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Duke-NUS’ Project Dolphin makes a splash in the community

Project Dolphin volunteers with young adults from Rainbow Centre’s Young Adults Activities (YAA!), a social activity club for youths with disabilities aged 16 and above // Credit: Claire Lin Jie

Among the young adults at the Rainbow Centre, medical student Ms Chua Si Ying (Class of 2027) is a familiar face. Since 2018, she has volunteered with Rainbow Centre, building lasting relationships with young adults with disabilities and supporting their continual societal engagement.

“I wanted to genuinely connect, to gradually build up rapport and friendship with students at Rainbow Centre, to truly understand the community I was serving,” said Ms Chua, who started medical school in July 2023.

While sharing stories of her volunteer work with her medical school peers, Ms Chua noticed a recurring theme: many of them had never interacted with people with disabilities.

“I felt that as future healthcare providers we should make an effort to learn how to connect with people with disabilities, understand their needs and challenges so that when we’re in our clinics in the future, we can provide truly patient-centred care,” she shared.

That was when the idea for a new community service project struck her.

Through such a project, Ms Chua hoped to provide opportunities for her peers to engage with and support people with disabilities.

In 2024, together with a few classmates, Ms Chua embarked on planning the new community service project, paying meticulous attention to every aspect, including how they would name the project.

“We found it challenging to find an inclusive representation for this group and our project,” recalled Ms Chua, who took on the role of project director.

In the end, it was a tight-knit marine mammal that provided inspiration: The team named their project, “Project Dolphin”.

“We wanted to convey the message that while people with disabilities and their caregivers may feel socially isolated at times, they are never alone. There will always be people who care for and support them,” said Ms Chua. “Hence our mission statement: ‘You never swim alone’.”

With the name settled, Ms Chua and her fellow student organisers turned their attention to the impact they wanted their project to have. They wanted to create a support programme that helped bridge the gap between people with disabilities leaving structured schooling and adulthood:

“Amongst this community, one of the most prominent areas of need that is only gradually being recognised and explored is enhancing the quality of their lives after the age of 18 when they graduate from schools like Rainbow Centre,” explained Ms Chua. “That led us to ponder what a good life means and what we can do to support them as they transition from school into community.”

To make their first splash, Ms Chua and the organising committee recruited 10 more volunteers to join them.

On 13 July, Project Dolphin completed its first outreach activity, bringing together young adults with disabilities from the Rainbow Centre’s YAA! and elderly residents from the St Andrew’s Nursing Home.

During the day-long activity, friendships were forged as the youths and enthusiastic facilitators from Project Dolphin prepared and distributed care packs to elderly residents of a nursing home before engaging in fun and games with them. For the youths, it was double the joy as they savoured the experience of giving back, coupled with the joy of making new connections.

Project Dolphin participant, Mr Tan Wei Hong, a second-year MD-PhD student (Class of 2027), observed: “Although the elderly and young adults with disabilities might not have interacted with each other in the past, it only took them a moment to warm up to each other. There were many heartwarming moments shared between both parties and I have learnt so much from them!”

“It is a privilege for my classmates and I to learn more about how we can better care for these individuals through sustainable long-term projects,” he added.

Having concluded the project’s first mission, Ms Chua and her co-director, second-year MD student Ms Faith Hong Shiting (Class of 2027) look forward to seeing Project Dolphin create a wider wake of impact.

“I hope our efforts will inspire juniors to continue with this project and to expand it in time so that more people will come to know of this initiative and become advocates for people with disabilities,” concluded Ms Chua.