Samuel Zen Kai Yap, Laidlaw 2024 Cohort, Medicine
During my Summer 2 LiA project, I was fortunate enough to work alongside Localise Youth in partnership with CanTeen to coordinate organisation, planning and delivery of a fun-filled event for young people under 18 who have or have had cancer. The day not only included board and video games for the attendees, but also a treasure hunt filled with fun mini-games. As part of the event, the participants also assembled backpacks for refugee children in Ireland that were separated from their families. Each backpack not only contained essentials and other goods, but also heartfelt hand-written letters and messages from the children at the event. As such, the goal of the project was to not only create a direct impact in the local community by providing support to minors suffering with cancer as well as refugee children, but also to create a sustainable indirect impact by showcasing the positive difference that youth volunteering can make on the local community – therefore encouraging others within the community to take action as well. In line with both Localise Youth Volunteering and CanTeen’s initiative, this event served as a reminder that all people – regardless of age or disease – have the ability to create meaningful acts of compassion to those in need through simple acts of kindness.
Throughout this experience, I encountered and faced multiple difficult challenges. One of my roles within the event was to coordinate and lead the main recreational event – a treasure hunt for the attendees. One major challenge to both my resilience and determination was the fact that the first treasure hunt that I had spent very long hours creating (scouting the venue, designing a map, creating the hints/games) had been completely cancelled – and that a new treasure hunt in a completely different location had to be created! Initially, I was disheartened that much of my hard work had gone to waste – and to make matters worse, I had to redo everything. However, I maintained a cool head and stayed determined by thinking of the benefit this event would be able to bring to the children living with cancer. I found that when going through stressful times, continuously thinking about the final goal and result helps greatly to keep you determined. Eventually, we secured a new venue, and was able to design a new treasure hunt in time for the event.
One of the most memorable moments of my LiA was actually being able to see the passion, effort, and initiative these children with cancer put into assembling the backpacks for the refugee children forcibly relocated to Ireland. It was inspiring to witness how this group of children who have been through a lot of adversity themselves worked tirelessly to craft and decorate heartfelt messages for refugee children. Reflecting back, this experience truly demonstrated the resilience and empathy that can arise from hardship.
Lastly, this experience has also taught me about the importance of inclusivity in ethical leadership. During the event, it came to light that one of the attendees would not be able to participate in the treasure hunt we had initially designed due to a physical disability. As such, we proceeded to change certain games within the treasure hunt in order to ensure that everybody could participate – regardless of sex, gender, or ability. Although it was extra work, it was all worth it to be able to see that one individual be included and have fun through the treasure hunt. Having this experience, I have really learnt the importance of proactively thinking of inclusivity moving forward as a leader (i.e., we should have planned and confirmed the physical capabilities of our attendees while planning the event).
Challenges aside, there were multiple aspects of the event that had been successful. One such example was the treasure hunt mini-games, where I customised each game to fit the demographic of the attendees in order to make the game fun for everyone. To illustrate, one of the games was “guess the song”, and in which I found popular songs from the different music categories so that everyone would be able to participate – no matter your taste in music.
In conclusion, my summer 2 LiA project was an amazing experience that not only challenged me to be adaptive under stressful conditions, but also taught me about resilience, empathy, and inclusivity in ethical leadership. I would like to thank the Laidlaw programme and Localise Youth for allowing me to undergo this amazing leadership experience.