful project.

Like what our manager, Mr Tan Boon Chuan, who was able to join us for this project, said, “It is so simple. Anyone can do it!”.  Indeed, we hope more CCPEs can join us in this initiative. No special skill is needed just a willingness to do something to give back to society.