Last Sunday, I arrived in Singapore early and jetlagged, blanketed by the heat and humidity. This summer, I’ll be working with Curious Thoughts Giving, a charity dedicated to improving early childhood literacy among underserved communities in Singapore.

My first day at work, I was introduced to the organization’s operations and sat in on two classes. The first was part of CuriousTimes, class for beneficiaries that offered them the same classes the paying students received at Curious Thoughts Academy, their sibling social enterprise. The second was off-site, at an FSC (Family Service Centre), located in a public housing complex. That class, part of an ad-hoc program called Let’s Learn English!, offered a condensed program to families living further away from the home office in partnership with local social services.

Every class I stepped inside, the kids there were so energetic, curious, and playful. The curriculum that we were using—Jolly Phonics—incorporated the playfulness of the kids into the activities a part of the lesson, not as a detractor to learning. We sang songs, got active, and worked through many hands-on activities together. In just my first week, I learned so much about classroom management, curriculum delivery, and many other facets of early childhood education.

I also learned exactly how important a steady financial pipeline is for nonprofits, especially ones that have concrete overhead costs like rent and teachers' salaries. The difference between Curious Thoughts Giving and other similar childhood literacy nonprofits in Singapore is that Curious Thoughts delivers its curriculum entirely through trained, professional teachers, rather than volunteers. Previously, I was only familiar with volunteer-based programs; however, looking at just how effective this organization has been has shown me the importance of having trained teachers on board. Because of donations and community support, Curious Thoughts is able to hire professional teachers and still keep community programs free, but continued funding is never a guarantee. Therefore, I have also been working closely with their media impact and fundraising initiatives to try and generate new revenue streams and ensure that these initiatives remain sustainable. As a part of doing media outreach, I've made some hand-illustrated collages for them!

Overall, I've been really enjoying my time in Singapore. The food is amazing, and my coworkers are all such lovely people. I'll end on a joyous note: One of my favorite summer poems is "Tomatoes" by Joy Sullivan. It ends on the following lines:

Phone calls go unanswered. Forgive us.
Our mouths are full of tomatoes.
We are so busy
being small and hungry and alive.

I think that in my life, so often stressors sweep past my day-to-day experience like an unwelcome wind. I get so swept up in the small anxieties that I forget, really, how to live in the present because I'm always worrying about some distasteful future disaster. Working with kids has really reminded me to take the small joys seriously, and to never let them go unnoticed.