ICS Student Wins EARCOS Global Citizenship Award

 

International Community School (Singapore) is proud to announce Grade 11 student, Jemima S., has been awarded the Global Citizenship Award by East Asia Regional Council of Schools (EARCOS) for her involvement with Orbis International and her commitment to "making the world a better place."

High school teachers at ICS nominate student candidates for the award and the final selection is overseen by Mr. Darryl Harding, Middle and High School Principal. The final candidate is then qualified by EARCOS to receive the award, which consists of a plaque in recognition of their achievements and a $500 EARCOS Community Service Grant.

Read below for Jemima's responses and her role in the ongoing project with Orbis:

How long have you been involved with Orbis?

About a year ago, one of my friends approached me with an idea to support Orbis International, a non-profit organization that aims to restore sight all across the world. From this, a group of four (myself included) created "Project Orasight." Being a 'core member' of this project entails many responsibilities. This includes overseeing all of the members (we currently have 142 volunteers), hosting and attending meetings to discuss prospective events and plans, and interacting with our beneficiary. I oversee the different committees such as the design team and publicity team within the project to ensure that everything we have planned goes smoothly. During our meetings, the team often goes over our timeline for the year, plans for new events, and troubleshoots any issues we've noticed. I also interact with the Orbis Headquarters in Singapore to discuss new ways for the project and the beneficiary to collaborate.

Can you share a brief explanation of the goals and activities of the project?

We are a project dedicated to educating the local Singapore community about healthy eye care, and we support Orbis International while doing so. We make educational infographics, videos, and posts about healthy eye tips to inform the community around us about the importance of caring for your eyes. We've received feedback from our followers (on Instagram) that their vision is something that they often take for granted, but have learned to appreciate after reading our posts. Earlier this year, we held an event called "Eye Care for You" where we let people send an online Christmas greeting letter to anyone through Orasight to share educational facts, spread positivity, and also promote the project. In terms of how many people have been affected, we do not have an exact number. However, we do know that through our volunteerism, Orbis has been able to benefit and thus help restore blindness around the world.
 

How will you use the grant to help Orbis?

As of now, we have not been able to raise funds for Orbis International since we are a relatively new project. However, we plan on giving back to the community around us by providing free eye check-ups and free eye products for the less fortunate in Singapore. With the remaining funds, all the money will go towards Orbis International, who are struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic.