Assignment 2: Reflection [Edited]

It was the year 2011. I was in my final year of polytechnic education, during which I was allocated an internship position at Melrose Home. A residence providing care and protection for children and youth who come from disadvantaged backgrounds, Melrose Home inspired my belief in serving the community. As a mentor, I was assigned to Dave*. More often than not, people who came into contact with Dave described him as a “problematic child”. Dave rarely smiled, frequently threw tantrums, muttered obscenities as well as exhibited anti-social behaviors. As his mentor, I was frustrated. It was difficult working with a boy of such volatile temperament and it heavily affected my work performance.

That all changed when I accompanied Dave to visit his mother and brother. I was taken aback by the fact that Dave’s mother and brother were both residents of MINDS, an organization that serves Persons with intellectual disabilities. For the first time, I witnessed Dave smile. It was as though Dave became the happiest boy on earth, struggling to see his family once again. A social worker then revealed to me that Dave, when he was still a young, happy boy, was seperated from both of them due to their intellectual disabilities. Since then, Dave was only allowed to visit them once every few months. Dave’s longing to be with his family fueled his anger and frustrations, and this transformed a young, decent boy into the “problem” child he is now.

Behind everyone person lies a story, and the one behind Dave’s truly inspired my beliefs in pursuing social work. In working with the vulnerable populations of Singapore, I want to help address underlying social issues that plague our local community so that people like Dave can become happy again.

(Edited as of 12 September 2014, 12.38am)