Raffles Hall was honoured to have Mr Robin Low (Engineering ’00), co-founder of Relief 2.0 and Civil Innovation Lab to be the first speaker for the inaugural Raffles Hall Master’s Chat Series on 11 October 2017. Mr Low is a TEDx Talk Speaker and the author of Good Intentions Are Not Enough. He is currently working with the United Nations (UN) and UNHCR (the UN Refugee Agency) on Refugees Innovation Lab and Impact Immigrant, a rebranding and training programme to get refugees to create more value for society. Mr Low shared how good intentions without critical thinking often create secondary disasters.

While it may be trendy to like and share posts to appear concerned about a recent disaster, one should think about the kind of impact such an act creates, especially to those affected in the disaster area. Mr Low emphasised that volunteers ought to empower refugees to take charge of their lives. His talk at Raffles Hall Conference Room intrigued Raffles Hall residents and provided valuable insights to the Raffles Volunteer Corp members present.

2017 was an exciting year for the NUS Alumni Sing-Along (ASA) members, which ended with interesting events and joyous celebrations. On 2 December 2017, ASA members opened the National University of Singapore Society (NUSS) Christmas Light Up event with Christmas carols, engaging the audience in the singing. This was closely followed by a sing-along session on 4 December at All Saints’ Home, Tampines, coorganised by NUS ASA and ‘I’m Soul Inc’ where ASA Committee Advisor, Mrs Carmee Lim (Science ’68) is the Chairperson. 15 members sang at the Home and brought Christmas cheer to the residents as well as day care clients.

The group closed the year with a joyous Christmas celebration on 11 December with special items performed by members, games and of course, a sumptuous buffet comprising Christmas fare.