NSmen and their families were welcomed at SAFRA Punggol for a fun-filled day of food, games and activities. They were joined by a special guest, as President Halimah Yacob, Patron of SAFRA, paid her first official visit to a SAFRA club. All visitors were greeted by a carnival atmosphere, where the second SAFRA Family Fiesta held on Sunday, 2 Sep, had numerous activities lined up for the young and young at heart. Spread over three floors, these included bowling, karaoke, bouncy castles, and hands-on crafts such as dreamcatcher making and terrarium making.
Despite a rainy start to the morning, the club was abuzz, as members were eager to take part in activities and try the food on offer – two of the more popular stations that people queued up for were for Scotch Quail Eggs and Cheesy Meatballs. “This is a very good way to entertain the kids at the weekend,” said Lily Wong, who was at the Family Fiesta with her husband and two young kids, aged three and five. “There are so many things to do here under one roof, so we’ll be here all day.” President Halimah Yacob, who graced the event as Guest of Honour, was accompanied by Mr Teo Chee Hean, Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security, and Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman,Senior Minister of State for Defence and President of SAFRA.
They toured the club and stopped to chat with representatives from various SAFRA Interest Groups at their respective stands. President Halimah later sounded the bell for the SAFRA Punggol Diaper Dash, one of the highlights of the day’s activities. In the race, babies aged between six months and 18 months had to crawl as quickly as they could to the finish line towards an eagerly awaiting parent. The event generated much excitement and amusement among the spectators. One-year-old Gideon Lim was the winner in the first round of the Leopard Crawlers category. With his father, Lim Chwee Guan, he later posed for a photo with the President.
“This is the first time we’ve participated,” Lim said. “We joined it for fun. My son is very hyper and wanted to get to his mum. That’s why he crawled so fast!” During her visit, President Halimah also penned a personal thank you message on a specially created art piece on display, named “Defending Singapore, Our Home”. The collaborative artwork was painted by students and teachers of art school Artary at SAFRA Punggol, in appreciation of NSmen for their contributions to the nation.
“When the President signed the artwork that I had painted, I felt a sense of accomplishment,” said Inez Chua, 13, one of the artists behind it. “I was also proud of doing something that I’ve never done before – painting on a big canvas.” Her father, Chua Han Seng, said: “As a parent, I am really proud that Inez is able to participate in this collaboration. As an NSman, I am honoured that she could play a part to recognise the importance of NSmen to the nation through this art piece.”
Another young artist, nineyear-old Danielle Lim, said that she was “happy and excited” to have worked on the piece and to meet the President. Her father said the artwork reminded him of his army days. “The fondest memories have to do with camaraderie – serving my NS term with fellow countrymen and ‘brothers’, and having those heart-to-heart talks,” he said. My Family Fiesta was jointly organised by HeyBaby and SAFRA Punggol, and supported by the Families for Life Council, in celebration of My Family Weekend, which took place from 31 Aug to 2 Sep.
