To celebrate the Kindness Day Singapore 2019, the Kindness Carnival was held at the Road Safety Community Park last Saturday from morning till evening. 

Educational & Fun Filled Activities 

Credit: Singapore Kindness Movement.

This year’s event had marked the second edition of the Kindness Carnival, and with the choice of the location, it celebrated and promoted kindness on the road through educational and fun-filled activities suited to the whole family.

Said Dr William Wan, General Secretary of the Singapore Kindness Movement, “Kindness is other-centeredness which leads to fostering consideration for other road users and that will surely contribute to road safety.”

Checking out the Carnival

I had been invited to the Kindness Carnival, where I had a look around to check out what had been available there. 

And at the carnival, which had attracted about 1,000 visitors throughout the day, I was to discover that there was a lot to see and do, for both children and their families alike.

Games

Organised by the Singapore Kindness Movement, attendees at the event got to take part in various games such as the hourly circuit game, where they were reminded of good road etiquette through fun and play. 

A Gracious Society 

Through the staging of such events, Singapore Kindness Movement hopes to encourage everyone to start, show and share kindness and graciousness, one act at a time. 

By having everyone spare a thought for the people around us, they hope to create a gracious society and make life better for everyone too.

Said Grace Fu, the Minister of Culture, Community and Youth, and who was the Guest Of Honour at the event, “Such events are great in promoting a more gracious Singapore, graciousness should not just be limited to an event, though.” 

She continued, “It is for us to bring this energy that can be put to great use in shaping the kind of society that we would like to see.”

Retro Funfair Staples

And as well, there were some funfair staples such as bouncy castles, hopscotch, Five Stones, Chapteh, as well as a giant twister game tailored to the children, too.

During my time there, I saw plenty of children partaking in all these funfair games and they seemed to be having a lot of fun, enjoying themselves thoroughly.

To me, this had been a great way to instil the message of kindness to kids when they are young – so that they can grow up with the correct morals and values.

Free Food

And free snacks such as hotdogs and rainbow bread ice cream were also available too, and these had proved to be very popular amongst both adults and children alike, with the ice cream, especially, attracting long queues.

Wanting something refreshing, I decided to queue up for both the hotdog and the ice cream, and these were delicious, firmly bringing me back to the old days.

Thankfully, in the spirit of kindness, the queues had been quite orderly, with nobody attempting to cut the queue or barge their way through. So it was indeed good to witness firsthand that Singaporeans are understanding the messages of kindness that the carnival hoped to pass on.

Yellow Gerberas

And as well, volunteers also cycled along East Coast Park, on SGBike’s bicycles to raise awareness of the carnival, to give out yellow gerberas to passers-by.

Along the way, I took one of these, apparently the gerbera is not only the fifth most popular flower in the world, but also an iconic symbol of kindness, with its bright yellow petals reminding one to stay upbeat and happy.

Cute balloon gerbera wristbands were also being given out too, and I thought that these were very interesting, though unfortunately they probably won’t be able to last for more than a few more days.

New Ground-Up Movements & Voices of Loving Kindness

Also, at the event, new Ground-Up Movements and Voices of Loving Kindness were inducted into the Kindred Spirit Circle and Singapore Kindness Movement hopes that more ground-up initiatives will be inspired to make a difference in our society.

They had included television personalities Li NanXiang and Constance Song, who hope to contribute by promoting gracious behaviours both on the road and in daily lives, sharing these values in their personal capacity as well as the events that they are associated with.

Said Song, “I am honoured to be recognised as a Voice of Loving Kindness this year. A driver myself, I aim to be understanding and patient towards other road users and will continue to spread this cause on social media.”

Month-Long Celebration of Kindness 

Besides the Kindness Carnival, other initiatives that the Singapore Kindness Movement also organised, in a month-long celebration of kindness, had included selected Shell Stations across Singapore being decked out in yellow gerberas as well as a partnership with Grab to brand their virtual in-app car icons with yellow gerberas. 

And as well, Gardenia Foods produced a special Kindness over-band on their Gardenia 100% Whole Meal Super Soft & Fine Loaf, which was inside the media pack that had been presented to me.

A social experiment was also conducted by Singapore Kindness Movement titled “Your Grandfathers Road” to see if Singaporeans would help someone in need on the roads, and the video, which featured an elderly deliveryman in an inconvenient situation, attracted more than 4,000 viewers.

I Had A Great Time

And all of these kindness-themed events and activations, had all culminated in last weekend’s Kindness Carnival – in which I’d had a great time, having fun and learning more about kindness in general and on the roads through all the booths and parties that had been present there.

These stalls had ranged from #ArtForCause which uses art as a focal point to involve students, local businesses and the public to build a stronger network of support for our seniors – to the Singapore Traffic Police.

In short, it had been an informative and educational, yet an enjoyable affair. I thought that was a great way to instil and reiterate messages of kindness in Singaporeans.