Ms Fatema Saifuddin Gandhi

Volunteering since March 2018

I have always had the motivation to volunteer as it is something fulfilling for me. I am currently a full-time homemaker and an avid volunteer. Before joining RSVP Singapore, I volunteered with various schools and organisations such as the People’s Association, National Library Board and The Bicentennial Experience.

Although I am currently involved in many volunteering programmes, I always felt that I can do more for the community. Thus, I took my search online. I found RSVP Singapore’s website by chance and attended their Open House. Thereafter, I decided to join the Mentoring and Senior Guiding programmes.

In the Mentoring Programme, I get to engage with children. Besides learning to understand children better, I also get to see things from a different point of view. Communication with my own children also improved over time after joining this programme.

The Senior Guiding programme gives me a sense of fulfilment whenever I get to help the seniors at Singapore Arts Museum. I get to go places to meet more people, which gives me more motivation to volunteer.

Beside the regular programmes, I am also involved in RSVP’s Episodic Volunteering programme and various ad-hoc initiatives such as the Bring Your Own Bottle and the hand sanitiser labelling project. I am also in the midst of training to become a trainer for the HAPPY Programme.

One of the most memorable experiences that I recall is when the mentors gave every girl a personalised note on the last day of the programme. These notes were handwritten, addressed to each child by name, and every child received 5 notes in total. The kids were very touched and happy to receive it. By the time the programme officially ended, everyone was hugging and crying and waiting for the next year to start. I miss the children a lot and I look forward to meeting them again in the new semester.