Breathe.sg recently met with two Exco members of HPB’s Youth Advolution for Health (YAH) and asked them about their interest in volunteerism. They were able to take some time off from their busy school schedules to tell us more about what keeps them going and how they hope to see more young people getting involved.
Siti Nurhana Abdul Karim, current YAH President, is 22 years old and is a third-year NUS Pharmacy student. Camelia Tang, current Vice President (Events, Interest Groups and Projects), is 17 years old and a junior college year 2 (JC2) student of Hwa Chong Institution.
Breathe (B): How long have you been volunteering with YAH?
Siti (S): I have been with YAH for about one year and a half.
Camelia (C): It’s been two years, since 2009.
B: How did you find out about YAH?
S: In end 2009, after I participated in the YAH Birthday Bash cum street outreach.
C: I first saw YAH’s volunteer recruitment posters at the YAH Birthday Bash cum street outreach in 2009. It was after my Secondary 4 exams, so with the free time I had before JC started, I decided to help out with the project. Besides, the idea of being a part of a street outreach activity looked really fun and interesting!
B: Why did you sign up to participate in YAH activities?
S: I was studying healthcare-related subjects and I feel that prevention is always better than cure. It's always good to live a healthy lifestyle now, rather than to suffer the consequences later. We all know that long-term treatments can be very difficult or painful. Also, YAH focuses on youths who are at an age where being mindful of their health should be a concern. Given that the lifestyle habits they pick up now will have major impact on their health in the future. This is why I feel it’s meaningful to carry out peer-to-peer advocacy to encourage people my age to make the right choices when it comes to their health.
C: I chose to be a youth health ambassador because I think YAH’s causes and messages are very meaningful. Being a youth health ambassador and being a member of this big YAH family also allows me to get to know more like-minded people broadening my social circle.
B: What’s your role in YAH?
S: I'm currently YAH’s President and my role is to oversee the YAH Executive Committee as well as to form partnerships with other youth organisations or schools to enable our youth advocacy plans to be carried out.
I’m also involved in events that are relevant to both YAH and my University (NUS). For example, this January, I helped organise YAH’s booth at NUS’ Food Festival Carnival. We raised students’ awareness of the importance of having a healthy diet and we also advocated for the need for healthier choices in the canteen and around campus. It involved a lot of work but in the end, it was worth the effort as we reached many students.
C: As Vice-President (Events, Interest Groups and Projects), I am in charge of organising YAH events, such as the annual Youth Health Symposium and YAH Birthday Bash. Through these events, we get to spread the word on YAH and to encourage and motivate others to lead a healthy lifestyle.
YAH also participated in HPB’s “I Quit!” roadshow where we chose to alert youth about the hidden dangers of shisha smoking. To educate the youth, YAH produced a video by paying a visit to a shisha outlet and dispelling the myths given by retailers. To me, that was a lot of fun and I believe we got the message across. We continue our efforts by having the video posted on YAH’s website.
B: Describe your experience thus far.
S: So far it’s been a memorable and eye-opening experience, as I get to interact directly with different youths from many different backgrounds and schools. I’ve also had a lot of fun making friends and doing advocacy work with YAH members. All these experiences have made me more confident when approaching youths to talk about YAH’s six health messages.
C: As a young adult I’m seeing more of my peers being tempted to engage in risky behaviours such as smoking, drinking, etc. Many of them are more inclined to do so after parents and adults warn them against such vices, as they feel rebellious and want to appear “cool” in front of others. That’s why I think it’s important to have a voice among the youths to warn against these unhealthy ways of life, as peer-to-peer influence at our age is really helpful and effective.
B: What are the difficulties you face as a volunteer?
S: Definitely juggling my studies and helping out in YAH. Time management is really important. Being an advocate is definitely not easy. You have to be really passionate and have the patience to convey the right message to your peers about the different health issues. For example, it's difficult to tell someone to stop smoking when you are not a smoker yourself. So we have to find innovative ways to empower ex-smokers to help spread the message.
C: This year we are implementing some organisational changes within YAH. We’re introducing interest groups so that the YAH members who are passionate about particular health topics can gather like-minded youths, start targeted projects and share their knowledge on their health interests. Coordinating these efforts is quite a challenge, but I am happy to contribute to YAH’s outreach capabilities.
B: Your studies must obviously take a lot of your time. What keeps you going as a volunteer?
S: Being passionate about a cause and the desire to help others keep me going. I gain much satisfaction at the end of the day knowing that I’ve managed to help someone.
As a youth, I also think it’s that time when everyone wants to explore new things and learn as much as they can. Volunteerism helps me achieve that and more.
C: I think interest and passion is what really keeps me going late at night when I have to deal with YAH-related work. It is the thought that what I’m doing right now will have a direct positive impact on a youth who might be thinking of picking up smoking. That really motivates me to continue reaching out to more youths.
B: Which health issues do you think are most relevant to your peers?
S: The three most relevant health issues among my peers right now: mental health, eating healthily and smoking. As we are still students, I think stress is always a part of our lives, especially considering the many deadlines, tests and exams that we face. Youths are always busy with their studies or trying out new things, and fast food becomes a major part of their lives. Smoking is also an issue as many youths tend to start smoking due to curiosity or peer pressure among their friends. Even in my own school, I see smokers hiding behind the staircases to have a puff.
C: I feel that mental health is the most relevant issue to my peers, especially in school. School life, especially around exam periods, can be really stressful. In our pursuit for academic success, I feel that the pressure to perform and meet expectations can cause great mental strain if not managed properly.
B: What do you think is the best way to encourage young people to take part in health-related activities?
S: I think we should include an element of fun in our activities. Youths usually tend to get disinterested if something doesn’t appeal to them (like boring lectures). So in YAH, what we try to do is to make our outreach fun. We recently had a “mocktail” (non-alcoholic cocktail) workshop to teach the youths that “drinking” doesn’t necessarily mean consuming alcohol.
C: I think let’s flaunt the “fun-factor”, to motivate people into participating in health-related activities. Why not emphasise that these can be fun and interesting. I think this is also the reason why YAH was created - the ‘for youths and by youths’ approach allows HPB to directly target the youths themselves and the youth mentality, hence allowing us to reach out to more people.
B: What are some the key activities/events YAH has planned for the year ahead?
S: One of the major changes this year is the introduction of interest groups (IG). We have currently formed three interest groups: the Smoking Control IG, Nutrition and Physical Activity IG and Mental Wellness IG. These IGs cater to youths who are passionate about a specific health cause. Some other tentative events planned for the year include the Peer Support Training Session on 16 July, our YAH induction (slated on 30 July), our cigarette retailer education activity (between July-September), and the YAH Birthday Bash (tentatively set for 7 January 2012).
C: Apart from inductions, where new YAH members get to know more about YAH and other fellow YAH members in a cosy and comfortable environment, we are planning to have more regular meetings and gatherings for YAH members. A key activity will be the annual birthday bash, where we are planning to have some sort of street outreach to engage more youths. This is currently at the planning stage and we will continue to work hard as a team to finalise our plans.
B: What advice do you have for other youths who may be interested in becoming part of the YAH programme but can’t make up their mind?
S: Just join us! You’ll never know what great opportunities await you in YAH if you don’t decide to step up with us!
C: I would say “just follow your heart and do what you feel is right”. If helping youths and encouraging them to lead a healthy lifestyle is what makes you feel good, then join YAH! You’ll meet more like-minded passionate young people and be motivated to promote YAH’s causes. Do look up YAH at www.yah.sg
