Chinese New Year Celebration`

A joyous internal event was held at Bizlink Centre last Friday. All staff and beneficiaries, regardless of race, came together to celebrate Chinese New Year right at Bizlink sheltered workshop. Even Bizlink's beneficiaries working under the Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped (SAVH) at Toa Payoh came to join the rest of the organization for the party.

Ms Ng works under SAVH where she usually does packing work. She finds the party meaningful as it is also a good time for colleagues to mingle and bond.

Chris works at the data centre and was visibly in high spirits as he chatted with his teammates while waiting for the programme to begin. He too, has done his fair bit of visitations over the Chinese New Year break and mentioned that Chinese New Year is a really important tradition for the Chinese.

The programme started off with a lion dance performance to usher in luck and fortune for the new year. Everyone's attention was roused by the loud drums and the lively lion dancers as the troupe made their rounds across the workshop floor. Many of them did not hesitate to reach out
and touch the "lions" as they danced past. The performance ended off with a loud roar of applause, and it no doubt helped establish the Chinese New Year mood for all.

Next on the itinerary was the traditional "lau yu sheng", or "lo hei'. After all the condiments were empty, everyone waited in anticipation for the emcee to signal for all to start the tossing. After some well-humored "fake outs" by the emcee, the workshop was filled with shouts of "Huat ah! Huat ah!" as the shredded ingredients were being tossed high in the air as soon as he reached the count of 3. It was not the most elegant of affairs, but everyone seemed to thoroughly enjoy it.

After that, lunch was served, which was followed by a couple of interesting events, including a mini Karaoke session. Overall, everyone seemed very happy and thoroughly enjoyed themselves at the event. It was definitely by all measures a successful event that helped gear everyone for the year ahead.

I like Chinese New Year because .....

When I think of Chinese New Year, I think of all the new year goodies - my favourite is the almond cookies. Visiting my relatives are the highlights too.

I have been working at Bizlink as a telemarketer on a contract basis, but I have requested for a permanent position and am currently on a probation period. It is challenging as I face all types of customers on the job, and sometimes, I have to react rather spontaneously. One of the more unforgettable customer experiences I have is that one of the potential customers once said to me “I have no money, look for the government, they have the money!” The main products I am pushing to customers at the moment are the Chinese New Year cards, which I feel are very special in the sense that the cards feature unique artwork created by the disabled.

From Eevon, a telemarketer and project coordinator in Bizlink

Chinese New Year is reunion time for friends and relatives

Packing these hampers really brings about the sense of Chinese New Year is just around the corner. Wrapping these hampers is relatively easy for me, and it takes me around 20 minutes to complete one. However, the challenge is in teaching others here to do so. Sometimes, there are language barriers, and also some of my fellow workers have hearing problems. I usually teach in groups of 2 or 3, but each individual has very different learning needs. Thus, I adapt different methodologies to teach each one. The important thing is that one must have patience.

During Chinese New Year, I go on the usual visits to my family and friends’ homes. I look forward to Chinese New Year every year, as I only get to meet some of my friends during this time of the year due to their work commitments and such.

From Choon Seng, a supervisor working in Bizlink

It's about Ang Pows !

When I think about Chinese New Year… well, because I am married, I think about having to give out red packets...haha. But more importantly, I see some of my relatives only once a year during Chinese New Year. This is the time when I get to catch up with them and it allows me to maintain such familial relationships.

I have been working at Bizlink since 2000, and although this job ultimately helps me earn a living, there is an added layer of purposefulness because it helps contribute to the livelihood of other less fortunate people. What I am currently doing now is the back-end coordination for our range of season greeting cards and my everyday work routine includes answering our customer hot-line, liaising with the printer and hot-stamping suppliers, as well as overseeing logistics. This year, I am quite happy that we have taken around many orders for our greeting cards from various corporations and individuals. This is really a great way start the New Year.

Written by Heidi, an admin coordinator in Bizlink

I pray for blessings on 1st day of Chinese New Year.

Chinese New Year is a good time for me to meet up with my siblings, nieces and nephews as all of us would gather at my brother’s place. It is also the time where I get new clothes for myself! Every year, on the first day of Chinese New Year, I would also make a trip to the Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple near Waterloo Street to pray for blessings. During the Chinese New Year period, I will also meet up with some of my closer colleagues from Bizlink Centre to have a vegetarian meal together. This year, we will be having our vegetarian meal on the 14th day at Hougang.

I have been working in the Bizlink Centre’s sheltered workshop for close to 20 years! This year, we received orders for Chinese New Year-themed handpainted cookies jar and hence I have been busy with the painting works for this week. I feel a great sense of achievement whenever I complete a piece of work!

From Kim Lye, a client working in Bizlink's sheltered workshop

Catching up with my family and friends....

I look forward to the arrival of Chinese New Year as it is the time where I get to catch up with family and close friends. My close friends are long-time pals whom I have known for close to 40 years! Most of them are church friends or those that I got to know during my stay at the Red Cross Home.

I have been working at Bizlink Centre for 15 years. I must say that it has been a fruitful time here as I get to pick up skills while keeping my mind active and alert! Working also allows me to have some personal savings as I save up part of the salary I receive monthly. For these few weeks, I have been packing red packets for corporates. This really gets me into the mood for Chinese New Year as I am constantly reminded that it is just round the corner! In fact, it has been a pleasure looking at the various red packet designs as collecting and keeping red packets is my long-time hobby!

From Timothy, a client working in Bizlink's sheltered workshop