70 walks around Singapore on National Day morning to jumpstart celebrations
Community members in Bedok with decorated umbrellas. Photo: People's Association
SINGAPORE — With National Day just under two weeks away, youth volunteers from schools and the People’s Association will be fanning out across estates islandwide to round up 100,000 participants for the first youth-led SGCommunity Walk, happening on August 9.
They will also be distributing flyers and reaching out to residents through community activities, and using social media to invite people to join the event.
There will be 70 walks under this banner kicking off on National Day morning, People’s Association (PA) said Thursday (July 28) in a media briefing. Each constituency will be in charge of its own walk — the duration and route — and some are already planning ways to stand out.
Teck Ghee youth and residents plan to don their own unique or customised footwear on the walk.
More than 1,000 young people from the PA Youth Movement, schools, and uniformed groups will also lead Teck Ghee residents in mass singalongs of popular National Day songs during the walk.
PA chief executive director Ang Hak Seng said: “These walks will include people of all races, young and old, from public and private estates, the haves and have-nots, including the less privileged, so everybody walks together as one people… That signifies the confidence we have about tomorrow’s future.”
On the significance of this nationwide youth-driven event, Mr Goh Jia Hao, 27, a PA Youth Movement volunteer, said: “As young people, we should be leading the way. We are the ones fronting society and bringing SG100 to fruition… Youth-led walks will add to (the day’s) vibrancy and energy.”
Over at Yew Tee and Limbang, residents would be encouraged to dress their pets in red and white and take them along on the 2km walk, because there is “a growing community of pet lovers in Yew Tee”, PA youth volunteer Benjamin Chua, 27, said. They will be joined by partners such as the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Singapore Schnauzer Club.
More than 2,000 members of PA’s partners will also join the walks, such as the Singapore Scout Association, Singapore Red Cross Society, St John Singapore and Jamiyah Singapore.
The walks are part of some 200 community celebrations throughout August planned in the heartlands under the theme of “Unity in Diversity”. They will include a gathering for residents in Mountbatten before the old blocks at Dakota Crescent are demolished, and a two-week carnival in Bukit Batok that will feature themed performances.
In the last six months, PA had received many suggestions and proposals by residents, students, clans and companies on how to mark the nation’s 51st birthday, such as curry cook-outs and even having “fruit parties” to recount Singapore’s rich history.
Mr Ang said: “These are ground-up efforts to encourage Singaporeans to celebrate National Day in a meaningful way, even though you may not be at the stadium (for the parade).”
PA said that it expects to see more than 300,000 residents at these celebrations in the heartlands.
For the SGCommunity Walk, the public may download the list of walks by the different constituencies on the PA website’s “newsroom” page, and call the Community Club nearest them to register.
