What was supposed to be just a CCA for Sathasviam Krishnarekha turned into a 13-year journey of service. Today, she clocks 100 volunteer hours annually, and is a recipient of the Singapore Red Cross High Commendation Award for her dedication and contributions.
Sathasviam Krishnarekha’s first encounter with the Red Cross Youth (RCY) was hardly the stuff of a lifelong calling.
“I signed up in Secondary One for very selfish reasons,” she says. Someone had told her that a Uniformed Group CCA would guarantee two CCA points for her O-Levels. Her friends were joining too and, admittedly, the marching looked quite cool.
What was meant to be just a secondary school CCA, however, followed her to Singapore Polytechnic, where she joined the school’s RCY Chapter.
And somewhere between the community service projects, partnerships and days spent organising events, something shifted.
By the time Rekha graduated from polytechnic, volunteering stopped being about CCA points and turned into something she genuinely loved. She joined Youth@Community and has remained involved for the past six years.
The Reason She Keeps Showing Up
There is, of course, a practical challenge to sustaining that commitment.
Volunteering 100 hours a year while juggling school and work is no small feat. The trick, Rekha says, is to stop waiting for spare time and make volunteering part of the schedule.
She plans ahead, works on projects during weeknights and, when necessary, learns to say no. More importantly, she learnt that leadership does not mean doing everything herself, but trusting her committee to do their part.
Ultimately, what keeps her going is the people she meets.
On one occasion, she watched three seniors — a Chinese ah ma, an Indian patti and a Malay nenek — strike up a conversation despite having no common language. On other occasions during distributions and vulnerability mapping, she encountered residents who had gone weeks without speaking to anyone.
“Once you’ve seen that and interacted with them, it’s very hard to convince yourself your Saturday morning is better spent elsewhere.”
On the other hand, she is also grateful to her team that works tirelessly at odd hours of the night just to push for more sign ups and the success of the event.
What Cannot Be Put in a Bag
While Youth@Community’s work often comes with something tangible to show for it — a food distribution, a community event, a welfare check — one encounter taught Rekha that sometimes the most important thing cannot be packed into a bag.
During her visit to one of the seniors’ houses, the conversation took an unexpected turn. The elderly resident started asking how she could pass on her belongings after she passed away. With no family or friends around her, she worries that nobody would know if she passed away at home alone.
That is a conversation Rekha still thinks about.
Until then, she had thought that what makes an impact on the lives of others are the tangible things. But that visit showed her that what stays with someone is often the quiet gestures — checking in on how someone is doing and staying long enough to listen.
Passing It On
Today, the 26-year-old spends as much time creating opportunities for other young volunteers as she does taking part in them herself.
“A lot of young people want to help but assume they need to be qualified, experienced, or free every weekend before they can start. So, we create entry points that are accessible on an ad-hoc basis; a single distribution, one fiesta, one shift.”
She hopes that lowering the barrier of entry is only half the journey. Rekha wants them to leave with the confidence to take ownership, lead others and, hopefully, keep showing up even after their CCA days. Because if volunteering can follow them into adulthood, she believes that is when the real impact begins.
For Rekha, receiving the Singapore Red Cross High Commendation Award is a recognition she never set out to earn.
“I don’t clock hours expecting an award at the end of it, so being recognised for something I’d have done anyway feels quite surreal.”
The award is less a finish line and more of a reason to keep going, and to continue guiding the young volunteers who will come after her.
“I hope that in ten years’ time, there will be volunteers standing here who once thought they were too young or too quiet to lead.”
