A new life at ICC

In 1997, ICC’s founder, David Gotts, first saw the four-year-old Huahua at the government welfare centre. She looked weak, and she was fighting for her life. After Huahua was transferred into ICC’s care, through a lot of hard work, the caregivers and volunteers brought her health back to a stable condition.

“When I was a child, I couldn’t do anything. It was through one-to-one therapy that I learnt to take care of myself. With some assistance, I can now go about my day-to-day activities by myself, i.e. get out of bed, brush my teeth and put on my clothes.”

As Huahua grew older, she started to take computer lessons. She remembered how she thought that she would never be able to use the computer to draw, and it was Ms Chua, an international volunteer who encouraged her: “It doesn’t matter if you can’t do it now, but you have to believe in yourself that you will be able to do it one day.” Not only did Huahua learn to draw with a computer, she also learnt to type, to create documents and shop online. This learning experience has given her the confidence to achieve even further.

Huahua now takes every opportunity to learn new things: “I love learning English. Matt, an international volunteer, is my English teacher. I enjoy being able to communicate with other English-speaking volunteers.”

Seeking Every Opportunity

Since completing her education courses, Huahua has been promoting ‘Flowers in the Desert’ through online marketing and has started an online business herself. Being an entrepreneur, she thinks meeting new people and making friends is still the best part of her job.

Yet with all her accomplishments, Huahua is looking for ways she can do better. She has been using social media to promote and recruit volunteers for ‘Flowers in the Desert’, an ICC vocational training workshop. Every weekend, Huahua has been giving workshop tours to visitors who have come to visit ICC’s projects. She would show the crafts the young people have created and share the life story of the person who made the craft.

Huahua is seen as the mature sister in the ICC community-based group homes, who helps take care of the young girls and would assist them with online grocery shopping.

Huahua with her sisters in the community-based group home.

In August 2019, Huahua became part of the FPP team working as a part-time administrator. She now goes to the FPP Services Centre every Tuesday and Friday to help find volunteers and run the FPP Enrichment Programme, to teach the children in craft-making. “One of the highlights was teaching two students to bead a coaster, it was my first time teaching someone else to do craftwork. I was excited to see them make progress and that they were able to practise their hand and motor skills.”

At ICC, we are thankful to be part of Huahua’s life and to see her thrive. Her life captures the love, hope and opportunity ICC believes that every child and young person deserves. When asked about her thoughts on what love, hope and opportunity means to her, she paused for a while and said:

Love: We are loved by many of our ICC friends and donors who are continuously supporting us.

Hope: We are blessed to have our caregivers, therapist and teachers. They have brought us hope, so we can achieve much.

Opportunity: We are thankful for the opportunity that God has given us, even though as humans we are so finite.

Huahua, left, teaching FPP young people to make handicrafts.

Huahua, may you embrace every opportunity that comes to you and reach all your goals in life!

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