National Day Parade 2020 - My Post Circuit-Breaker Volunteering Experience

Open Conversation: What does it take for you to go out and do something meaningful in a time when going out is considered ‘dangerous’?

Truthfully, there are many out there who are definitely way more experienced in this field than I am. Although this is only my second time volunteering for NDP, I know for a fact that serving in any area in the nation’s biggest party is never an easy feat. To cut the entire story of my first experience short, I’d say that up until that point in my life, I don’t think I’ve ever felt excitement for National Day the way I did at my first parade. I’ve met so many interesting and amazing characters, many of whom became my closest friends up to this day. Honestly, I’m confident that this is something I will always remember my first NDP for whenever it comes up in conversation.

Fast forward to 2020 – Pandemic times. I’m not going to lie, nor will I sugar-coat so I shall say it in the most Gen-Z way I could possibly think of – ‘I thought the Rona is gonna ruin national day.’ (Rona refers to COVID-19).

It’s pretty self-explanatory, so many people will testify that part of the fun of volunteering for NDP in the previous years was forging friendships and meaningful connections with their fellow volunteers at the parades, post-deployment supper sessions and inter-mingling among each other across different sectors. None of that can happen without CROWDS. We wouldn’t have an NDP crowd of spectators either. Can a good, noisy supper happen with the groups of five rule? What’s going to be so memorable about this year’s National Day Parade then? Prior to any deployments on the ground, we all had the chance to attend a ZOOM sharing session by the chairperson of NDP EXCO himself, Brigadier-General Frederick Choo. He took us through a briefing of what to expect from this year’s parade, how operations were probably going to look like, how the experience was going to be like for the spectators, and why is the parade still ongoing despite a Pandemic. Let’s walk through some takeaways that have had me reflecting on why I was doing such a thing as volunteering on the ground in unprecedented times. ______________________

No other country celebrates National Day like Singapore. We don’t only show our military, we show our community.

NDP represents our people, and NDP IS Singapore. NDP reminds us that we are not in this alone, but we are in this together.

NDP in Singapore is not just an event. NDP in Singapore, reminds us of the humble beginnings. We are where we are today, because we didn’t go through tough times alone, we went through them together. Send a message to Singaporeans. We are not just trying to stay afloat, not just deal with it, be in a position that is better than before. Be in a position where we beat the virus. We must look forward to better times.

“As long as there is a Singapore, there will always be a National Day Parade.”

_______________________ To be honest, I don’t have the longest attention span when it comes to sharing sessions, nor does the idea of a panel/zoom sharing seem appealing in any way to me on a typical day. Despite this, there was just something about the whole session that kept me at the edge of my seat, and in a good way too (no, it wasn’t because I was discussing the sharing with a fellow volunteer over the zoom private chats). BG Frederick Choo spoke about the parades with so much conviction on what NDP is and has always been about, which was something I’ve never really considered or thought about before. Prior to volunteering, I never had any interest in National Day. Since I started volunteering, hyping the crowds, capturing smiles and moments and lifelong friendships have always been the driving factors of why I’m enjoying the parade. I have definitely missed out on pondering the value of celebrating how far we have come as a nation from the very day we were declared an independent state up to now.

Singapore has seen and gone through so much, and every year, we do not forget our independence and NDP has always been a nationwide party and a special day for all Singaporeans. So why cancel it just because there’s a scary virus going around town? Surely, we could make it work without having to flout safe distancing measures and headcount limits. The point of this post isn’t about whether I am for or against a physical NDP celebration this year. I’m sharing my thoughts I’ve throughout my whole NDP journey this year in response to receiving questions like ‘it’s so dangerous to go out these days so why volunteer in such a large scale, and possibly packed out event?”. I guess, I had a change of perspective this year too. I finally saw the value of this special day and the significance of the event. I feel like if I let a virus stop me from expressing my love and pride for my country, then it’s likely than I am underestimating my nation’s ability to pull through tough times whilst staying united.

This, was what made my NDP 2020 Journey a special one, with an important takeaway for me.